Chapter 1: The Duty of an Oiran
Chapter Text
Nothing is as it seems.
Many things can appear to be in a specific way, just to suddenly change, as if deleting all of what has happened before.
What is beautiful can be vile, what is terrible can be inoffensive and what is human can be something else.
This was the case for Ivlis, an han'yō that was born with fire powers from a man and an oni, probably a kitsune. He was a beautiful young man of age 25, with long dark gray hair with red streaks along the tips, which made him look like a flaming phoenix just born from the ashes. Even if, unlike a phoenix, he wasn't free to fly away;
"Today a very important figure is going to pay a visit to you. It's better if he becomes a client so behave this time."
A clear voice resonated in the dark room, a threaten hidden in its word. Its owner was none other than Reficul, the most famous brothel-keeper of all Edo. It was said that she had an amazing ability at finding and rising the best courtesans of all the Country, causing many men to come everyday in an attempt to drown into pleasure, far away from the problems of their daily lives.
"This time..."
A scoff followed these words, something so unnatural to come out of the tender lips of such beauty.
But what most of all attracted people was the oiran of that brothel, who happened to be exactly Ivlis, desired for his beautiful appearance and his divine nature; however, what many didn't know -or ignored- was how Ivlis liked to take advantage of all of his rights as an oiran...no, a tayū with the highest privilege of refusing unwelcomed visitators.The only problem was how he refused everyone.
"As if I didn't treat all of those pigs with respect even if they didn't deserve any," Ivlis growled and glared at Reficul, his golden eyes looking sharper than the usual for the red eyeshadow adorning them. As much as he needed to respect his superior for she owned him, the young oiran couldn't bring himself to not be bitter at her: he didn't want to be an oiran, that wasn't the fate he wanted for himself, and yet there he was, stuck in a brothel wearing clothes too heavy and eye-catching for his comfort.
Under the cold eyes of the boy, Reficul sighed and rubbed her forehead, tired of having always the same type of conversation with him;
"Be good or else I will throw you into the streets."
"I would prefer that than being here," Ivlis angrily commented immediately after, "but you won't do it for your stupid obsession with easy income, because that's what I am: a trained living profit."
Another scoff left the boy's red lips, at which Reficul replied by rolling her eyes and walking away, not even properly observing the correct manners, stopping only at the doorframe to glare back at Ivlis.
"Shut up and work, airhead. You still own me a lot of mon."
And like that, Reficul left, leaving the oiran alone in his anger, enough for him to almost jump on his feet in frustation: he disliked that woman with his whole heart. No matter how many years passed, the two of them didn't seem to get along, both for Ivlis's quick to anger personality and Reficul's unbearable one.
"Buriran-sama don't move! Or I will mess up your make-up."
Suddenly the voice of a young girl, one of the many apprentices in the brothel, called the oiran's attention back, who simply scoffed and straightened his posture. It was clear how he was in a terrible mood, worsened by that name: Buriran.
He hated the sound of it, especially when pronunciated by those pigs that only saw him as a form of entertainment, nothing else than a beautiful doll to play with. That's why all the men that came to see him didn't even have the right to be called by their names, not that Ivlis bothered remembering them.
"Let it be ruined," he then stated after some minutes of silence, his tone as cold as ice, "it will be a pleasure to see this famous «important man» get his expectations crushed."
This new client surely wasn't going to be different from the others. Maybe he was going to be even worst; after all, the wealthier he was, the easier he got on Ivlis's nerves.
At his words, the young apprentice didn't open her mouth for she didn't have the rights to say aloud her thoughts. So she simply nodded and finished arranging the oiran's hair, a complex mix of gold ornaments and locks that gave Ivlis an even more divine look.
What a bore was his life, locked in that cage and exhibited as some sort of rare animal.
"Enough."
His low tone echoed in that dark room in which only some candles were the only light source.
"Go prepare Emalf-san and Poemi-san, it is getting late."
"Yes Buriran-sama," the young girl immediately bowed her head and gracefully walked out of the room, finally giving some space for the oiran to stretch and sigh aloud.
At least he was not alone in the initial appointments with a new client. Having his two personal apprentices with him was way better than just staring at a gross man for what could have been hours, in which he couldn't either eat, drink or switch position. The worst was how he had to fake to be interested in whatever his possible client told him for three whole dates, filling his ears with nonsense. Yet, as much as Ivlis hated all that, he had to admit that he looked forward to the third appointment: the dumbfounded expressions of all the men he had turned down was almost worth of all the suffering of the previous days, a perfect cherry on top to end those appointments.
But for now, he had to behave and bear with the pig that wished to see him.
At least, thanks to the usual oiran-dōchu Ivlis could breath some fresh air before getting stuck in a tea room with a surely smelly random man that thought that he was the only existing male in all the galaxy.
"I want to go already," the oiran grunted while getting up, slightly stumbling on his feet; no matter how much time passed, his 67 lb of clothing were too heavy for him, exactly how his make-up tickled his face too much.
He hated all of that.
It was a miracle how he still didn't completely fall into desperation.
Soon the loud noise of chatters mixed with the sounds of drums and flutes being played. Many people gathered on the sides of the streets to admire the parade, so big and festive that it left everyone speechless, enough to be considered a great show that anyone wanted to take part of.
Many would have thought how the main purpose of the parade was to show off the beautiful and divine oiran that was rumoured to be the beauty among the beauties, while some others would have considered it only as a way to attract clients. In truth, contrary to what one would normally think, the main intent being these parades was to show off the incredible wealth of the client that could so effortlessly buy the oiran for a day. That's why, in this sense, the real protagonist of all that was none other than the client himself, that simply sat at the tea house pending the arrival of his toy, and not the oiran, who had to suffer for the whole route in a pair of high heels that reached seven inches while moving their feet as much elegantly as possible, resembling a snake sliding in the middle of a field.
«So beautiful»;
«It costs way too much for me»;
«Look at all those women»;
Many were the voices that were reaching Ivlis's ears all at once, a sigh of frustration almost leaving his lips, his hand unconsciously gripping harder on the shoulder of the katakashi no otoko-shu supporting him. Fortunately he had to look forward or else he would have glared at everyone in the crowd observing him, admiring his beautiful features and wishing to be able to touch them.
The metallic sound of the silver rings hitting the iron staff held by each otoko shu accompanyed the oiran's every step, while his two shinzo, Poemi and Emalf, were walking in front of him; at least, the two of them seemed to be enjoying themselves for the way their eyes were sparkling as they admired the many colours that adorned the Red Light District.
Poemi in particular seemed to be in an high mood, her body slightly shaking at the rhythm of the music played by the various instruments;
And to think that such big and complex parade happened everytime Ivlis had to reach the ochaya to meet a client, which happened quite often due to his popularity.
However, Ivlis couldn't help but notice with the corners of his eyes how much bigger the crowd looked than the usual, causing the oiran to feel slightly claustrophobic. Yet, what most of all caught Ivlis's attention, was how it wasn't formed by men only but also by a quite big number of women: was it a special day of some sort? Did he get even more famous for some weird reason?
'I hope not,' the oiran thought while narrowing his eyebrows, feeling displeased at the idea of being forced to attend many more clients than the usual. Even if usually the majority of the people staring at him looked like commoners that couldn't afford the exorbitant prices needed to be welcomed in a tea house with an oiran of his rank. Then what was happening? Why were there so many people gathered there? What was even weirder was how the crowd seemed to extend all the way to the ochaya, as if it was another fundamental part of the parade.
'Well, it doesn't matter.'
Ivlis had to stay focused on his task, showing off his beauty and his horns, sign of his superiority as an han'yō; what happened around him didn't matter as long as it didn't directly effect him on a personal level.
That was right: he only had to focus on moving correctly his feet and look as much expressionless as possible, like a beautiful doll made of porcelain, untouchable and unreachable. With this thought in mind, it wasn't too hard ignoring all the men chanting his courtesy name, which was written on two big lanterns getting carried by one of Reficul's collaborators, whose name he couldn't remember...not that it mattered.
That's when the famous ochaya entered in Ivlis's field of view, his heart starting to pound at the idea of being able to finally sit down and let his feet rest after that walk worthy of being called a torture under all aspects; oh how much he hated those damned sanmaiba geta! If he could, he would have stopped wearing them immediately, but unfortunately it was a main part of his appearance for he had to be the tallest in all the parade. At least there was another one of Reficul's collaborators sheltering his head from the Sun with a red umbrella.
In any case, what was all left to do was faking to be interested in whatever the client said while sitting like a pristine young lady, closing his thoughts to not get too much angered at whoever had decided to chose him as an oiran.
Oh it surely was going to be a boring day.
Notes:
Glossary:
Han'yō= They are creatures from Japanese folclore. They are born from a human and an Oni.
Oiran/tayū= The highest rank that a courtesan could reach.
Oiran-dōchu= A parade that took place everytime an oiran went to meet a client.
Katakashi no otoko-shu= A young boy that walked beside the Kiran during the oiran-dōchu to let her lean on his shoulders for support.
Shinzo= Young courtesans that trained under the oiran's vigilance.
Ochaya= The tea house in which the oiran met the client.
Sanmaiba geta= High shoes the oiran wore.
Chapter 2: First Meeting
Notes:
Hello! Sorry if it took a bit but school and exams are taking quite a lot of my time.
In this chapter, you will see Ivlis and Emalf get referred to with female pronouns. That's because they are dressed up as females and usually courtesans were not males....usually ;).
Once again PistreloVale helped me a lot with this chapter so it came to be also thanks to him❣️
P.S. I want to thank everyone for the support 💖 you guys are amazing 😭💖💖 A big shout-out goes to Vega! Check out the amazing fanart they did:
https://twitter.com/Vegarex_art/status/1400837989022961671?s=19
I love it, it's done so well❤️❤️❤️ Really, thank you a lot🙏💖
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"I do not like him already."
Ivlis had been sitting down waiting for his client for way too many minutes for his tastes, his legs hurting for the sitting position he had been in for the whole time. At least, all the pigs that came to see him didn't waste any second, especially after all the money spent. Yet, this new client had apparently decided to do a little parade to show off -at least, this was what he heard from one of the workers at the tea house-, as if the fact that he bought an oiran's time wasn't already something extraordinary that could bring envy to many.
If Ivlis could, he would have already turned him down, not looking forward to see his client's face for he would have had an hard time trying to not punch him. Oh he was getting so much stressed and pissed that he even abandoned the uncomfortable position to let some tension abandon his shoulders; however, this little break didn't last much since Poemi, the youngest of Ivlis's shinzo, caught the oiran's attention by gasping aloud;
"They are coming!"
She had spent the last minutes with her ear pressed against the sliding door to listen to every noise, too impatient to wait the client in her seat. She was a young and energetic girl of age 14, whose vivacious smile always managed to bring ease to Ivlis's heart, enough to consider her close to a daughter. She too happened to be an han'yō, together with Emalf, other shinzo that always accompanyed the oiran.
"And they seem to be a lot from the noises," Poemi mumbled while adjusting her own kimono, careful to look as much presentable as possible to avoid any scolding from her dear Buriran-sama, who she admired a lot.
'Alright...' on the other hand Ivlis thought to himself to calm down his nerves, even closing his honey-like eyes to collect all of his thoughts, '...time to get to work.'
He needed to be completely expressionless, as his main duty was just to show off his own beauty, rising even more the client's desire to possess him: too bad that it wasn't going to happen.
That's when the door bursted opened, causing a way too loud sound to echo in the room, followed by the noises of the steps of one....no, three...no...ten men entering the room.
'This is going to give me an headache.'
If Ivlis didn't have to maintain a stoic expression, he would have sighed aloud, especially for how he noticed how all men were -unfortunately for him- han'yū, all of their horns proudly standing on their heads. Why was that so terrible? Well, all of his previous clients that happened to be han'yū were overly narcissistic and confident in themselves, enough to sound unpleasant and boring to be with. Surely those ten men weren't too different from the previous clients that Ivlis had the misfortune of meeting. Maybe with some luck they were going to pass out after some drinks.
That's when Ivlis noticed a tall man entering the room with a solemn pace, his left arm standing right on the katana's scabbard, which was completely black and adorned with leaves drawn with gold. He seemed to have a slim figure, while his clothes looked quite fancy: it was a kimono made of the finest purple fabric, colour quite unusual to wear, especially when meeting an oiran. It wasn't hard to guess how he was an eccentric figure. However, what most caught Ivlis's attention was surely his face: his eyes were big and purple, shining in clear arrogance, while his hair were as dark as the night. But the most difficult detail to ignore was surely how the man had two big horns that resembled small trees, so peculiar in colour and shape.
It was quite obvious how he was the client, not only for the smug smile adorning his features, but also for how all the other ten men had moved at his sides, forming a path that would have brought him to the oiran. It was clear how he was sure to have everyone under his fingers; pity that Ivlis wasn't feeling flattered in the slightest by the new guest, seeing him just one of the many.
He wasn't anything special.
"Welcome young masters!"
Soon the high voices of the two shinzō resonated in the room, followed by a bow. They were always so respectful, truly diligent apprentices, even if Ivlis had to admit that the times in which he scolded them were more than the ones he praised them. At least, they had learnt how to treat costumers correctly.
What none expected was how the main client had the guts to ignore the two young shinzō and smile directly at the oiran, stepping on all the rules and boundaries that everyone -who willingly and who grumpily- strictly followed;
"What's the name of this oiran? Is it Beauty-san by any chance?" he stated with a smug smile on his face, surely proud for the name he had come up with, at which some of the other men snickered, encouraging that broken humour.
"I only heard some voices about your exquisite pretty face and I am more than happy to witness that I wasn't lied to."
More laughs followed his words, some men looking back at forth between the tall man and the oiran, who on the other hand looked as stern as ever, no emotions showing in his eyes: that situation was enough to confirm Ivlis's suspicions.
"It's Buriran-san, young master," Poemi immediately interrupted the chorus of laughter with an innocent smile, trying to cover up her frown: it wasn't that rare meeting men as arrogant as the one proudly standing there and the only way to deal with them was showing a smile, the most powerful weapon of a courtesan.
Luckily she managed to catch the attention of the black haired man, even if there were no signs of his mischievous expression fading away, almost anticipating his next words;
"Then will this Buriran-san entertain me? I have come a long way to see the oiran so I expect the best of the best for me and my men."
As a way to underline his words, the man that didn't even reveal his name sat down, right in front of Ivlis, his hand resting on a tea table. He acted exactly like the type of person that didn't follow any type of rules, imposing whatever he wanted on the others, expecting to be served and reverenced: this was the exact impression that the oiran got, his claws clenching on the sleeves of his kimono in frustration; he definitely looked forward to the third day if it meant to be able to turn the smug asshole down.
Luckily Poemi seemed to have learnt from all the scolding she received along her career, her smile not fading away even if provoked by the impertinent and cocky smiles of the eleven men, especially of the one that acted like their boss.
"I will be the one serving you today, young masters," the girl stated and bowed her head to the arrogant man, her movements followed by Emalf as well, whose eyes couldn't help but gaze over the oiran a few times, in search of any type of silent indication, only to be met by a look that clearly told him to behave: upsetting the client would have only done worst, especially in that moment of slight tension.
In any case, at the young girl's statement, the black haired man simply widened his smile and rised an hand up, soundly snapping his fingers to call the attention of all the other ten men, only a simple murmur leaving his lips as he fleetingly gazed at the oiran: "We shall start then."
"Finally! I was getting bored," a blue haired man sighed loudly as he sat beside his -apparently- superior, followed by another one of his companions, who on the other hand looked more annoyed;
"Shut up."
His words too sounded enraged, his feminine features contorted in a frown, which only widened as someone else intruded in the conversation.
"Don't get started you two. Let's just enjoy some sake together," a man with a black cotton mask covering half of his face stated, his eyes gazing around in search of something, surely alcohol since his crimson eyes lit up in excitement at the thought of being able to drink.
"Indeed, it's the right moment for some sake!" Poemi followed along with a smile and took a ceramic container she had previously put on her side, elegantly pouring the warm and strong liquid on a small black cup, waiting for the tall purple eyed man to take it and drink it. In truth it was still quite early for some alcohol but the more they got wasted, the faster they could go away, giving some time to rest at the three courtesans.
Ivlis was watching the whole scene in silence, focusing his attention particularly on the client, analyzing him even more carefully: from how he drank his sake and his manners it was as clear as the day that he came from a very important family, not that it mattered since inside the ochaya the oiran was the most important figure, even if more often than not the clients that arrived forgot that particular, bossing the two young shinzō around. Luckily the man he had received had the decency to keep his mouth shut for some time, probably lost in some type of deep meditation.
Unfortunately it didn't last long.
"This sake is superb, almost like the one I drink back in my castle."
Castle? At the new learnt information, Ivlis slightly lowered his gaze down: was he a lord of some sort? That would explain the arrogance that unites all the eleven men sitting in front of him, their loud voices already giving an headache to Ivlis.
Poemi too looked surprised at the new information, her eyes lighting up in genuine interest; after all, it was her first time talking with someone that possessed a castle.
"Is young master's castle big?"
So she asked with excitement, her small body slightly leaning towards the one of the tall man, who simply chuckled and took another gulp of sake.
"It's very very big," he stated with a wide smile, obversing the oiran with the corners of his eyes, making it clear to who in truth he was talking to, "I have enough rooms to let the whole city rest."
"It's amazing young master! You must be very rich!"
The shinzō was the voice of an oiran so Poemi had the responsibility to gather as many informations as possible, especially on how much rich the client was. Even if it was quite clear that he had a good income for how he had paid for ten other men to meet the oiran.
"In fact, I am the richest of all," the man replied and shifted his cup closer to the girl, encouraging her to pour more.
'What a joke,' Ivlis simply thought as he listened to the client, fighting the strong need to roll his eyes. He wasn't believing one bit that he seriously was the richest in the city: surely he was just the first son of some important family that liked to stretch about what doesn't exist, nothing else. If only he didn't need to keep silent the first two appointments, he would have already snickered sarcastically at the arrogant big baby he had the unfortune to listen to; it didn't matter how he was sitting far away, he could still hear every single word and catch all the gazes he was receiving.
That's when suddenly another one of the other ten men pointed his finger towards Emalf, a menacing smile appearing on his face as began talking, loud enough to be heard clearly by everyone;
"Since we are so many, I think the other shinzō should serve me," he stated while moving his finger in circles, as if trying to outline Emalf's face, who on the other hand looked visibly bothered by that sudden attention.
"Heheh Dokugai you are scaring her," a man with his eyes covered snickered after observing the scene in silence, getting cut off by a seemingly young boy, his black tail weaving around innocently as he pondered aloud: "Why scaring? I don't see anything bad in his proposal."
His words were hiding a clear hint of malice, only making Emalf panick and sweat more, his eyes searching for Ivlis's help, who on the other hand kept on staring at his client: he had to learn what to do in these situations alone.
Luckily the young shinzō got -accidently- helped by the murmur of a long haired man sitting in the corner, his red eyes staring right into his own cup of sake;
"I would like to be served by the oiran..."
Surely his words were meant to be a thought getting lost in the loud atmosphere, not expecting for his blue haired companion to pick it up, a loud laugh leaving his mouth as he stated: "Then go over the porcelain doll and get the honour to talk with her."
Not only Ivlis's gaze became sharper at being called a «porcelain doll», even the main client frowned in displeasure and put his cup down.
The air got tense all over again, silence suddenly falling, if not for the sounds of cups being filled by a nervous Poemi that decided to watch the scene without muttering a word: the fate of a courtesan was truly unfortunate since, no matter how much she would have liked to be loud and intrude in that discussion, Poemi couldn't say anything, if not to compliment the clients and encourage them to spend more on them.
"Who gave you the right to speak?"
Suddenly a cold voice cut the girl's thoughts, for a moment fearing that it was meant to her for accidentally saying her thoughts aloud. Yet, when she rised her gaze, she saw a goat-looking han'yō staring down the men who had previously spoken, a chill causing her to slightly tremble.
"What? Aren't we here to part-"
"Who.gave.you.the.right.to.speak?"
The man kept on menacingly scold his companions, his anger rising at every word they said, until the long haired man sighed loudly and murmured: "I was just saying..."
Once again, Ivlis watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes in silence, not looking particularly interested in the two men getting scolded. Instead, he gave some furtive gazes at his apprentices to make sure everything was fine with them: one false move and the situation could get immediately worst.
"Well well."
That's when the sound of two hands clapping echoed in the room, followed by the assertive voice of none other than the main client, his purple eyes meeting the crimson ones of the angered man, "it's true that we are here to party, Envi."
At getting called, Envi looked a few times back and forth between the two scolded men and the black haired han'yū, a small sigh leaving his lips as he muttered: "Yes, my Lord."
"But,"
Yet, the client didn't seem to have finished in his discourse, his eyes immediately meeting the ones of the oiran, locking gazes to make sure he was getting listened to, "it's also true that I am the only one that will be served by the oiran."
He looked overly confident in himself, his words only angering more Ivlis, who was clenching his fingers on the sleeves so hard that for a moment he thought he was ripping his kimono apart.
"After all..."
He was doing it on purpose, just to rise the tension in the room, even if the oiran had to admit that he was feeling quite curious to know what else the arrogant man was going to say, maybe for once something intelligent leaving his lips that night.
"...I am Satanick-sama."
As the name reached his ears, Ivlis widened his eyes and stared in disbelief at the man, because he...
....didn't have any idea of who he was.
Was this Satanick so arrogant to seriously think that everyone knew? Plus, what kind of name was that? It sure was as particular and exuberant as the man himself, who at the moment was smiling all proudly to himself, as if he had just revealed an important information.
Pity that Ivlis was going to forget his name by the end of the night.
Probably noticing the fake astonishment on the oiran's face, Poemi immediately exclaimed «Satanick-sama!» to catch the man's attention, fearing that the he was going to understand how much unflattered Ivlis actually was. She as well had no idea of who it was and so did Emalf, who slowly pulled a shamisen from his side, finally taking an initiative for the night.
"Since Satanick-sama is here we should celebrate with a song!" he kept going with a wide smile on his face, his proposal causing for Satanick to rise his cup in pride and exclaim: "Now we are getting somewhere!"
The two young shinzō could feel their back drenched in cold sweat, especially for they had the attentions of eleven different men on them, waiting for some sort of great spectacle; at least, theu managed to shift the attention of everyone from who was the arrogant client, avoiding any type of hostility.
"The first song will be for my oiran," Satanick turned once again his gaze on Ivlis, staring at him even as he drank his sake, blissfully unaware of how the oiran was thinking about breaking all the rules and give him a piece of his mind, but no...he had to resist; after all, the eleven men were supposedly going to drink so much that in a few moments they were going to be sleeping on the floor.
Yes, at least he was going to have some rest....
...or maybe not.
It had probably been hours since Emalf proposed a song, only to end up doing a whole performance with some of the men that were now laying down on the floor, completely fatigued by all the singing and drinking. What was the problem with that? That only Satanick -alongside Envi- was the only one left standing, filling the entire room with futile chatters on how he «was so great» or how «much rich he was», enough to «buy the entire Yuukaku», according to what he said.
There seemed to be no end to the man's arrogance, only getting more and more on Ivlis's nerves, who was thinking about seriously getting up and slap an hand over his mouth, just to shut him up. At least, it was entertaining seeing this Satanick brag about his perspicacity when he still didn't understand how «his dear oiran» was a male, keeping on refering to him by using female pronouns.
What a windbag.
"Satanick-sama seems to be so strong and talented!" Poemi chirped and clapped her hands in fake glee, reciting a script she had to use with all the clients to make them feel welcome enough that they felt the need to come back: Satanick was no exception.
"You are correct. I have trained all my life so I am the most talented man you can ever meet," the man laughed to himself in reply, "I could let you assist to one of my trainings sometim-"
"Satanick-sama."
However, apparently the oiran wasn't the only one that had gotten extremely tired of all that empty chatters, since soon the han'yō called Envi got up from his seat and observed his Lord with a stern gaze.
"What is it Envi?" Satanick asked while turning around, meeting the crimson eyes of the other man, clearly not pleased for getting interrupted like that when he was trying to not-so-indirectly show off to the oiran. Yet, the subordinate didn't seem too much bothered by his master's tone, keeping on with his discourse;
"Lil-san is waiting for you."
'Lil-san?'
At the name Ivlis frowned his eyebrows, wondering if it was going to be his saviour for the night: the simple idea of finally getting away from the grip of the overly talkative man was giving way too much adrenaline to be able to sit still for longer.
"Oh but I still haven't got to fully enjoy the company of these good ladies."
'You have been here for enough hours.'
Oh Ivlis was begging for him to get away, feeling himself reach the limit of endurance. He had already met arrogant clients but this Satanick was on another level, especially since he always managed to make any discourse about him.
"Oh but young master! We have plenty of time to spend together," Poemi intruded, she as well feeling too tired to be able to resist any longer: that man was just too much.
"Next time we can play a game together," Emalf intervened as well, both shinzō following a clear objective: making sure that Satanick was coming back.
Luckily at the proposal the man seemed quite pleased, a satisfied smile forming on his face as he got up.
"Fine, so shall it be," he stated while looking at Ivlis for what could have been the hundredth time that day, once again receiving back an expressionless gaze; in fact, as much as the oiran was tired, he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of receiving any sort of reaction.
"What about the others?" suddenly the loyal servant asked, turning around to look at the rest of the group all passed out on the ground, a scene that could be considered pitiful since han'yū were supposed to be stronger at drinking...what a big lie.
However, Satanick simply shrugged his shoulders, looking more entertained than bothered by all that.
"They are big enough to find the way home alone," he began while walking towards the door, stopping in his tracks only to gaze back at Envi with a mischievous smile, sparkles lighting up his purple eyes as he said: "Consider it a little payback for their words of before."
At those words the goat-looking man simply stared in silence at his Lord, not even bothering to mutter a protest; he looked quite used to initiatives like that one.
"Well," lastly Satanick began while staring intensively at the oiran, "see you next time...Beautyran-san."
What?
How did he still dare?
If it wasn't for the fact that he had disappeared immediately after his impertinent words, Ivlis would have already screamed at him, his eyes almost spurting out flames in anger: who did that Satanick think he was for calling him so freely «Beautyran-san» and for mangling his already terrible name?
Usually Ivlis should have waited for all the men to leave the ochaya but that day he was particularly tired, his legs begging to be stretched after hours of just motionless sitting down.
"Buriran-sama?" Poemi pondered in surprise as she watched the oiran walk towards the door, uncaring of the men he was stepping on, only stopping to stare back at his apprentices, his lips moving almost imperceptibly to mouth a clear order: "Let's go."
He wasn't going to stand there a minute more, not when he seriously risked to hurt someone in anger; after all, he had been disrespected enough that day.
That's why Ivlis didn't hesitate walking away, deciding to wait for the two shinzō outside, waiting for the chilly air to calm him down a bit.
He only wanted to go to bed and hope that the remaining two dates were going to pass as fast as possible, so to be able to reject that arrogant wastrel.
Notes:
Glossary:
Sake= it's an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting rice.
Shamisen= It's an ancient musical instrument with three strings.
Chapter 3: Konpira Boat Boat
Notes:
I apologize if it took so long to post another chapter 🙏🙏 I am still trying to find a way to adapt to my new lifestyle! In any case, I hope you all are going to enjoy this new chapter. ❤️
As a reminder:
S͟a͟t͟a͟n͟i͟c͟k͟, L͟i͟l͟ a͟n͟d͟ t͟h͟e͟ S͟u͟b͟o͟r͟d͟i͟n͟a͟t͟e͟s͟ u͟s͟e͟ f͟e͟m͟a͟l͟e͟ p͟r͟o͟n͟o͟u͟n͟s͟ w͟i͟t͟h͟ I͟v͟l͟i͟s͟ a͟n͟d͟ E͟m͟a͟l͟f͟ b͟e͟c͟a͟u͟s͟e͟ t͟h͟e͟y͟ d͟o͟n͟'t͟ k͟n͟o͟w͟ t͟h͟e͟i͟r͟ r͟e͟a͟l͟ i͟d͟e͟n͟t͟i͟t͟i͟e͟s͟.Good read!💖💖
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
«When the moon is cool—
frogs' croaking
wells up»;
"What a beautiful haiku, Satanick dear. Did you come up with it?"
The sound of a distant wind hitting the delicate leaves of a tree could be heard far away, mixing perfectly with the soft and mesmerising voice of one of the most beautiful women of the country, the embodiment of Sakura petal in both beauty and grace: Lil.
Another han'yō, she happened to be a widow, former wife of the previous daimyo of the city of Owari, who didn't have a long life. Unable to refrain her free spirit, she didn't hesitate before returning to her homeland, only to be once again promised as spouse to none other than Satanick; however, since neither of them wanted to marry already, for one reason or another they both decided to stop their relationship at «good friends».
That's why they often spent their evenings together, breaking all the rules and conventions of their society to the point of scandal, not that Satanick cared about those trivial things.
"It's from a famous writer of our time. I thought it suited the atmosphere," the young Lord stated with a smile on his face, his eyelashes gracefully hitting his cheeks, creating a contrast of light and shadows.
"Truly an intellectual," Lil simply chuckled and drank her green tea, silently admiring the garden the could be seen from the veranda, in which the two dear friends were spending their evening. The atmosphere was quite calm, no sounds breaking the comfortable silence that had set between the two of them, so pleasant that it permitted to recollect all emotions of the day.
So it was no wonder how Satanick let out a pleased sigh.
"You seem to be in high spirits, something good happened?" Lil pondered aloud as she noticed the man spacing out with a dreamy look on his face, suddenly remembering how he was supposed to have some sort of appointment with someone.
At being read so easily, Satanick let out a clear laugh, his purple eyes focusing on the crimson ones of the beautiful woman, which shone with a peculiar light caused by the full moon over them.
"I met an Oiran today. Truly a rare jewel among the women I have met."
"Oh my, was she that pretty for you to say such thing?"
"The prettiest! Her eyes were burning with an intense passion, expressing all those emotions that no word can clearly express."
It was clear how much pleased Satanick was from that first meeting, every sentence he said ending up being a praise for the oiran he had recently met.
"And when I revealed my identity, she looked so impressed. Truly a gratifying reaction," he kept on saying, blissfully in the dark of Ivlis's real emotions, which hid hidden behind the impenetrable mask she chose to wear. Yet, that was exactly what attracted Satanick, seeing in the oiran a way to break out of the ordinary things of life, a simple leisure to indulge in.
"Now I am very curious about this oiran of yours. I would like to see in person those flaming eyes that captivated you ," Lil chuckled and drank some more of her tea, a serene expression on her face, matching the one on Satanick's, who simply replied at his friend with: "Knowing you, you would shamelessly flirt and steal the attention from me."
One thing that Satanick absolutely loved about Lil was how she didn't let convention stop her, always following her heart and desires, especially now that she had learnt what true freedom meant side by side with the young Lord; truly an amazing couple of friends.
On the papers they were still engaged but time was by their side, their souls blessed with longevity. So, nothing was stopping them to do as they pleased for they didn't follow the rules of human society.
"But tell me Satanick dear, what was her name again?" suddenly Lil asked, a more serious expression frowning the pretty features of her face, fully catching Satanick's attention.
"Why you ask?" the no less beautiful man asked, his head tilted in confusion at the sudden question. Did he overlook some important detail?
"Oh no important reason, don't worry. It's just that from how you description of her, she resembled quite a lot a particular oiran that everyone gossiped about."
Still confused about the sudden change of tone, Satanick nonetheless replied to the question with a shrug, feeling quite curious about what his dear friend was going to say; was the oiran that famous? That would explain the exorbitant price of the first date.
"Her courtesy name is Buriran."
"Oh so she is that Oiran!" Lil stated with a new light in her eyes, as if she had just uncovered some enormous secret, "I know a few things about her... interesting things."
Now Satanick was hooked.
Reficul didn't tell him much about the oiran, other than how beautiful she was and that it was going to be an amazing distraction, so he was quite curious to know more, especially since neither Buriran or her assistant muttered a word about their private affairs.
With a mischievous smile and burning eyes, the young han'yō leant his body closer to the one of his friends and muttered with a low and inviting tone: "Go on, you got my attention."
What secrets could the oiran be hiding? Is she involved in some suspicious activity? Or is she a simple commoner that attracted the attention of everyone? Luckily Lil was more than willing to clear any doubt on Satanick's mind.
"From what I know, this Buriran never accepts clients. She is widely known among the merchants for some reason, especially the ones around all Edo."
No clients?
Is she that shy? He should have understood from her gaze, which more than often seemed to be focusing on something in particular; maybe her attraction for the young Lord? What an adorable little thing.
"It only means one thing: I will gladly be her first client," Satanick chuckled with glee and drank some more tea, wondering if the things he heard were real or not; after all, it was better to not fully believe all the informations that arrived from unknown people, for they could be lying out of personal spite toward the costly oiran.
"Obviously they are only some voices I heard long ago. In the meantime the Oiran could have changed as well."
Yet, Lil as well was fully conscious about the idiotic and risk of believing the rumours, so she didn't hesitate before adding some doubts to her previous sentences.
Nonetheless, Reficul had promised Satanick an oiran full of experience that was going to please him to the fullest, so why would his dear apathic friend lie to him?
"Satanick-sama."
However, before the young Lord could think more about it and elaborate his own theory, the goat-looking subordinate emerged from the dark, as if some sort of demon...which wasn't too far from reality since he was a han'yō.
"What is it, Envi?" Satanick gave one last look to Lil before focusing his whole attention on the other man, wondering if he as well knew some interesting informations about the oiran since the timing was that perfect.
"A pile of work just came, directly from the Shogun."
Or maybe not.
"At this hour?" Satanick asked quite surprised about that turn of events, soon the oiran disappearing from his mind to leave space for a more serious subject: his work as a public figure.
"It's about a missing war report. The Shogun needs it by morning," Envi kept going, gulping down the secret worry he felt towards Satanick, whose mood dropped to the ground at the speed of light, going from having a gleeful expression to wearing one of pure annoyance.
The Shogun.
Of course it was going to cause him problems at any given opportunity; it seemed almost like his superior knew exactly when he was calmer and more relaxed, never failing to organise something to completely ruin his mood.
With a scoff leaving his mouth, Satanick began rubbing his temples with one hand, while the other was getting caressed by none other than Lil, who tried comforting the annoyed man with a warm murmur;
"Do not worry Satanick dear. As you work, I promise to heartily support you with my hands and mouth. What do you think?"
"Oh you are as naughty as always."
Luckily the woman's words were enough to make a small smile appear on Satanick's face, a deep sigh leaving his lips: he felt so lucky having such good friend by his side, ready to support him in every occasion.
Lil was truly precious.
"Shall we get going then?" so the young Lord stated while getting up from the pillow on which he was sitting, a pleasant sensation hitting his body as he finally changed position after so long, his muscles naturally stretching.
His main consolation was how the day after Satanick was going to meet the oiran once again, this time trying to gather some more informations by charming the pretty woman and her apprentices. Yes, it was definitely going to be an amazing day.
"Good morning, young masters!"
The cheerful voices of the two shinzō echoed in the tea room, in which exactly thirteen han'yō were sitting all together close to each other, with the only exception of the oiran, who was as always sitting slightly far away from everyone, observing the situation with his observant gaze, which didn't miss even the smallest detail.
That was what most of all had attracted Satanick: Buriran-san's eyes.
Made of pure fire and flames, those eyes resembled the Sun in all of his aspects, firey and glorious. Nothing seemed to go unnoticed under those burning pupils, so profound and clear that Satanick couldn't help but feel a shiver shook his whole body everytime they met gazes, as if their bodies were molding together.
Being an important man...no, the most important man of the entire city, Satanick rarely had something fun to do: his life was divided into work and boring affairs, with nothing really much worthy of his attention. More were the times where he would puff in boredom than the ones in which he did something of truly entertaining.
That's why he came to Buriran.
He needed a little change in his life, something new to experiment that was going to bring him some fun and glee. Oirans were trained to please their clients in all the possible ways and Satanick looked forward to receive the full treatment. In just one more days, Buriran was going to be his, he was more than simply sure about it; after all, who in his right mind would have refused someone as powerful and handsome as he was?
"Where is the sake? I accepted to return here only with the promise of sake."
Suddenly the voice of Yagi, one of Satanick's loyal subordinates, interrupted his Lord's train of thoughts, an hint of impatience marking his words, enough to catch the attention of none other than Edabane;
"You really can't think about anything else eh, Yagi?" the not-so-tall man said with bitterness, his fingers busy with rubbing his forehead to ward off an headache: it wasn't too hard to guess how he didn't want to be there.
"Let's driiink~, last time was so fun."
Yet, not everyone seemed to be too displeased since the same young looking man of the last time -whose name happened to be Hitoki- immediately purred, his arms wrapping around Dokugai's forearm, getting way too touchy for what was considered ethical. Obviously, Satanick didn't mind it, used to those types of demonstrations, even casually leaning his arms behind to better support himself.
He had seen all of his subordinates grow, between moments of sorrow and fragments of happiness, so surely some hugs weren't going to be a scandal to his eyes.
"We brought the best sake for our dear masters!" Poemi exclaimed while taking out the sake, the most expensive on the market, so valuable that only a few could buy it. It goes without saying that Satanick himself had tipped his dear friend Reficul to receive an even higher treatment, one that suited an emperor. Needless to say, it was only a way to show off his wealth, underlining even more how he was going to be the best client that the Oiran was ever going to have.
Beautiful, rich, strong, fun, intelligent: he was all anyone could ever ask for.
No matter how much the subordinates talked, Satanick only perceived them as some sort of background noise, too focused on staring at the Oiran with a smug expression, his purple eyes shining in a dangerous way: Buriran-san was going to be his.
"You are such a good girl. Why don't you drink some too?"
On the other hand, the subordinates were feasting with the sake, especially Yagi who seemed to be on cloud nine, a joyful smile adorning his handsome features. With his good mood back, he even offered some to a clearly uncomfortable Poemi, who was giving some side looks to her companion, only to see him busy staring at the floor, clearly avoiding the gaze of all the men.
'We will discuss about it later, you traitor,' Poemi pettily thought, her claws clenching onto her pink kimono: she hated being left alone to deal with drunkards.
"Isn't she too young for you? You are an old man in comparison."
Luckily the long haired guy -who was none other than Kyou- intervened in the discussion, not because he wanted to save the little girl but for mocking Yagi, not missing the chance to mess with him; at least he ended up making Poemi less restless since the attention had shifted away from her.
"I was only offering a drink or two, who did you take me for?" Yagi mumbled and crossed his arms over his chest, accidentally knocking the cup with the sake over Benihotaru, whose face became so red in anger that it perfectly matched with his hair, a growl leaving his pristine lips;
"Why don't you busy your stupid mouth with drinking more than wasting breath?" he angrily stated while shooting a glare to the white haired subordinate, causing the latter to go from a drunkard's bliss to a clear expression of displeasure and contempt.
"Why don't YOU busy your mouth with something else? Like sucking a d-"
"Oi oi, there are three pretty ladies here so behave."
Well, as much as he wanted to focus only on the Oiran to seduce her with his gaze, Satanick couldn't certainly ignore a little girl in distress, especially when one of his men was about to say something of not-so-graceful for young shinzō to hear.
"Or else, I will have to make sure that you aren't going to taste any sake in a long while," so the young Lord added, much to his subordinates' displeasure, wearing a sly smile to show his malicious intentions. Obviously no one else dared saying anything against it.
Oh the ten dear subordinates.
They never failed to amaze Satanick: he would have never expected to be able to gather ten han'yō with such distinct personalities. Most of the times they were able to cause an headache to everyone, especially when gathered together; yet, the young lord appreciated their extinguished presence, which resembled more a lighting bolt in a clear summer day.
As much noisy as they were, Satanick knew that he could always count on their help, even if most of the times they ended up giving him more work to deal with.
"Young master, why don't you take some sake?"
Before silence could settle in the room, the youngest shinzō gently moved the bottle of sake near the young Lord's cup, a polite smile adorning her soft features: she seemed to be well trained to take care of clients, even if Satanick could see a flame burning inside her pupils, giving away her strong and individual personality.
Surely she must be feeling captivated by him for how burning her gaze was.
"I would love to taste the amazing sake I bought but first, there is something else we need to do...right Beautyran-san?" Satanick stated in reply to the young girl, his words carrying the same dose of insolence of the previous day, once again talking directly to the Oiran, much to the latter's displeasure. He clearly remembered the promise of playing some games together and he certainly looked forward on showing off his abilities; after all, he was most likely going to play with two shinzō, enemies not too hard to defeat.
At the daring words of the smug client, the Oiran didn't even flinch, her expression as calm as always: such an interesting and mysterious woman. How could Satanick not feel attracted to her? Playing hard to get, a challenge he wanted to win.
There wasn't a real reason for him wanting the Oiran's attentions other than entertaining himself in what had seemed to have become a colourless life, with nothing but the usual going on.
Someone as magnificent as him needed some good leisure.
"As amazing as expected from you, young master! Your memory leaves me breathless," the young shinzō exclaimed and clapped her hands with glee, recalling Satanick's attention back, a complacent smile sculpted on his face.
"Oh please, call me Satanick-sama. And I am magnificent indeed," he stated with a self-satisfied attitude, so much pleased that he ignored the subordinates behind his back starting at each other with the corner of their eyes, especially since it only took a pissed look from Envi to make the other nine men straighten their backs and rise their heads.
"Oh...Satanick...sama," the girl hesitantly said while sneakily gazing over her teacher, unsure on how to react at such pompous request, so much typical of a self-centred man, only to be met with flaming golden eyes, which gave a clear message: «Bear with him, you won't see him for much longer».
"Such a big honour, Satanick-sama. I will make sure to treat your name with the highest regards by pronouncing it to indicate your magnificence."
So, all what Poemi could do was take a shaky breath and wear her best smile, going along with whatever the client wanted...for now. Luckily the young Lord saw the girl's behaviour as merely hesitation due to being shy.
"I'm sure you will since it's easy to think about positive things with me."
As pompous as ever, Satanick smiled brightly and stared at the Oiran, once again hoping for some sort of reaction, which didn't arrive in the slightest.
'Woah she must be very good hiding her real feelings,' he even thought amazed, blatantly ignoring how she may just dislike him; after all, no one could resist to his charm.
Or at least, that was what he liked to think.
"Of course Satanick-sama! You are so great!" exclaimed Poemi, frenetically trying to not make Satanick focus too much on the Oiran, "That's why I am curious to see your surely excellent qualities with konpira! I would expect you, young master, to know the rules by heart."
A pleased sigh left Satanick's lips at the compliments received, all the while rising his chin in confidence;
"Obviously, I am the best in this game," he proudly stated as he watched Emalf -the always silent shinzō- pull out the shamisen, a reminder of the nice evening spent the day before; the real show was about to start.
"Go on, Satanick-sama! Let them see who is the best faction of the city!"
Some subordinates cheered from the back, the already drunk voices of different men mixing together as the little box was placed in the table in front of Satanick.
Only Envi seemed to have a frown on his face.
"Let's start then! Ane-chan will sing for us," Poemi added while getting near to the client, making sure to give a side look at the one who has not been speaking the entire night, causing poor Poemi to take care of everything.
"Y-yes...let me...young master," Ane-chan -aka Emalf- stuttered out with a way too high tone of voice, clearly not used at faking to have a female voice. Luckily Satanick didn't seem to mind too much, too busy thinking about his soon glorious victories to notice the other shinzō.
That's how, between drunken chatters which carried the heaviness of the sake and the calm breathing of the Oiran, a somewhat too raspy voice resonated in the tea room, common rhymes following one another.
Konpira boat boat;
The first round had began, the sound of the little box hitting over and over the table clear and loud.
Raise the sail on the ship;
La, La, La, La;
Both Satanick and Poemi were focused on the game, especially the latter, who was hesitant about going all the way in or just let the client have an easy win; after all, a defeat could have knocked some sense into his pompous mind.
Go around Shikoku;
Sanshu Nakanogori;
On the other hand, the young Lord's smug smile didn't falter, his clear voice humming along to the melody with all the calm in the world, overly sure about his imminent victory; after all, he was there to charm the Oiran, so winning would have only helped his cause.
Zouzusan Konpira Daigonken;
Go around again;
'Let's go all the way in,' lastly thought Poemi.
'Time to win this,' contemporaneously thought Satanick.
As the song restarted again, the two han'yō fastened their movements, duelling to the last drop of sweat, getting so immersed into the game that every second felt like hours. It went on for so long that at some point Emalf had even stopped the melody, his throat burning for the restless singing. There were times in which Satanick had lost, scoffs leaving his lips in displeasure, causing for Poemi to slow down and let the other be somewhat in advantage, both giving him a lesson but also keeping his mood as high as possible. At the moment the score was a 4 against 4, the last battle happening without music to accompany it, the desire to prevail strong in both of the players.
Yet, Satanick was so sure...so terribly sure of being close to victory, a final rush of adrenaline going through his body to push him over the finish line, finally winni-
"Satanick-sama."
It took only one sudden word murmured too much close to the Lord's ear to make him snap out of his daze, his flat hand hitting not the box as it should have but the table, a joyful whimper following the noise of the impact.
"Envi! Didn't you see how busy I was? I can't believe it! I was so close from winning this!"
A sob almost left Satanick's lips, his eyebrows frowning in displeasure as the infamous hand was slammed across his forehead;
He had lost.
Yet, Envi didn't seem too much flattered by what had happened, his expressionless crimson eyes staring right into his Lord's ones.
"You still didn't finish the report."
Oh the famous report;
The previous day he got so caught up with Lil that he didn't manage to finish it, delaying even more the mountain of work he had to do. With the promise of finishing it as soon as possible, the young Lord went to meet the Oiran anyway, ignoring all of his responsibility for the sake of some fun.
"I said that I was going to do it once I was done here," Satanick huffed out and leant on one arm, getting even closer to his staid subordinate, who simply stated with a monotone: "It's due tomorrow morning."
It indeed was quite urgent.
And he was more than aware of it.
He hated losing, especially when it could have been avoided.
"Well then, it seems like the game has been ruined."
But sometimes, it was better to not play too much with fire, especially when the report had to be sent to...
"Since this match can be considered null, next time we can play it again, Satanick-sama," Poemi intruded in the discourse to make sure the client wasn't going to be too upset, once again gracefully inviting him back for the third and most crucial appointment...and surely his last. It hurted her pride to say that the match was null but it was better than getting scolded by Buriran-san, who on the other hand was staring at the client with a burning gaze.
'This man is so childish,' the Oiran silently thought to himself as he watched Satanick's expression going from bumped down to overjoyed, exactly as if he was some sort of child.
"You got sharp thinking, young lady. Once again, duties demand for me to be back to my castle...yet, next time I will make sure to make up for my absence," the young Lord stated while getting up from his sitting position, his eyes once again focusing on the pretty Oiran, so beautiful that anyone would have felt breathless when meeting her gaze.
«Soon it will be just the two of us» Satanick's eyes clearly stated, no trace of shame in them, causing Buriran-san to grip on the sleeves on his kimono with gritted teeth, bothered by the annoying personality of the client. Luckily it didn't take much for Satanick to walk away towards the sliding door, this time followed by all ten of his subordinates, some drunker than the others but still stable on their feet. Once again, the black haired han'yō turned to stare at the three entertainers with his haughty attitude, before slightly bowing down his head, for once following the correct mannerisms.
"I will see you soon," he added before walking out, the room finally falling into the most complete and calm silence, no more chatters or noises of cups against cups to break it.
Away from that pompous man and his overly noisy subordinates, Ivlis could feel his body relax, all the anger he had bottled up inside disappearing with a deep sigh...or maybe not.
"I can't stand him, I cannot wait to kick him out. He is stupid, pointless...a true bother. I am wasting my time with him."
Finally the Oiran erupted like a ferocious vulcano, his clenching hand getting slammed against a little tea table beside him.
"And why didn't you talk?" his anger suddenly turned on Emalf, who could feel chills run through his whole being: Buriran-san was truly scary.
"Couldn't you see how Poemi needed an hand? Do something or I will have to punish you... harshly this time."
It wasn't too hard to notice how Emalf almost curling on himself for the whole night, which Ivlis didn't tolerate one bit.
"But they were-" the young boy tried defending himself, his voice cracking in fear when he happened to meet Ivlis' angry eyes.
"But what? Why don't you think about yourself instead? What was that tone of voice? Didn't I train you better? You should start all over again."
"Told you that you were going to finish in trouble," Poemi added to add more salt to the wound of poor Emalf, who was fighting the need to crawl back his room and stay there for weeks; after all, having two han'yō at your throat was always a terrorific experience.
"Yes... Buriran-san, it won't happen again..." so the poor boy stuttered, sweat threatening to drip down his forehead.
"It better be so," Ivlis sighed and said with a calmer tone, too tired to deal more with that situation, so much in need to rest that he even got up from his seat to stretch his arms and legs: it had been an entire wasted evening dealing with a too big child and his infants subordinates. The Oiran still didn't even know who this Satanick was...well, in a few days he was going to forget about him.
"Let's go home," he tiredly murmured before walking towards the sliding door, another sigh leaving his rosy lips, followed by the slow murmur of the two young apprentices, who in synchro said: "As you wish, Buriran-san."
That had been a long day.
Some rest was needed.
Or at least, Ivlis hoped to get some.
Notes:
Glossary:
S͟a͟t͟a͟n͟i͟c͟k͟, L͟i͟l͟ a͟n͟d͟ t͟h͟e͟ S͟u͟b͟o͟r͟d͟i͟n͟a͟t͟e͟s͟ u͟s͟e͟ f͟e͟m͟a͟l͟e͟ p͟r͟o͟n͟o͟u͟n͟s͟ w͟i͟t͟h͟ I͟v͟l͟i͟s͟ a͟n͟d͟ E͟m͟a͟l͟f͟ b͟e͟c͟a͟u͟s͟e͟ t͟h͟e͟y͟ d͟o͟n͟'t͟ k͟n͟o͟w͟ t͟h͟e͟i͟r͟ r͟e͟a͟l͟ i͟d͟e͟n͟t͟i͟t͟i͟e͟s͟.
Haiku= Elegiac Japanese poetry;
Daimyo= Great feudal lord and vassal of the Shogun;
Shogun= The military dictator of Japan;
Konpira= Japanese traditional game. It is played with two players facing each other and alternately touching the box or table between them. If the box is on the table when it is their turn, they must touch the box with a flat hand. If the box is not on the table when it is their turn, they must touch the table with a fist;
Ane-chan= Emalf's courtesy name. It means «Big Sister»;
Konpira boat boat, [...] go around again= Nursery rhymes to play Kompira.
Chapter 4: Nocturnal Meetings
Notes:
Hello! I hope you guys are going to like this chapter! It's a sort of «calm before the storm». Thank you a lot for all the support, I will make sure to post the next chapter as soon as possible ❤️.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Contrary to his already low expectations, Ivlis felt too restless to be able to relax, his head aching at at the many thoughts that revolved around the man he had recently met, so insufferable that the oiran had felt the urge to turn him down the moment he had seen his smug face during the second appointment, and not waiting for the third as it was costume.
Yet, another day had passed, which meant that the next time the arrogant man would have visited, the oiran was going to violently turn him down, shattering all of his expectations as if they were frail glass.
Currently sitting alone in the faint darkness of his room, Ivlis had his eyes closed to be able to gather some calmness in his tired mind, his lips drawing a thin line on his face for the contempt he felt for this work of his, in which his value was measured with a currency. At least, Ivlis could consider himself lucky for how he had managed to receive the quitest chamber in the entire structure, placed on the highest floor, away from any sort of fuss, especially the one that arrived directly from the street, which was as busy as ever during the night. Instead, the room faced a pretty silent garden, a typical Japanese one, in which the faint sound of fishes swimming in a pond echoed together with the foliage of the trees getting shaken by the nocturnal breeze.
The problem was that the only window present in the room, which even lead to a small balcony, was closed by bars made of steel, in an attempt to prevent him from running away. It hadn't always been like that, once the wide window free to usage, but during his third year stuck in that infernal place Ivlis had taken the habit of escaping, aimlessly walking around for entire nights until an extremely pissed Reficul found him...or well, her workers found him since the white haired woman wouldn't have gone to the extreme of going out herself.
At first it wasn't like that for he was sure his family was going to take him back as soon as possible, using the training as an oiran as an excuse to help Ivlis receive an high instruction; however, after two years spent waiting to be taken away, the young man gave up and decided to try escaping multiple times...without success.
"What a pain," Ivlis couldn't help but murmur under his breath at the memory of his failures, a loud and not so graceful sigh leaving his lips. He would have liked to live a tranquil existence but it didn't seem possible; he was faited to remain stuck into that place for the rest of his existence. He didn't want to take in any client, exactly how he wasn't going to marry some rich man and run away like that, preferring death than giving away his body.
"What's so painful?"
Suddenly another voice joined in to the silence inside of the dark room, low enough to make the oiran shudder, his hands gripping onto his kimono under the long sleeves.
"...good evening Reficul-sama."
He did not need to turn around to know who it was, that voice too familiar to be mistaken for someone else or cause any sort of doubt; plus, after ten years of forced employment it's only natural to be able to recognize the owner even by just the sounds of their steps.
"It's nothing important," he stated with a calm and yet cold tone, drawing an invisible line between himself and the woman, not so keen on welcoming her into his deepest thoughts. On the other hand, not even Reficul seemed to be too interested in knowing what was going on inside of the oiran's head, simply humming in reply as she rested her body against a wall, folding her arms over her chest.
"How did it go with the client?" she then asked, straight to the point; after all, why would she come to visit the oiran out of nowhere if not for something work-related?
Yet, Ivlis didn't reply, too many emotions to express and not enough words for them: how could he efficiently say how much insufferable, unbearable and intolerable that man was? How could he manage to explain the terrible behavior of that arrogant and conceined cad? At the simple thought of that man, Ivlis' eyebrows twitched in displeasure, anger rising in him; it wasn't that he never met those types of clients, many the nights he spent gritting his teeth to resist the temptation of lashing his frustrations on some of them, but for some reason that Satanick managed to hit every single nerve of his.
Oh how much he would have loved to forget his name, his face, his existence, everything about him! For the whole time they were together, the other opened his mouth only to boast about his «many talents» or his wealth even for a second, his mouth never shutting up to let some decent silence settle in, despite the noisy subordinates also making a fuss.
Who even was he to have so many subordinates in the first place?!
"Oh? Did he get on your nerves? It is understandable."
With the silence speaking louder than any words could, Reficul understood immediately what was going on inside of the oiran's head, not even needing to look at him in the face for how easy she could tell his displeasure by the way his shoulders looked tense and his body twitched, as if he was trying to keep himself from insulting the client too vehemently, not because he cared for the other man's image, but only to avoid a worsening of his already aching headache.
With no reply received, the two han'yō let the tension grow, each busy with different and yet complementary thoughts; Ivlis could sense how there was something weird about that whole situation, Reficul's eyes almost tearing his back apart for their intensity. What even was her business there? Why would she care for his opinion on the client?
Many were the doubts arousing in Ivlis' mind, an inexplicable sensation of coldness on his back making him shudder, enough for him to turn around and face his boss in a not so graceful way, sure to find some sort of katana pressed against him.
Luckily, or maybe unfortunately, Reficul was still staring at him from the wall, her eyebrows rised in a questioning look, which soon was scrolled away;
"In any case, tomorrow he will return for another appointment, so you better keep him for the disgusting amount of money he has," the white haired woman said without hesitation, her expression clearly showing how she wasn't going to take a «no» as reply, much to Ivlis' annoyance.
Yet, the oiran had already decided: he was going to turn down...no, brutally refuse that man, no matter how much wealthy he was.
On the other hand, brushing off Ivlis' glare from herself, Reficul straightened her back and rested her arms along her sides, stating with a monotone voice: "He might be annoying but you are as well, and I still keep you. After all, you have to pay me back all the ryō..."
'Do not say it...do not say it,' the oiran pled in his mind as he understood what Reficul was hinting at, the weird coldness just a premonition of it;
"...that I gave to your father."
A sharp pain traveled from the man's brain to his stomach, a pressing sensation on his guts making him feel like throwing up. No matter how much time had passed, no matter how many new people he has met, the scars of his past were still as fresh as the day they were engraved in his heart, in his soul, the memories of a long lost past flashing in front of his golden orbs all at once as he felt his body ache in pain at the simple mention of his relative.
"...May I be excused?"
Biting his tongue to not lash out on the woman, the young oiran lowered his gaze to the ground, sucking in the tears that threatened to spill out at any given moment. He couldn't bear to stay anymore with the woman, his stomach throbbing at the simple thought of listening to more unpleasant things; that's why he silently waited for his permission to go away, in any other room, not in the mood to have any other type of discussion with Reficul. He didn't care where he was going to: he just wanted to be alone.
However, before the oiran could say something more or walk out the room, a loud sigh echoed against the walls, followed by a simple, cold murmur, void of any kind of warmth: "Don't move airhead, I will just excuse myself. Take a rest, tomorrow will be an important day for you."
Without waiting for the other to reply, Reficul walked out of the room, closing the sliding door behind her back, soon immersing her body into the darkness of the hallway, which gulped even the whiteness of her hair.
"Ugh..."
A loud grunt left Ivlis' lips as he felt his brain pound against his skull, a strong pain leaving him breathless. He couldn't understand if his blood was boiling or freezing in his veins, the only thing he was sure of was the deep hatred that was erupting inside of him. His eyes were filling themselves with bitter tears, each of them expressing his frustation and sadness.
Siralos-sama...
Why would he...
It hurted, it hurted too much just thinking about it. So it was no wonder how soon the oiran found himself silently bawling his eyes out without any care of being heard, sobbing quite inelegantly while pressing his face on a wet cloth he had previously used to take off his make-up before Reficul had decided to walk in. That one man that once was his comfort, his light, had fully become the reason behind every single one of Ivlis' tears, a trigger always in risk to be pulled. If only things could return to how they were once...
Clang Clang
That's when the sound of a metal object getting hit echoed all over the room, causing for the crying man' heart to beat loud and fast in surprise, frozing in his sobs and movements to listen carefully in search of any other sound;
Clang Clang
"...who is it?" the oiran pulled his face up from the wet cloth, his teary eyes attentively scanning around the room in anxiety; usually he didn't act paranoid with simple things like that but the discussion with Reficul had left Ivlis with a bad sensation hovering over him, enough for his mind to play tricks on him, such as the image of one of the clients the flame han'yō had refused trying to barge in to take his revenge on the oiran, doing exactly what Reficul had warned Ivlis about everytime he turned down someone.
It was enough to make the oiran shudder in disgust.
However, once he had focused his attention towards that one window that connected that room to the outside world, Ivlis widened his eyes and let a gasp leave his lips, the realization of what was happening quickly hitting him;
"Igls?!"
Surprised and uncaring of his messy appearance, the young man jumped on his feet, his own legs trembling as he admired the spotless face of his own sister getting kissed by the moonlight.
"Ivlis..." the girl murmured with a smile, at which the oiran hurried over the window, every rashed step marked by the beating of his heart, stopping in front of those bars that blocked him from fully grasping his sister, only able to touch the woman's fingers.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? Things have been hasty recently," Igls commented while doing her best to caress her brother's digits through the bars, letting her fingers brush against the scaly ones of the other.
"It has..." Ivlis replied with a raspy tone, trembling under the cold skin of his sister, so different from his warm body. Even if, Igls' hands felt rough, not as smooth as they used to be, causing for the oiran to rise an eyebrow;
How hard has she been working? Were things going well?
Many were the questions Ivlis would have liked to ask and yet no sounds were coming out of his mouth. His lips were closed shut, busy fighting with the tremble that made him restless, tense and on edge. Not too long after Ivlis had began working under Reficul, Igls was sent over the daimyo's troops with the assignment of working as a soldier. Usually the first sons of important families were the ones sent to the troops but Ivlis was sold by their father to become an oiran, causing for Igls to hide her real identity and disguise herself as a man ready to serve the daimyo when needed.
So it was no wonder how Ivlis could only feel worry when he thought about his sister, especially when they were able to meet in secret only a few times per year.
"Brother..." suddenly the calm tone of his sister caught the young man's attention, "perhaps...did something happen around here? I've heard the daimyo had recently visited this part of the district and...seeing you like this...what happened?"
There was hesitation in her words, mixed with clear worry as she observed the silvery trails left by the tears on her brother's face, her heart clenching at the thought of Ivlis getting hurt in any way.
'The daimyo?' on the other hand the man thought while tilting his head to the side, 'Maybe that's why recently the streets seem to be treeling with people.'
"I am okay, it was just a tiring day. I had a parade and then an appointment..." he tried saying with the calmest tone of voice he could manage to do, keeping the burden of being a sex worker inside...or at least, this was what he would have liked to do, but he really wasn't fooling anyone, the casual cracks when he spoke a clear give away of his real emotions to his sister.
"...I miss you Ivlis, there is not a day where I wish that things would have gone the way they were supposed to..."
Hearing his name being called with that frail tone had Ivlis biting hard his bottom lip to refrain himself from once again bawling his eyes out, failing miserably for how big tears soon returned to wet his pearly face: how could he be able to keep a stern face in front of his sister? Especially when that tone was quite unexpected from her, so different from her calm and sweet one which always managed to somewhat brighten the mood. It was no wonder how Ivlis felt completely caught off guard.
"... Igls...this is how things were supposed to be," the young man said weakly as he tightened his grip on the women's hands, the want to hug her so overwhelming that he felt himself shake. How long has it been since last time he had properly been beside his sister? Too long to even remember...
After his first two years as an oiran in training, with the realization of never going to get sent back home, Ivlis ran away during a cold night, the desire to be bathed by the warmth of his father too strong to resist. And yet, just as he arrived where he once lived, Siralos -his dear and gentle father- looked at him with sheer disgust, clear anger shining in his golden orbs as he observed the one he once called son with contempt.
Not even his sister seemed happy to see him that night, mostly because their father had called the guards when she happened to be on patrol, making the two siblings reunite in what couldn't be called an ideal situation. The brushing of their bodies as they walked side by side all the way back to the Yūkaku was the last time they have been so close to each other.
It had been also his last attempt at running away.
"I..-"
Thinking about that night was enough for the oiran to feel himself suffocate, the cold eyes of his father impossible to forget. In addition, at the memory of the pensive and troubled expression on Igls' face, Ivlis was starting to feel somewhat hesitant on the present, his eyes focusing on their hands still interwined. Yet, the more he stared, the stronger his desire to pull them away grew, making his fingers twitch. Bitter and unsure, Ivlis slowly tried pulling his hands away with a tremble, stopping only when something else caught his attention;
"Buriran-sama? Is everything okay?"
Suddenly a woman called from outside the door, her voice reaching clearly Ivlis' ears, making the two sibiling jump in their skins for the surprise; they must have heard them talk.
"I am getting ready for bed, so please keep your voice down," Ivlis quickly replied while definitely slipping away from the grip of his sister, immediately jumping on his feet in case someone decided to suddenly barge in, waiting in silence for the steps of the young girl to fade off before looking at Igls all over again;
"You have to go now, if they find you then..."
It hurted saying goodbye like that, a part of him just begging to be with his sister for more, but the wounds of his past were starting to hurt all over again, enough for the man to feel a strong wave of emotional pain violently hit him.
"Ivlis..." Igls hesitated, weakly stretching her hand towards her brother, letting her digits brush against the cold bars that separated the two of them. She wanted to stay with Ivlis, to hug him and cry together as a way to support each other, and yet the trembling body of her brother was enough to make her hesitate, immediately catching the hidden meaning behind his words. That's why, after some more silence spent in hesitation, the blonde girl took a deep breath and mumbled: "I will come back soon. Please, rest..."
"...thank you," the oiran weakly whispered under his breah as he gave a fast and saddened smile to his sister, waiting for her to disappear into the night before finally relaxing his muscles, all the tears he had been fighting to keep in violently bursting out, followed by loud whimpers and hiccups.
There wasn't going to be rest for the poor oiran.
"What's the meaning of this?!" the voice of the oiran echoed in the entire room, his displeasure clear and loud in his words. Exactly how foreseen, Ivlis didn't close his eyes for the entire night, if not when the Sun was already bathing the city grounds with his rays, waking up from that slumber that he had been so desperately searching for the past hours, bringing in a new day that was going to reveal itself to be crucial for the oiran's life.
Completely alone in the tea house, Ivlis stated in annoyance at the objects placed over the table in front of him, near a pot filled with sake, ready to be consumed. Already irritated for being forced out of the warmth of his futon when rest was all he wanted, not only the oiran had been forcefully dressed for another sudden appointment -the third in a row!-, but he was now sitting in an empty room completely alone with his thoughts.
And that was all because of the pair of chopsticks placed near a tray on the table, whose meaning was too clear.
At the third meeting, when the oiran accepted the client as costumer, he became a najimi, someone always welcome to come and meet the oiran. To formalize such thing, the customer received a tray and a pair of chopsticks with his name on them.
The higher the rank of the client, the more expensive the chopsticks were going to be.
Usually Reficul didn't bother to buy such things since Ivlis turned down every single client he met, making the chopsticks only a waste of money. Yet, for some reason, Satanick's name was incarved on the pair placed on the table, managing to irk Ivlis to the fullest.
'That bastard...no way in hell I am going to accept him as client.'
With this thought in mind, Ivlis grabbed the chopsticks and the tray, observing them with sheer anger. At first he wanted to turn down the arrogant man just because he disliked his guts but now...now it was personal; the fact that Reficul wanted him to accept that pompous man as a client only fueled more his desire to break down the man's expectations. He knew that their meeting of last night was weird, exactly how he couldn't explain how the white haired woman could grant someone the permission to come three days in a row without notice.
And to not forget how Ivlis' shinzō weren't there with him, something quite unusual. Did the man pay more to be completely alone? Or was Reficul fully on the client's side? Either way, he felt more angered than the usual, more annoyed than he has ever been with any other costumer.
Reficul may have tried to make him obey by making him remember his past and his duties. However, she forgot one little detail: Ivlis had nothing to lose, only Reficul had.
His debt was already too high to be paid with just one client and if the woman decided to punish him...well, that was going to be only her loss.
Yes...that was it.
Nothing was going to change his mind.
As a scoff left his lips, Ivlis took a deep breath and energetically threw the objects in his hand behind a curtain, away from his sight: they were too unbearable to look at for the meaning they held.
Many were the times in which Ivlis damned his work as an oiran, especially when he had to sit on the tea house and wait for the client to arrive, but today was going to be different, almost special: third appointment meant full control from his part and the delay of the meeting could be considered a real blessing since he could fix a few things without being noticed beforehand.
The fancy chopsticks with Satanick's name incarved into them and the tray weren't going to see the light of day anymore, exactly how the arrogant man wasn't going to meet the oiran other times.
Slipping his tsuge out of his long sleeves, Ivlis lit it up with his own flames, deciding to rest it against his lips as he waited for the man to meet his fate. He didn't like to smoke but he wanted to show off a little bit, just to at least entertain himself during that meeting. Even if the shocked expression on the face of that annoying man was surely going to satisfy him.
Today he was going to crush that man's pride. Nothing was going to stop him.
Notes:
Glossary:
Ryō= Currency used at that time;
Daimyo= Great feudal lord and vassal of the Shogun;
Najimi= Habitual client of the Oiran;
Tsuge= Typical Japanese pipe.
Chapter 5: Abrupt Realizations
Notes:
We bring another chapter of the Oiran AU! Once again, read the tags before reading since this chapter contains sexual assault.
If you decided to stay, I hope you will enjoy the read! We have worked hard on this new chapter. ❤️
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With an ecstatic glee guiding his steps, Satanick trotted towards the tea house with the typical attitude of someone that felt at the top of the world, no hardships able to take him down. The Sun was slowly setting in the horizon, filling the air with a pleasant warmth mixed with a gentle breeze, which seemed to anticipate the coolness of the night. Everything was bathed in an orangish light, even the young lord himself, who looked as regal as ever as his body slowly rocked back and forth at the trot of the horse, his hair gently swaying for all the movements.
Arrogant, hubristic, smug: many were the adjectives that could describe the expression glued on Satanick's face, and yet none of them could correctly portray the level of self-satisfaction he was feeling at the moment; after all, he was completely sure that he managed to steal the oiran's heart thanks to his looks and rhetorical skills. At the moment he wasn't accompanied by his subordinates like the previous days, if not for Envi that was following him from afar, respecting the decision of his Lord to be immersed into his thoughts without any sort of distraction. Satanick wanted to be completely alone with the oiran, even paying more to make sure the shinzo weren't going to be there, giving some privacy to the two adults to get to physically know each other.
An oiran offered many services, starting with games and intellectual conversations, anything to ease the client's mind. Yet, Satanick was looking forward to more... heated activities, which were offered only to a trusted najimi, a rank he was sure of having obtained during the last days: not only was he rich enough, but he also was the most handsome man Buriran could ever wish to find.
In short, he was the best pick.
A certain dose of impatience rose into Satanick at those thoughts, his hands twitching while holding the reins for the desire to be already with the woman. That's why, once the familiar structure of the tea house reflected in his amethyst eyes, the young Lord couldn't help but speed up the pace, reaching his destination within seconds, as fast as a flutter of his heart.
«Casually,
To see just your shadow,
I passed through
Your house’s gate
Several times»;
Finally in front of the place that would have realized his craving, Satanick couldn't help but whisper one of the many haiku he learnt over the years, a pleased sigh leaving his lips as he jumped from the horse to the ground, lifting up some dust that threatened to dirty his perfectly clean kimono.
"Watch this place and make sure no one comes to bother me," Satanick ordered once his eyes met the crimson ones of his loyal subordinate, who simply nodded his head in approval and replied with his usual monotone voice: "As you order Satanick-sama."
"Good."
Satanick truly felt over the moon, a pleased grin glued on his face as he turned his attention back to the tea house and, without wasting much more time, he walked towards the sliding door, opening it with clear impatience, his movements so sudden and fast that a loud noise echoed in the entire structure.
"Hello Buriran-san," the pleased man stated with a warm and seductive tone, clearly showing his intentions from the start, "your favourite client is here, all for you! Missed me? I am sure you did."
Not even waiting for the permission to walk inside, Satanick closed the door shut behind his back and walked further inside of the room, leaving his geta at the entrance as costume.
'Why isn't she talking?'
Yet, no matter what he did or say, the oiran remained impassive, if not for the casual brushing of the tsuge against her lips, which were coloured of an intense red. Was that a new seduction technique? Because it sure was rising Satanick's libido, his impatient desire to have his hands on the oiran already feeding perverse thoughts in his mind. But no...it wasn't the correct moment; after all, he was there to relax and enjoy his time, so why should he rush things? It was better to just take it slow.
Not too much bothered by that silence and lack of movements, Satanick sat on his usual spot on the tatami, in front of tokonoma, where an incense burner and a vase with a typical ikebana floral composition were placed next to each other. His eyes were scanning the beautiful oiran sitting on the other side of the small table, admiring her delicate features highlighed by the makeup she was wearing, which only managed to give her a more eternal look. It was true that han'yō had an incredible beauty and this oiran was no exception.
Everything seemed to be in place, and yet, the longer he stared around, the more Satanick began realizing how there seemed to be something missing, an object of extreme importance for the client.
"Well, well, is there something you want to tell me?" Satanick asked, trying to get the oiran to talk one way or another, curious to finally hear her voice after all those days of total silence. Surely it was all part of a little game she did to tease the curiosity of her client, just to make things more interesting for the both of them. Or else, why would the key of access to the oh so desired fun Satanick wanted be missing like that?
'Does she only want to chat with me first? How cute,' the black haired man thought to himself as he stared at the beautiful woman, noticing the firey gaze she had, as if she was determined to do something. How much he would have liked to be able to read her mind, surely filled with adorable thoughts on how much she likes him!
"Welcome young master," suddenly the oiran said with a graceful tone after slowly pulling away the tsuge from her mouth, stopping Satanick from nagging her with more questions, "there is indeed something I'd like to tell you."
'Interesting...' the young Lord couldn't help but think in surprise. Not only was she incredibly attractive, but her voice was also seductive, enough to send shudders down the man's whole body. It was the type of tone you would imagine an experienced woman to use, alluring, tempting, one that held many secrets that waited to be uncovered by Satanick's hands, an invitation masked behind enigmatic words that left a pleasant echo in his ears.
"Or...moreover ask you," the oiran kept going unaware of the man's thoughts, his gaze as sharp as a knife, "what is that you find attractive about me?"
'What a surprising question...is she feeling insecure or something? How adorable.'
Satanick felt quite taken aback by such question, a low hum leaving his lips as he folded his arms over his own chest, spending a second or two to search for the most opportune answer to correctly convey his feelings.
"Your pretty face, of course. And the intense look in your eyes, captivating I must say," the smug man said with a wide grin on his face, even winking at the oiran, sure that his words were going to reach her heart, "Refi-chan promised me a mistress worthy of me and oh, I am not disappointed. Your looks perfectly compliment mine, enough to be considered a striking couple."
Puffing his chest in pride at the compliments he was directing to himself, Satanick then raised an eyebrow at the oiran, as if he had just stated the most obvious thing.
"But now let me ask you, are you perhaps asking because it's unbelievable someone like me could pick you?"
With quite the dramatic sigh, the prideful Lord shook his head and continued, "you are prettier than you think, do not worry. You fit perfectly in the role of companion for some nocturnal fun."
Even if his words had the intent to reassure the oiran, it was quite obvious how Satanick was simply complimenting himself, always bringing his qualities into the discourse, sure that it was going to lift the woman's apparent low self-esteem, -truly a delicate flower masked as a strong firey creature-.
"I was not asking because of that reason young master, do not worry about me."
Yet, the oiran didn't waste any second to deny the words of the man, her gaze for some reason appearing even harsher to the latter, leaving him with an handful of doubts: what did she mean?
On the other hand, Ivlis didn't mind the frown that appeared on the client's face, indulging for a few seconds into the thrilling pride arousing inside of himself by pulling a little smoke into his mouth, careful to not inhale it but to just give off a more confident vibe.
"On the contrary it is unbelievable to think how could I pick you as my client," the oiran then stated with a calm tone once he was sure that the eyes of the man were focused on his lips, refraining himself from grinning as he widened his eyes; however, it wasn't for the reason Ivlis was assuming.
What was that?
Satanick blinked in confusion a few times, unsure of what the oiran meant with her words, taking a few moments to let them sink in; being raised to entertain and win over every client, she must know how to hide concealed meanings behind her actions and words, secretly taking the lead in the couple.
"Oh I know," suddenly the client exclaimed as his face lit up, "it must be a surprise to have me in your same room. Do not fear! You are capable of handling me! So no need to think at all...just melt in my arms."
Winking at the end of his discourse, Satanick used one hand to push his unruly black locks out of his face, showing off his vibrant purple eyes, which seemed to shine at the flickering light of the candles lighting up the room.
Slowly, in an almost seducing way, Satanick pushed his hand forward in a clear invitation for the oiran to take it and come over by his side.
"Come here, I can read in your eyes the desire to be touched by me. How can I blame you? Tonight you can be as greedy as you want, I am no one to judge...on the contrary, I accept everything."
There was no need for chopsticks when it was obvious that he was going to be accepted; after all, he was way too irresistible, even without his great wealth.
"I am sure that I can handle you, you are not much of a big deal," however, the oiran coldly replied to the man's suggestions while darting his eyes down to stare with a stern face at the offered hand, clearly refusing to take it through his unchanging expression, without voicing his refusal. On the contrary, he rised once again his eyes to lock gaze with the client, his red tinted lips moving to snarkily say: "then again, I do not read eyes but chopsticks. If you show me a pair that has your name incarved in them then I'll be glad to handle you for tonight."
A sinister light sparkled behind Satanick amethyst-like orbs, his arrogant smile soon turning into a scowl: was the oiran seriously trying to test his patience? Did she think it was going to be fun?
Usually he would have laughed at such bold act, even find it entertaining, but the woman's aloofness and teasing were getting on his nerves; was it all a plot of some sort?
Taking in his hand an empty cup placed on the table, Satanick poured some sake in it and began swirling the liquid around, observing the small waves he had created before deciding to rest his face against his other hand, once again locking gaze with the woman before stating with an icy tone that hid a threat: "The game you are playing right now is not a very smart one, dear Buriran. You sure are a courageous one for testing me like this...but if you tell me where my chopsticks are now, then I may decide to not be too rough on you."
Probably she was feeling the one in power at the moment since tea houses were considered an oiran's realm, so it was no wonder how arrogance was eating the attractive woman from the inside. Yet, she forgot how Satanick was still the most powerful between the two, the one with a dominant authority, affluent enough to buy Buriran's entire existence with a snap of his fingers.
So it wasn't a stretch saying how no one could easily order him around, only a fool would try...and the oiran sure sounded like one. Satanick really couldn't help but feel like that whole situation was beyond belief, his gaze almost icey as he coldly affirmed: "Even if someone like me should be accepted in any case, without the need of some chopsticks...don't you think so too?"
"I am not playing any games young master, these are merely the rules..."
Yet, no matter how much harsh the man's tone was, the oiran didn't even bat his eyes, the only change in his tone that had become weary, almost bothered by their interection, his shoulders tense as he stared with resolution straight into the client's eyes.
"...not that you seem to know them considering how you've been breaking them without regard in front of me, a true sign of disrespect and insolence that is not what I search for in a trusted client."
From his burning gaze alone, it wasn't unexpected how such bold words would have come out of his mouth; however, never in his entire life Satanick would have expected to be so much disrespected from an oiran, his expression immediately changing to one of pure outrage.
Who in their right mind would insult him out of all people? That han'yō...no, that oiran, she wasn't anything else than a foolish idiot, enough to make his blood boil and act impulsively as he stretched his arm out towards the woman sitting in front of him, grabbing one of her shoulders in sheer ire.
"Are you looking forward to get killed?" he warned with an authoritative tone as stared at the oiran's eyes, "did you forget who you are talking to?"
Never in years as a Lord Satanick had he been disrespected this much by someone of an inferior rank, not only with daring words but even with a mocking gaze. He didn't like being harsh on women, always preferring to deal with them with courtesy, but at the moment his anger had rised so much that he couldn't help but be quite rougher than the usual.
"Killed?! What's the meaning of this?!" just like the other man, Ivlis spoke with anger filling his tone, although one that hid fear, in an attempt to show himself neither intimidated or affected by the man's piercing gaze; however it was the complete opposite: during his experience as an oiran, Ivlis had met various types of clients, even quick to anger ones like the one in front of him, but never had a man dared to lay his hands on him like that.
Once again...this egocentric pig proved himself to be the most disrespectful prude he had the misfortune to meet.
"You seem to be the one who forgot who you are talking to...! You'll be in immense trouble for this, are you aware?"
A sigh left Satanick's lips at such rebellion, one that held much more meanings than any word could express, at which the oiran gritted his teeth and tried yanking his body away, in an attempt to escape the way too firm grasp of the man; however, as even his struggling appeared ineffective, Ivlis couldn't do anything else other than shout with quite the fuss: "Help!"
Yet, no matter how much he shouted, no reply arrived...if not from Satanick, who suddenly chuckled in an almost sinister way. Many were the emotions going through the daimyo's mind, all of them strong enough to make him shiver, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he stared with malice at the oiran, his eyes sparkling with hostility. Even if, admist the spite, Satanick had to admit how he was indeed feeling entertained at idea of putting a misbehaving slut in her place.
"Calling for help? Who do you think will come, one of the patrolling soldiers of the daimyo? You are so unbelievably funny," Satanick sarcastically asked while smirking widely, almost dangerously, not thinking twice before wrapping his fingers around the oiran's chin to pull her closer to himself, "why would they obey you when their superior is right here with you? Do you really think they will prefer helping a worthless whore than me, the man they worship?"
His words were as cold as ice, crude in a way, too annoyed to care enough to watch his form, letting his thoughts run free from his mouth; after all, he was dealing with the personification of idioticy itself so how could he stop himself?
"Go on, call for them and you will see who they will pick between me and you. You really must have forgotten your place...oh but I will soon remind you of it."
"...what...?" the oiran murmured with a tremble, her eyes widening as her pupils shrunk, a sight that had Satanick chuckling, proud of how he managed to impose himself, asserting dominance over someone as stubborn as this «Buriran», who on the other hand spouted out more questions;
"Just...who the hell are you?"
It was clear to Satanick how fear was overtaking the woman's anger, all of the emotions clearly showcasing on her face, quite the contrast when confronted to the previous days, when a certain aloofness close to almightiness ruled over her expression. Still, no matter how much fulfilling that reaction was, Satanick couldn't help but feel bothered by a detail, a frown taking over his smirk;
What was the meaning of all that? Was the oiran faking ignorance or was she really genuinely unaware of his identity? But at the revelation of his name she did look taken aback, showing an immediate realization at the shocking news she had received...did he perhaps misunderstand the signals? No, that was impossible: he was amazing at reading people, enough to be considered an understanding man and companion.
He couldn't be wrong!
"Playing dumb won't get you out of this situation," so he growled and finally jumped on his feet, taking advantage of the moment of confusion from the oiran to grab her from the shoulders and push her down, uncaring of the crying yelp that left the latter's lips, too focused on pinning her body down with his own, just to prevent any possibility of escape. Surely that was quite the uncomfortable position for the other han'yō, especially for all the pins adorning her once perfectly styled hair, but at the moment Satanick didn't care, fully absorbed by his own rage.
"You will have to face the consequences of angering the one you should worship the most...the one that works hard everyday of his life to make sure worthless roaches like you live a safe life...the one whomst feet you should kiss," he declared, his purple eyes as dark as a violet, and yet devoid of any sort of vitality, if not for a single gleam of a flaming emotion, one that recalled both anger and pride. It surely could be considered a dramatic discourse, maybe even over the top, but Satanick's displeasure was too great, enough for him to not even notice how his hands were gripping hard on the oiran's shoulders...awfully hard.
"Your daimyo."
A gasp slipped through Ivlis' dry lips, dread taking over him as a sense of coldness made him shiver. That man...was the daimyo? His pushy personality, his pompousness...it all made sense now. Did Reficul arrange all of that on purpose? She knew he was going to turn down the client, so the withholding of information must have been intentional from her part.
Ignoring the oiran's reaction, Satanick grabbed with one hand both of the her wrists to push them over the latter's head, as a way to keep them still and unable to struggle. He had to have some fun, not to fight or rise his voice; that's why he was going to take exactly what he deserved.
Not even the sudden streak of blood that dripped down on the side of the oiran's face -probably caused by one of the pins scratching her scalp- managed to stop him, too annoyed to care.
"...gh...no..."
And not even the sounds of pain that left the woman's lips managed to persuade him to rethink his decision over.
"Where did all your arrogance go?" Satanick snickered under his breath before as he admired the fear reflecting on the woman's eyes, way preferable when in comparison to the smugness of before.
Even if he had to admit that it was a pity that such rare beauty was bleeding, ruining her pretty face.
Oh but being an han'yō she will heal fast, so there was no need to fret over it. Plus, it had been her fault in the first place for acting like a misbehaving whore.
"Do not worry, since I am the nicest man you will ever have the pleasure to lay your eyes on, I will simply have some fun with your body, without hurting you further...how does it sound? I will make sure it feels good for you too."
With quite the fake friendly tone, Satanick reassured the oiran on his intentions, smirking for how much her body was trembling, so slim when compared to the more built one of the daimyo.
How could he resist when he was getting tempted like that?
So, with a wide and menacing smirk glued on his face, Satanick finally moved his other hand down, first pressing his digits against the woman's chest, noticing how much flat it was, quite different from how he had imagined an oiran to be. Yet, at the moment Satanick didn't mind too much, open to all types of bodies and curves.
Anyhow, the daimyo let his hand travel further around, licking his lips as his libido rose at every slid of his fingers, which were indulging against the pristine and exposed neck of the oiran, caressing the skin as he pictured in his mind all the bruises he could leave there, marking the woman as his own.
The simple thought was enough to fire him up again.
That's why, after yanking the collar of the kimono open, enough to fully show the spotless shoulder blades, Satanick pressed his lips against her neck, right under her chin, sucking and nibbling with a certain frenzy until a red dot formed...but that wasn't enough...
Without much control left for the way his mind was too fogged by desire, the daimyo travelled his lips further down, stopping only to bite hard on a still untouched spot on her neck, almost breaking the skin, earning back a loud and crying yelp from the oiran, followed by an attempt to struggle away, finally snapping out of the shocked trance he had fallen in.
"...stop...get off of me!" Ivlis attempted to kick Satanick's body away in a burst of energies, a strong nausea hitting him as soon as the moist lips of the man began dirtying his neck, a strong pain stabbing his stomach at the disgustingly wet sensation, "...how do I know you are not going to kill me after? You psycho! Someone help me! Help!"
However, no matter how much the oiran tried struggling away, Satanick only grunted under his breath and pressed their hips together, forcing himself between the other han'yō's legs to let their intimate parts brush, a sort of foreshadowing of what was going to come next if she kept on struggling like that.
"You sure aren't bright. Did hitting your head make you more stupid?" the daimyo interrupted the cries for help with a low and menacing tone, asking a question that sounded more like an affirmation, only to once again bite the woman's uncovered neck with his teeth. He disliked mistreating women, especially when they were as much pretty as Buriran, but Reficul did promise him a «beautiful oiran ready to give him some entertainment», responding to his exigency of «something new to do to take his mind away from certain problems of his daily life».
So who could fault him for the reaction he had? He would have never imagined that his dear friend would set him up in a scam like that. But then again, no one could resist his charm so surely, after some more warming up, the oiran was going to melt under his fingers.
But that's when Satanick noticed something out of the ordinary; because of all that struggling, the kimono of the flame han'yō had parted, leaving enough space for the daimyo's hand to move around, expecting already to feel round and plumpy softness typical of a woman, only to find something closer to a toned chest, still soft enough to squeeze but with a different shape than he had expected.
'What is this chest?' Satanick pulled away from her neck in slight confusion, which at the moment was mixed with also some curiosity, a sharp breath getting drawn as his purple eyes met the oiran's exposed breasts;
"What is this."
There was no denying it: it clearly was the chest of a male. No curves, no roundness; nothing... absolutely nothing. Once again meeting «Buriran's» eyes, Satanick sharpened his gaze, which was colder that it had been before, his flaming excitement soon again burning down as a chilly thought went through his mind;
"Were you trying something funny?!" the daimyo pondered with a threatening tone as he stared straight into the golden orbs of the oiran, only to shift his gaze back in the latter's body, using his hand to press around on the kimono, uncaring if he was hurting the other for he was too busy searching for any type of blade, starting from inspecting the chest and arriving to the hips, careful to not leave even one spot uncontrolled.
'Nothing here,' the daimyo thought with a stern look as he tried to appease the beating of his heart as much as possible, before deciding to rise the kimono further up, revealing the man's legs until his thighs, scrutinizing every part in search of any hidden cloth.
'Where...'
From the point of view of an outsider, Satanick surely sounded weirdly paranoid, but who could fault him when it was widely known how often spies disguised themselves as pretty ladies to murder important political figures, such as himself? He lived in an unstable period so betrayals were as common as insects. Hence, nothing was going to stop him from his inspection, not even the strong whimper that left the newfound man's lips as Satanick pushed his hand inside of his kimono, letting his fingertips trail every part, every curve, in search of that one detail that was going to incriminate the «oiran».
That's when his hand brushed against the man's crotch, which Satanick didn't spare from the close examination, further confirming his guess: Buriran was definitely a man.
"Mn!" Ivlis yelped at the sudden touches, trembling at the uneasiness of being unsafe under the daimyo's hands, a sensation that only worsened as he suddenly heard the latter grunt and curse under his breath, in a mumble so imperceptible that the poor oiran could only nervously stare at him, waiting for any words that were going to leave the taller man's lips for it felt as his life depended on them, only to blink in confusion at the object the daimyo had pulled out from inside his kimono;
"You won't fool me," Satanick growled as he sized up the tsuge he had in his hands, the only possibly suspicious object the oiran was carrying. Sure, it was true that the latter was smoking it before, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Therefore, he didn't let the simple appearance deceived him, taking advantage of the momentarily confusion of the «oiran» to pull his own hand away from his wrists and tug all over around the tsuge, trying to find a way to open it and reveal a possible weapon. Yet, no matter what he did, nothing changed, the pipe looking as identical as before.
Even more annoyed, all that was left to do for Satanick was to throw the object as far away from them as possible, another curse leaving his lips as he returned to stare at the oiran.
"You were trying to steal informations from me, weren't you?"
If the man wasn't attempting to kill him, then that was the only option left, equally annoying and infuriating as his first intuition. To make sure to strengthen his presence inside of that room, Satanick immediately jumped back on his feet to press a single foot against the chest of the man now that he was sure he was unarmed, immediately wrapping his hands around the saya of his katana, ready to draw it out if needed.
Luckily he didn't leave it with Envi, preferring to bring it inside of the tea house to show off his role as great general; who would have ever guessed he was going to use it.
"A male oiran...what a joke. You are a spy, aren't you? Who are you working for? Who is the despicable man that tried to milk me off of my knowledge?"
"What..."
With his breath caught in his throat, Ivlis voiced his confusion with another trembling murmur, his whole body paralyzed at the sight of the daimyo gripping on the katana. Was he dealing with some sort of lunatic? Did he seriously think he was a spy? He had to be kidding...
"Not replying won't save you. I will have you arrested, right now," but Satanick didn't fall for the apparent confusion of the spy, deciding to take immediately some actions, at which the flame han'yō argued with a stunned statement;
"If I were a spy, why would i reject you?! Your logic is flawed!"
Mentally panicking for the overwhelming things that have happened all at once, Ivlis pushed forward against the foot that was holding him down to call the attention of the man, managing to at least steady himself on his own elbows, immediately shivering under the cold gaze of the taller man. That whole situation was unbelievable, so much that the flame han'yō was having an hard time fully realizing it all.
"...I...I did not even know you were the daimyo until now!" he added with quite the desperation, "if you don't believe me then Reficul-sama can testify that I am not in any way a spy!"
As much as Ivlis despised the idea of bearing with the humiliation caused by the actions of the crazy daimyo, he had to admit how he still hoped to get out of that whole mess alive, enough for him to still try and explain himself for what should have been obvious.
However, with the same attitude of an hunter waiting for the right moment to strike onto his prey, Satanick listened in silence to the words of the «spy», simply raising an eyebrow at a particular phrase that fully caught his attention, an almost outraged look appearing on his face because of it;
"How did you not know? I told you my name and that should have been enough for you to understand. Now, this is even more insulting than before," Satanick scoffed in annoyance, both incredulous for how his scrapped theory of before got confirmed and bothered by how a simple man like the one he was stepping on had dared saying such thing, "this only rises more my suspicions. It's impossible for someone to not know me, the most important man of the entire city...no, of the entire Country!"
That sure was an annoying situation, Satanick's emotions all wobbling together for the confusion and the rage he was feeling, unsure anymore of what to believe in; if nothing weird was going on, then why didn't Reficul inform him? He didn't want to completely doubt his friend so, before taking any action, he sure needed to talk with her.
As another scoff left his lips, Satanick stepped away from the «oiran», still gripping hard on his katana just in case.
That whole night had been a big, noisy mess, his excitement long lost as he gazed over the possible spy; being an han'yō, Satanick never cared much about gender, simply following his heart whenever he wanted to sleep with someone. Yet, at the moment he couldn't feel any sparks of arousal, his irritation taking over all of his thoughts.
But oh, he now was even more intentioned on humiliating that flame han'yō, forcing him to make up for all the disrespect the poor almighty daimyo had received, starting with the rejection.
"Envi."
However, at the moment he had to deal with something first; after all, his suspicions haven't been cleared and he would have liked to know if he needed to put in their places one man or two. So he didn't hesitate on calling with a loud tone his subordinate, demanding for his presence while still keeping an hold on the katana, ready to strike whenever the «oiran» decided to pull something on him when he seemed distracted.
"What can I do for you, Satanick-sama?"
Luckily, it didn't take much for the goat-looking man to open the sliding door, underlining how there wasn't indeed anyone else ready to lend an helping hand to Buriran. Not even the two shinzo were anywhere to be seen, indicating how after the usual parade they were forced to leave; Satanick was the one truly in power there.
"We are going to bring him back to the Yuukaku. He could be a spy and I need an explanation from Reficul."
"Yes, my Lord."
That was exactly what Satanick liked: receiving only affirmative replies to his requests and orders. Turning his attention back on the man that was still laying down, the daimyo eyed him to make sure nothing was out of place before coldly stating with a not so friendly attitude: "Get up. I will be benevolent enough to talk with the head of the brothel first, instead of slicing you on the spot. I am merciful, aren't I?"
He wasn't going to bother and help Buriran get up, deciding to simply stand there as he watched the latter slowly pull the kimono over his chest, covering it in shame for how he had been touched... dirtied with the filthy hands of a maniac.
"...people like you...make me wish hell was a real thing," with a quiet and dreadful murmur leaving his lips, Ivlis slowly got up, feeling his own legs almost give up, barely supporting his weight for the energies he lacked, caused by all the adrenaline that had rushed throught his whole body that left him drained. It was no wonder how his steps were wobbly, unsure, fully showing his own feelings of uncertainty, of disorientation.
"I can make you experience something worst than hell."
Yet, Satanick felt no empathy at the sight of the dejected man in front of him, feeling only irritation for the snarky comment received, which he managed to catch right when he had turned his attention back on Envi, his eyes immediately meeting back the now opaque orbs of the «oiran» to threaten him into obedience.
His marvelous night had been ruined by the possibility of a scum that either wanted his head or steal his money so his annoyance wasn't going to easily disappear; after all, at first believing the lie of having found a jewel of woman, Satanick was now stuck with something worthy less of a cockroach.
"I will talk with Reficul right now, so at least I can kill you at sunrise if needed," in any case, everything was going to get settled soon...very soon. Pushing the door of the tea house open, Satanick walked towards his own horse with swift steps, not wanting to lose even one second, turning his head around only to nod at Envi, a clear indication to bring the «oiran» over, orders that once again were immediately executed by his loyal subordinate, who pushed the other man towards his Lord without any hesitation, not stopping even when Ivlis risked to trip; if Satanick had little patience and respect of the latter, Envi surely wasn't going to reserve him a warm treatment.
"Come here," he demanded while taking a rope out of the saddle, "I want to keep you in check myself. You are lucky that at night only drunkards are out in the street, so at least you will save some face."
It went without saying how the daimyo wasn't going to let the man enjoy a simple ride home, not after all the disrespect received, which had pushed him to lose his cool and elegance, an absolutely unforgivable act.
That's why he decided to at least entertain himself during that horse ride, putting the flame han'yō at good use for all the way back to the Yuukaku.
It surely was going to be fun to watch.
Notes:
Glossary:
Geta= Typical Japanese wooden shoes;
Tokonoma= A niche decorated with various objects;
Ikebana= Style of arranging flowers in a pot;
Saya= Slipcover of the katana;
Yuukaku= Red Light District, where an Oiran lived.
Chapter 6: Damnation
Notes:
HELLO!
It's been a long time, I'm aware of that, but I finally posted it! And it's 6k words long, whoops.
Enjoy the new chapter and thank you for the patience!🙏❤️
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
«I can make you experience something worse than hell»
With quite a spine-chilling impeccability, those words soon found themselves becoming reality as the three men began to make their way back to the Yuukaku - Satanick and his subordinate on their respective horses and Ivlis, barefoot, walking beside them.
The Sun had long ago set, the typical vernal gust of wind seeping through the various lit up buildings, from which loud laugher and choirs could be heard; however, neither the cold or the noises seemed to reach Ivlis' ears.
At some point of the tortuous walk, the subordinate whose named appeared to be Envi had received the order to precede the daimyo's arrival, leaving Ivlis alone with that madman of Satanick, whose sharp gaze often met the side of his face like a blade keeping him in check.
His feet - stripped of his geta- ached at every step he took on the uneven road, stumbling to keep up with the trotting of the horse he was tied to. Surely some bladders were about to form, hopefully not followed by infections after all the tiny rocks he was stepping on. As a han'yō he wasn't going to die for such a thing, but working through the pain didn't sound appealing either... if he still was going to work.
How did he end up in that situation? It made no sense at all. One hour had passed from the moment he was accused of being a spy of some sort but the oiran was still struggling to grasp the situation: many were the questions he had and very little the answers he could give himself. His wrists were aching with a numbing pain, making it hard to even clench his fingers, let alone try to put up a fight. In fact, he could have easily burnt the ropes, yet he would have no way to go afterwards; no matter how he put it, it was obvious that he couldn't outrun an horse.
At his current helplessness Ivlis couldn't help but hide a bitter grimace by keeping his head low, with the only relief being that at least his two apprentices weren't there to see him in such an indecourous state. More importantly... were they even in a safe place or did they get caught up in that mess? When that madman of a daimyo brought him out of the tea house they were nowhere to be seen...
"Keep your head up. Where did your pride as a man go? Besides, it will be the last time you will be able to move it, so cherish these moments," abruptly the daimyo sneered with the same cold tone he had used to accuse the oiran, interrupting Ivlis' pondering, his voice loud enough to twist the latter's stomach upside down in great uneasiness and anger.
"Curse you," Ivlis muttered within a grunt, which fortunately didn't seem to reach Satanick's ears... or unfortunately since Ivlis would've liked to let him know a piece of his mind. Instead, he glared at the man, even if it was quite challenging for the way his bangs had fallen in front of his eyes, giving him an aggrieved look, their complex and tidy style utterly ruined by wild locks and disordered ornaments. 'That bastard,' he thought, 'he looks all almighty and rightful on top of that horse of his but he is nothing else than a deranged fool acting hysterical for a rightful rejection.'
Fighting back some ulterior curses he would have loved to spit out, the oiran turned his head to stare at the road ahead, squinting his eyes at the various lights reaching his face all at once.
"It won't be the last time," he murmured.
A reassurance for himself more than a reply to the arrogant daimyo, who was obviously provoking him to get a reaction out of him, purposely looking to stir up trouble. And as much as Ivlis hated to admit it, it was working; in fact, all of his tremors -initially caused by fear- were becoming more of anger and annoyance caused by his hurted pride.
After a first moment of silence in which the daimyo simply stared at the oiran with piercing eyes, Satanick broke out in an incredulous smile and shook his head in amusement; it was quite obvious how he sickly found all that quite entertaining.
"You sure are confident," the man sarcastically said in false admiration, "is it your stupidity talking back or are you actually being serious?"
That manwho--...!
Ivlis gritted his teeth; how did he dare insult an oiran with such frivolousness? It wasn't like Ivlis genuinely took pride in his role but after all the work and humiliation he had to go through in his life to reach his position he deserved more respect than that.
What a nuisance of a man.
"You are the one to talk about stupidity," Ivlis snarkly spat out equally sarcastic as Satanick, his previously dull eyes soon finding back the usual fiery liveliness. At that very moment, as fuming anger circulated in his system, the sudden realization of his situation hit Ivlis all at once, snapping him of the numbing shock he had been in for the whole time. But, just as he was about to turn his face towards the daimyo, Satanick stretched his hand to grab him by his hair, in a way that resembled a man trying to extinguish a flame, earning a groan of pain from Ivlis.
"Watch your tongue," the daimyo said within a burst of anger, sick of ignoring his idiocy, scoffing as he released his grip, unamused by the quiet grunts that were leaving the oiran's lips. That's when his eyes fell on the rope that kept Ivlis tied to the horse, a frowned expression contorting his face in a first moment before it suddenly turned into a wide grin, which only made him appear quite maniacal... not that Ivlis managed to catch it for he was still trying to find the momentarily lost balance while dealing with the pure contempt he was feeling.
"And your steps too," Satanick added with a malicious tone that failed to hid his amusement, sharp and stinging. Yet, before the oiran could properly ponder on it, the steady walk of the horse suddenly switched to a faster trot... and then immediately a canter. Rising his head in shock, Ivlis managed to only open wide his mouth in a soundless gasp before his whole body was suddenly tugged forward with such strength that he had to force his legs to make his steps longer than normal to not fall down.
There were no doubts: the daimyo was trying to kill him.
The sound of the horse's hoofs hitting fast and hard the ground echoed loudly in the road, but Ivlis could only focus on two things: the noise of his own feet desperately hitting the ground and the vicious chuckles that spilled from the daimyo's mouth, dry and cold enough to sound completely spine chilling to the poor oiran.
"You...! Bastard!" Ivlis didn't hesitate in voicing his anger sparing no vulgar words, gritting his teeth as his fingers weakly grasped as much as they could of the rope. His legs were aching in pain, his feet heavy, and yet the oiran didn't let himself fall down. The agony he felt was tremendous but he was sure of one thing: if he gave up and just let himself go the horse would either trample him or painfully drag him along with the high risk of injuring his arms.
The suffering wasn't worth the try.
But most importantly, Ivlis wasn't going to give up and let the sick bastard be even more entertained by an humiliating fall.
Even as stinging tears began forming in his eyes for the pain and his chest shook for his rapid breathing, Ivlis pushed himself to keep going forward, stumbling on his feet but never once stopping. His vision was blurry, unable to distinguish one building from the other; his face had surely become a mess by then but at the moment his appearance was the last one of his problems.
At that very moment, all of a sudden, the abrupt sound of the reins being jerked reached Ivlis' ears, the noise followed by a fierce neigh that pierced through the night, at which the oiran's exhausted expression turned into one of sheer terror: it wasn't hard to guess what was going to happen.
In fact, with impeccability, his fears soon got confirmed by a stronger stomping of the horse's hooves and by how his body was forcefully pulled forward, leaving him able only to catch a glimpse of Satanick's wide smirk. This time, Ivlis couldn't do anything to stop himself from falling on his knees: no pride or stubbornness could keep him up on his feet by then.
A chocked scream left his dry lips, the only thing stopping his head from hitting the ground being his still tied wrists, which were being forcefully stretched to their limit. As if in reply to his previous thoughts, Ivlis was getting dragged against his will, unable to struggle away from the tight knot of the rope.
'Stop! Stop!'
As much as he would have loved to scream those words to that psychopath, only a strident shriek of pain could leave his mouth. The throbbing ache in his shoulder ramped up the from stiffness all the way to searing, blinding agony faster than he could blink.
'It hurts...'
Tears rolled down Ivlis' cheeks, while his pupils were dilated in sheer terror. His breathing was short and hectic, almost like hiccups, while his knees felt like they were getting shredded.
Fighting against the strong pulling was only futile; he could only let himself be carried like a dead weight.
"St-- ...stop-!" Ivlis managed to mutter at the peak of his pain, amidst another broken and sobbed shriek. His arms seemed about to be teared away from his shoulders, and the more he was dragged forward the more he could feel jarring blasts of lightning into his brain.
Yet, exactly how it all had suddenly began, it reached an abrupt end the moment Satanick decided to pull the reins towards himself, at which the horse significantly slowed down in matter of seconds, until it stopped all at once. However, Ivlis had reached a state of complete mental numbness that blocked him from fully register what was going on, his body weakly falling against one of the horse's legs for support.
Was he supposed to be relieved? No... he couldn't feel any hint of relief. His wrists were still being pulled upwards by the rope, while his legs were completely motionless. A part of himself wondered for what reason they had stopped but before he could properly glance around an hand grabbed again an handful of his hair, forcing the exhausted oiran to look at his right side;
"That's a cute expression," Satanick said with a smug smile on his face. He was kneeling down beside Ivlis with a sick look molded with the vibrant purple of his eyes and the oiran couldn't help but wonder when he had gotten down from the horse, "you should think twice before opening your mouth in front of your daimyo."
Almost too sweetly, Satanick cooed with mellifluous tone before shifting his fingers down, gently brushing away the tears still running down the oiran's cheeks as he observed up close his delicate features. Despite the action being quite tender, Ivlis could only feel disgust and the impulse to pull himself away; yet, he couldn't find the will to do so, the anxiety of what may be coming next paralyzing him.
Following an imaginary path, Satanick trailed his index all the way down the oiran's face, as if chasing a tear away, only to suddenly wrap his fingers around the latter's neck.
Ivlis' breath got stuck in his throat: the digits felt cold and dangerous against his warm skin, as if they were a blade. With piercing eyes, Satanick examined his neck, silently, leaving the younger man in a nerve-wracking wait that made him aware of the throbbing pain in whole his body.
"On a second thought..." Satanick whispered, "I should have tied the rope around your neck. It surely would have been far more entertaining."
A sudden strong squeeze of his neck followed those words, Ivlis' blood turning cold in dread at the sensation of his breath getting cut short. His first instinct was to rise his hands to push Satanick away but the rope painfully prevented him from doing so.
"Crazy bast-" the oiran cursed again as he struggled to at least put himself in a sitting position, only to feel the hand squeeze harder, with the man's nails pressing against the sides of his neck.
"Le- let me g-! Agh," Ivlis whimpered as he lost all of his will to resist, his breathing becoming rushed and frantic. With a hazy vision from exhaustion, the now expressionless face of the daimyo was the only thing Ivlis managed to recognize between tears and black dots.
"Lord Satanick! What's going on here?!"
Yet, like a blessing, a hurried voice managed to catch the daimyo's attention before he could end up choking the oiran, his fingers leaving the latter's neck as he turned around with a fake cheerful smile on his lips, before exclaiming: "Sin-chan, you arrived right in time!"
As the name reached his ears, Ivlis found the strength to turn his head towards where the voice came from, managing to catch sight of the familiar structure that has been his home for the past years. He didn't know if to feel relieved or not, his mind a void shell unable to feel anything else than pain.
"What's happening?" Sin asked with a shocked tone, which ⎯ despite the tremor, didn't fail to show her attempt to keep calm, "what's the meaning of all this?"
She pushed herself forward, hurrying to reach Ivlis as soon as possible, only to be stopped by Satanick, who rose on his feet right in front of her.
"That's what I should be asking, actually. You clearly know my situation and yet I wasn't informed of a man disguising himself as an oiran. Can you fault me for suspecting an assassination attempt? Do you dare to?"
At such threatening words, Sin could only express disbelief, her eyes wide in consternation as she hurriedly tried to explain the situation: "Reficul-sama wouldn't-"
However, Satanick was in no mood to play around with what he thought were excuses.
"I will hear what Reficul has to say myself, so bring her to me, right now!"
As rage flamed in his tone, he took a step forward, his fists clenched as he impatiently stared back and forth between the woman and his subordinate ⎯ who indeed had been standing there the whole time, waiting for one of them to bring Reficul to him.
"Don't order her around."
Though, the very person Satanick has been looking for interrupted him in his ordering around, her geta loudly echoing in the silence that had brought her arrival.
"I'm right here," Reficul arrived from checking all the other yūjo, the annoyance clear in her movements by how she crossed her arms the moment she met Satanick's harsh gaze, a scoff leaving her lips once they were standing face to face, carefully shielding Sin, her spouse, from the man. That was when her gaze happened to fall on the figure ⎯ her oiran, motionlessly laying down, a scowl appearing on her face as she asked: "What nonsense did you bring up this time?"
"I fear this can't be called nonsense," Satanick immediately replied, raising his chin to stare at Reficul with condescension, "in fact, it's quite the opposite."
"Barging in here in the middle of the night and interrupting my businesses behind the absurd pretense that I did something to you is complete nonsense to me."
Even though Reficul was maintaining a certain composure, it was quite clear by the way she was sinking her nails in her arms how much furious she was, and it took all of her rationality to calmly stare at Satanick and declare: "Let's go inside, I want to have a word with you, alone."
"It's about time," Satanick curtly replied, indignant for that whole situation, so he didn't need to hear it twice before he started strutting towards the structure, stopping in his tracks only to suddenly turn around, his eyes ⎯ full of disdain, falling on the abandoned man on the ground.
"Envi," he then called, "keep an eye on him until we are done. Don't let him run away."
"As you wish my Lord," the subordinate replied, bowing his head in deep reverence as he waited for the daimyo to enter the building, followed right after by Reficul, who had quickly scanned Sin before closing the door behind her back.
Ivlis never had felt happier to see Reficul appear.
For the first in the whole night, the sensation of finally being safe prevailed through the costant fear in which he had been subjected to for the past minutes, and he couldn't help but feel secure, somewhat protected, even though he could barely feel his limbs, a sore pained murmur slipping out of his cracked lips.
Though, no matter what, he didn't seem able to catch a break, the servant of the madman reaching over him to point his katana at his throat, as if he truly could get up and run away: foolishness seemed to be extended to anyone that had to do with the daimyo.
If his vocal chords weren't painfully burning, he would have probably laughed at the absurdity.
"Have some regard and put that weapon down please. We are in Reficul-sama's establishment and she does not allow this type of threatening behavior towards her courtesans."
Luckily, Sin seemed to share his same thoughts, her tone harsh as she approached Ivlis as fast as she could, glaring at the man until she was sure the katana had been put away. She seemed to have overcome the initial shock, even though her shoulders looked tense, she nonetheless tried to look relaxed when she gazed at the oiran's face.
"Reficul-sama will take care of it," she murmured, "I will go get a knife to cut the ropes."
She was pained at the state Ivlis was in, looking uncertain as she thought of a way to somehow comfort him: the least she could do was help him get away from there. Yet, before Sin could go anywhere else, the oiran shook his head in an almost panicked motion, not wanting her to leave him. He squeezed his eyes shut, the rope that was still tightly tied around his wrists catching fire all at once, until only ashes remained and Ivlis, at last, freed himself.
Tired and worn out, without anything else restricting him if not the pain, the only thing he could do was collapse on Sin, who caught him between her arms before letting out a murmur;
"Let's go inside."
The woman's words barely reached Ivlis' ears but they held a certain soothing warmth that had him feeling calmer, despite the pending death sentence.
In his dazed state, the oiran could manage to think only about the exhaustion he felt, his mind losing touch with reality until even the daimyo's subordinate appeared to be much less of a threat.
And for just a moment, it all had felt like a long and terrible nightmare.
Reficul had closed the door to one of her private chambers with a loud thud, her gaze piercing as she turned around to stare at Satanick with irritation. During the route to the room, neither of the two had spoken, a profound silence lingering for the whole time, heavy and oppressive, even as Satanick had taken a seat.
That was until Reficul scoffed, once again crossing her arms before finally questioning;
"What do you think you are doing?"
Having known each other for a long time, the woman didn't even think twice before using an informal tone, uncaring of how Satanick was supposed to be a daimyo: powerful or not, she was furious.
And before the man could reply, she took a seat in front of him, a small table separating the two.
"Are you really asking me that?"
On the other hand, Satanick strongly believed he was the victim in that situation, his expression a mix of astonishment and anger, "I find myself in a room with a potential assassin and you blame me for how I reacted?! You better give me a good explanation Reficul, or else I will have to take serious measurements."
"An assassin?" Reficul appeared stunned, pretty much taken back by the absurd accusation. It was no wonder how her expression went from being one of an annoyance to an harsher one.
"Do you understand the weight of what you are insinuating?"
"Do you?" Satanick inquired, "because by how you are actively avoiding my questions I'm doubting you actually know."
Their discussion was a sort of back-and-forth, quite heated from both sides despite the chilling cold tones that were being used. Though, Reficul had to admit that she was already getting tired of that whole situation, a sigh leaving her lips as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"That oiran is not an assassin. Where would you even get such a crazy idea?"
As much as Ivlis happened to be the most stubborn courtesan she had, never Reficul would have imagined to witness him get him accused of such a nefarious crime.
She did warn him of Satanick being different from the previous clients: had he crossed the line again?
That whole situation was just a big headache.
"A male oiran? Seriously? I didn't know you were specializing in kagema now."
On the other hand, Satanick replied with a sarcastic expression, his gaze icy as he pushed his crossed arms on the table, leaning closer towards the woman.
"You know my actual position and you still didn't mention anything. The situation I was in forced me to act with authority."
From his words and movements, it was clear that he wasn't going to give in, stubbornly defending his own actions with the vigour requested for a daimyo: as representative of one of the greatest authorities, he knew he had acted correctly.
"So you think that I would trick you into an assassination attempt?"
However, to Reficul it didn't make any sense, her tone a mix of astonishment and incredulity.
Her way of handling the situation was getting to Satanick's nerves.
"I rather not," the daimyo scoffed and distractedly tapped his fingers against the wooden table, catching Reficul's attention until her eyes were following his fingers, a profound silence falling between the two. The atmosphere was still tense and neither of the two seemed to want to let it go, both greatly sure of their own points.
That was until Reficul sighed and pushed her hands on the table, looking as if she wanted to get up, before gravely stating: "Problem solved then."
At such sudden statement, Satanick pushed himself up as well in a hurry;
"Not that easily," he shouted, "the supposedly oiran refused me, on top of it all, making his position even more suspicious. First he lures me in and then the very next moment he pushes me away without any clear reason? Can you fault me for being careful?"
Being an authoritative figure, Satanick had to be in alert at all times, striking first instead of hesitating or waiting to be attacked; thus, Reficul was the one acting carelessly there.
And that impression only worsened when the woman sighed;
"Paranoid, you mean," Reficul looked exasperated, tired already of the messy discussion, and her annoyance was clear through her frowned expression, "listen closely because I won't repeat myself."
Satanick wasn't going to back off but neither was she: as much as the daimyo looked more upset with the oiran than her, she still needed to get Ivlis cleared by the accusation for her own sake first.
Therefore, Reficul leant her body over the table, getting as close as possible to Satanick's face, breaking the reverence she should have had to avoid further misunderstandings, lest her words would get twisted the moment she said them.
"If I wanted you dead, I would have attempted to kill you myself, not through one of my courtesans," she stated with a rough tone, not threatening enough to be accused of treason but adequately harsh to provide her seriousness.
"And if you keep going on with this idiotic argument, I might show you exactly what I mean."
It was the type of phrase that briefly grazed the ominous but that was filled with a heartfelt sincerity.
Lowering herself to put some distance between them, Reficul shifted on her seat before finishing her reasoning, careful not to break eye-contact with the man.
"I trained that oiran myself to serve costumers, not to wield a weapon. Or are you perhaps insinuating that I am unable to keep my courtesans in check? No third party has ever been involved either."
At that point Satanick cleared his throat, Reficul's words filling his thoughts, trying to find a gap that could raise controversy; however, the longer he focused on it, the less he seemed to consider the oiran an assassin. Thus, there were no further reasons for him to fight with a dear friend, especially when her actions and words ⎯ as much as crude and lacking in manners, were filled with a desperate sincerity.
"As I already said, I acted in the most optimal way the situation required," he stated, convinced that assassin or not, the oiran had been disrespectful, which was no less of an offense; after all, if the other man had been more compliant, such mess wouldn't have happened.
"By letting me lose a large portion of profit? How do you plan on repaying me for the loss?"
Reficul appeared less tense as well, though her main preoccupation remained: the expensive clothes and ornaments gotten ruined.
At least, han'yō healed faster than normal people so she wouldn't need to pay for medications too.
"I will pay you back," Satanick said as if it was no big deal, a smirk finally appearing on his face, "by scheduling more appointments with the oiran."
Reficul merely raised an eyebrow at that unexpected proposal.
"I won't execute him but he still disrespected his daimyo. I am merciful enough to willingly teach him how to properly respect me," Satanick appeared proud with his deal, acting as if he hadn't viciously scarred said oiran moments before; his confidence was enough to make him believe he had done nothing out of proportions.
"Do whatever you want, as long as what happened today won't occur ever again."
On the other hand Reficul shrugged her shoulders, deciding that the relationship between Ivlis and Satanick didn't directly concern her as long as the latter was willing to pay. Having a daimyo as client was going to rise Ivlis' value as well.
"The frighten he received today will last a lifetime, enough to humble him," Satanick laughed and leant back, getting comfortable in his seat before continuing;
"Consider me his most assiduous client from now on."
He needed some new excitements in life, this was the main reason to why he decided to frequent an oiran. Some incidents had happened but in the overall he found another interesting activity: train the oiran to satisfy his own needs.
The thought alone was sufficient to put a smile on his face.
"Now call for some sake! I am in the mood for a big celebration," Satanick exclaimed, all of his anger and worries dissipating as if nothing had happened, and Reficul was the least willing to remind him; after all, that night had been intense enough.
As Reficul and Satanick discussed the remaining matters about the deal, Sin attempted to mend the wounds on Ivlis' face with a warm cloth, cleaning away the dirt and the blood crusted on his forehead and cheeks.
They were currently sitting in silence inside the oiran's private room, in a corner where the moonlight barely reached them, hid from the prying eyes of those who served Reficul.
The only intruder was the daimyo's subordinate, whose stern gaze didn't leave Ivlis even for one second. Although he had been silent for the whole time, his hostility was perceptible and Sin as well could feel the tension, her movements slow and cautious as if she was on guard, vigilant. Still, the man never moved, not even to change position, diligently staying beside the door to surveil the oiran.
The silence was heavy, tangible almost, and Ivlis felt exhausted, terribly so; he couldn't feel his limbs, his throat too dry to try and speak, not that he particularly looked forward to converse with Sin at the moment. He was in tremendous pain, he was aware of it, but the exhaustion was that acute that Ivlis could only feel a profound numbness, one that seemed to obscure his senses.
He had to yet process all of the emotions he experienced that evening, his mind a blank paper as he vacantly stared off into space, not focusing on anything in particular. He felt estranged, alienated, his own room unfamiliar through his gaze.
At some point he was sure to have heard Sin murmur something under her breath but his tired mind seemed unable to register what was being said, her voice barely reaching his ears.
In general, he had low hopes about the outcome of the discussion between Reficul and the madman, and the hunch that the daimyo was going to walk inside his room at any given moment to proclaim his death sentence was lingering, a constant reminder of how his life was hanging by a thread.
At that point, Ivlis felt like a living dead man, closer to death than he had never been before. The only thing stopping the oiran to declare himself dead was the pounding rhythm of his heart, which was a reminder that, after all, he was still alive.
His mind was so dazed that Ivlis hardly managed to grasp the sound of the door suddenly sliding open, and even though he caught some movements from the corner of his eyes, he didn't turn his head around, remaining still, motionless in his spot; nothing seemed able to make him snap out of his daze, not even the sort of conversation he could perceive going on.
He seemed detached from his reality.
"There you are..."
It wasn't until an husky voice reached his ears that Ivlis finally seemed to regain consciousness of his surroundings: all at once, the oiran felt his blood running cold, his blank gaze regaining some light, although it was a frightened one, his anxiety rising back as his stomach twisted as if ready to vomit out his organs.
He still didn't dare turn around, his fingers trembling at the sudden palpitations that seemed to be tearing his chest apart. The voice... he could unfortunately recognise it between many...
"Welcome back, Satanick-sama," Envi said while instantly bowing down, and in a moment of deep shock Ivlis turned his head around, accidentally making eye contact with the daimyo himself. He seemed to have just walked in, following Reficul inside, and Ivlis clenched his teeth for the burst of rage and frighten he felt, his figure trembling under the man's gaze.
"Did the oiran attempt something funny? I was expecting to see you all outside," Satanick asked with a spiteful smile, his gaze focused on said oiran. The subordinate appeared hesitant on the last part, a slight frown appearing instead of his usual calm manner as he replied: "No my Lord, I never took my eyes off the defendant once."
"Is that so..." Satanick mumbled in reply before walking further inside, passing over Reficul as well as he got nearer to Ivlis, stopping right in front of Sin, "as of now, I am in a good mood so I will let this detail slip away... for this once."
He was smirking but his smile didn't seem to be reaching his face and once again Ivlis felt crushed by tension. Still, Satanick didn't dare to look anywhere else, barely noticing how Sin moved away from the oiran: she had bowed in recognition of the daimyo after receiving a look of approval from her spouse.
The only one that didn't seem to be greeting Satanick in any way was Ivlis himself.
"Welcoming me with such poor mannerism is an affront."
And of course, Satanick wasn't going to let this one slide. Reficul immediately turned to look at the daimyo, her stern gaze a warning but the daimyo didn't let it bother him, especially since he was sure she wasn't going to intervene either way.
"But I will forgive you for this as well," so he continued, scrutinizing every inch of Ivlis' tense expression, rejoicing in the way fear was carved all over it, "but in exchange I request your uttermost collaboration. Do you understand?"
'Forgive? As well?'
But in truth, Ivlis wasn't understanding the meaning behind the man's words; in fact, they only managed to further confuse him, not believing that the man who almost killed him could've possibly showed any mercy. The tension becoming unbearably suffocating to him as he fought to not break eye contact, fearing that the slightest distraction would have costed his life. Not to talk about how Satanick's tone of voice sounded softer than before, less grave in a way, but Ivlis stayed on high alert, tight-lipped.
As no reply reached his ears, Satanick scoffed and glared in disapproval at the man, nonetheless continuing with his statement;
"Either way, you will be forced to understand. Thank my mercifulness for sparing you and granting you another possibility. Not many are as lucky as you are."
His words were leaving Ivlis in a state of profound perplexity, while the sentiment of hope filled Ivlis' mind with a bitter sweet feeling, his heart pounding loudly as he expected the daimyo to burst into a laugh at any moment, revealing to him that it was only a cruel lead on from him before stating his true sentence. But as the silence remained unbroken, Ivlis slowly began to realize what was going on.
Did the lunatic daimyo truly give up with his absurd pretese of executing him?
The oiran thought, the situation making even less sense than when he wasn't understanding. Was that monster truly capable of mercy?
Ivlis gripped at his clothes: for some reason the idea of being forgiven sounded more ominous than the threats at his life he previously received.
"Are you listening to me?"
Satanick was starting to lose his patience, his voice sounding as cold as a blade to the oiran, who still refused to acknowledge the man, preferring to keep his lips tightly shut than to give in to the latter's pressuring demands. Ivlis could feel himself vacillate, his surroundings suddenly spinning for the pressure he had been subjected to and all it was left him to do was pray for that unbearable moment to pass as soon as possible.
He could clearly feel the ruthlessness of Satanick's gaze; the only place that should have been of comfort to him ⎯ his own private room, had been profaned by the daimyo and his subordinate.
He would've loved to have the mental strenght to turn his head to the two and spit in their faces.
"How ferociously stubborn," Satanick was the one to break the unbearable silence, a sarcastic chuckle leaving his lips immediately after, and Ivlis felt only sicker, more nauseated. When he saw the daimyo take another step, Ivlis could swear the promise of being left alive had been all a farce, a mockery to his vulnerability.
Though, against his worries nothing happened, if not another laugh that stabbed him as much as a katana would, followed by some words that Ivlis would never have wanted to hear, not even in his nightmare: "Oh I will remember all of these offenses! And I will make sure to imprint on your mind and body how to properly treat your daimyo next time. I will see you soon, my oiran... very soon."
That promise sounded more like a curse to the oiran.
Proud with his speech and with the way he had explained himself, Satanick turned around and walked over to Reficul, smirking while whispering to her: "I will let you have how much we have agreed upon in these days."
His business had been concluded and soon he stepped out of the room, followed right after by his subordinate, who bowed to the two women one last time before disappearing in the darkness of the hallway, in the silence of the night.
It seemed almost absurd how that whole tremendous situation had ended like that, as if it was no big deal after all, but Reficul wasn't the one to question it as long as peace was guaranteed to her business. Instead, she decided to face Ivlis, the annoyance flashing clear in her eyes.
"Let today be a lesson," she curtly said, scoffing at the blank and dazed gaze she received from the oiran. She had been bothered enough that evening and dealing again with the question didn't look too appealing; thus, letting her previous words be a final warning, Reficul began walking away, stopping by the door to look behind at her spouse.
At first, Sin looked hesitant, but as she saw Ivlis not responding she decided it would have been better to let him be for the moment.
"I will leave the cloth and the water here," so she said, pushing the basin she was using before closer to Ivlis; however, what was once warm water had become cold, unusable.
And without any word leaving her lips, Sin gently closed the door behind their backs, leaving Ivlis alone inside the room... finally alone.
Though, the silence that had been left behind was anything but comforting to the oiran, being alone only leaving him to feel emptier, quite desolated.
As a signal of sort, the sound of the door sliding close made Ivlis snap out of his shocked daze, a strong pain overcoming him, as if all the wounds had made themselves known in a reminder of his tormented condition.
He felt nauseous, breathless, so much that be feared to choke on his own bile. He was exhausted, his body feverish as he let himself fall against the wall, frenetically breathing to fight the suffocating sensation that was oppressing him. He squeezed his eyes shut and didn't dare open them, fearing for his gaze to be met once again by the daimyo's cold eyes, whose intense purple seemed to be lingering in his in a constant admonition, a warning that he wasn't safe.
In his panicked state he hoped... no, prayed for the daimyo to drop dead the moment he would have stepped out of the Yuukaku, anything not to see him ever again.
Why must they meet again? Hadn't that evening been enough of a torture?
That «see you soon» had taken the form of chains.
Ivlis clenched at his chest, coughing as he struggled to breath, shaking and gasping; never before his heartbeats had been that painful.
His state being like that, Ivlis couldn't help but wonder if after all dying would have been preferable.
But unfortunately that was only the tip: his personal hell had only began.
Notes:
Kagema = Male courtesans, they were pretty rare during the historical period this fanfiction is based on. Usually they were used as spies and informants.
Pages Navigation
ahinevaeh on Chapter 1 Wed 26 May 2021 02:54PM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 1 Thu 17 Jun 2021 08:15PM UTC
Comment Actions
ahinevaeh on Chapter 1 Wed 23 Jun 2021 01:29PM UTC
Comment Actions
Vegarex on Chapter 1 Thu 27 May 2021 05:08AM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 1 Thu 17 Jun 2021 08:04PM UTC
Comment Actions
Avan (Guest) on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Aug 2021 09:51AM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 1 Sun 15 Aug 2021 01:19AM UTC
Comment Actions
Pulmo (Guest) on Chapter 2 Mon 07 Jun 2021 02:39PM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 2 Thu 17 Jun 2021 08:05PM UTC
Comment Actions
Vegarex on Chapter 2 Mon 07 Jun 2021 02:46PM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 2 Tue 08 Jun 2021 07:42PM UTC
Comment Actions
ahinevaeh on Chapter 2 Mon 07 Jun 2021 11:55PM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 2 Thu 17 Jun 2021 08:13PM UTC
Comment Actions
ahinevaeh on Chapter 2 Wed 23 Jun 2021 01:29PM UTC
Comment Actions
Avan (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sat 14 Aug 2021 09:52AM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 2 Sun 15 Aug 2021 01:19AM UTC
Comment Actions
fish (Guest) on Chapter 3 Wed 28 Jul 2021 08:17AM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 3 Sun 08 Aug 2021 01:33AM UTC
Comment Actions
Vegarex on Chapter 3 Tue 03 Aug 2021 09:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 3 Sun 08 Aug 2021 01:32AM UTC
Comment Actions
Beatrix (Guest) on Chapter 3 Sat 14 Aug 2021 09:48AM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 3 Sun 15 Aug 2021 01:20AM UTC
Comment Actions
Buriran Simp (Guest) on Chapter 3 Sat 14 Aug 2021 09:49AM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 3 Sun 15 Aug 2021 01:20AM UTC
Comment Actions
Avan (Guest) on Chapter 3 Sat 14 Aug 2021 09:54AM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 3 Sun 15 Aug 2021 01:21AM UTC
Comment Actions
SnowSiberianTiger (Guest) on Chapter 3 Thu 09 Sep 2021 04:51PM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 3 Thu 23 Sep 2021 09:55PM UTC
Comment Actions
Avan (Guest) on Chapter 4 Tue 24 Aug 2021 04:55PM UTC
Comment Actions
Resemblance of Light (Guest) on Chapter 4 Thu 26 Aug 2021 12:54AM UTC
Comment Actions
ahinevaeh on Chapter 4 Tue 24 Aug 2021 05:05PM UTC
Comment Actions
Resemblance of Light (Guest) on Chapter 4 Thu 26 Aug 2021 12:53AM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 4 Thu 23 Sep 2021 09:55PM UTC
Comment Actions
Avan (Guest) on Chapter 5 Thu 09 Sep 2021 06:52PM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 5 Thu 23 Sep 2021 09:54PM UTC
Comment Actions
Genuinely, a stnk simp (Guest) on Chapter 5 Thu 09 Sep 2021 10:02PM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 5 Thu 23 Sep 2021 09:52PM UTC
Comment Actions
ahinevaeh on Chapter 5 Fri 10 Sep 2021 12:19AM UTC
Last Edited Fri 10 Sep 2021 12:20AM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 5 Thu 23 Sep 2021 09:51PM UTC
Comment Actions
ahinevaeh on Chapter 5 Fri 24 Sep 2021 05:33PM UTC
Comment Actions
Beepboop (Guest) on Chapter 6 Wed 20 Apr 2022 10:07PM UTC
Comment Actions
Melagrana on Chapter 6 Wed 20 Apr 2022 10:25PM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation