by Frey Ortega
Himiko took a sip. “No one is to be killed in any of the attacks to the smaller offices, am I clear? Rough them up, keep them occupied, and make sure they’re on your tail. Maim them if you must, but do not kill them. Only Canute and the men going with him can claim a kill. A life for a life—and since they took some of ours—we shall take some of theirs. Am I clear?”
The people around Himiko nodded. Judging from how properly dressed they were, but how grave and dangerous they all looked, one could almost think Himiko was operating some kind of yakuza operation.
Hell, Canute wouldn’t have been surprised if yakuza operations had been modeled after the way Himiko ran things.
“That sounds clear enough,” Canute replied. Haru’s grip on Canute’s fingers tightened slightly, and when Canute turned to look at him, the young man had the slightest of frowns on his face. “Do you have the number of those slain in the attack?”
“Twelve dead,” Himiko replied. “Each attack will be a team of five people, totaling ten different offices.”
Canute nodded in response. He felt Haru’s hand tense in his, grasping him tighter.
“Any other questions?” Himiko asked.
The room was silent. Canute shook his head. “I was trained not to question orders, Madame. You’re asking for exact retribution, and by my hand, you shall get it.”
“Good. We’ll strike at dusk tomorrow. I’ll be getting ready with my magic to send you immediately from here to Oda’s offices. As soon as I close the portal, you’re going to be cut off from any reinforcements. Sow as much discord as you can and time your actions exactly to one hour. As soon as that hour is up, I’ll be reopening the portal. If you’re not there by that time, I apologize, but you’re on your own.”
“Easy enough,” Canute said matter-of-factly.
Himiko smiled. “Once again, thank you for helping us. This is not your fight, I know that, but I have always been of the mind that a bully left unchecked will ultimately find the attention he seeks,” she said, and her face fell slightly. “How right I was proven.”
She sighed, and shook her head. “Get a good rest today and all of tomorrow. We strike at sundown.”
Canute nodded. Himiko’s underlings immediately started raising their questions and concerns with their matriarch, but he didn’t pay attention to that. He had his orders, and he only needed to fulfill them to come back home. That might have been a cold way of looking at it, but did he have any choice?
When he turned to look at Haru, Canute noticed the slightest wrinkle of concern in the young man’s face.
“Are you okay?” Canute whispered, leaning in towards the young kami.
Haru looked up at him. The expression on his face had been one of concern, but he shook his head. “It can wait,” Haru replied. “I don’t want to cause a fuss.”
As the chatter droned on incessantly, Himiko dismissed everyone from the room, leaving herself to drink her tea in peace inside the boardroom while the rest of her people headed off to wherever they needed to be.
Haru and Canute, meanwhile, were ushered straight to their lodging. Canute appreciated the way Himiko and her underlings had clearly tried to make sure everything in this room was completely opposite his previous one. In contrast to the rather luxurious room he’d been staying at just days ago, all of his things had been transferred to this much less crowded, much more simple lodging. The room was sleek and modern-looking, almost like his room at the Chateau Sanguine.
It was as though Himiko, and by extension her family, was trying to make it so that Canute forgot all about the fact that a great betrayal had happened to him right here in this very building.
The early morning and the ride straight into a meeting didn’t really tire Canute out, but the prospect of yet another battle in a series of endless battles finally seemed to make him pause, and feel the effect of a thousand skirmishes weighing on his back. He plopped down onto the couch nearby, settling himself against one of the armrests, and closing his eyes.
“Are you okay?” Haru asked. Canute turned to look up at the young man, who stood there in a plain, loose kimono, the two pinpricks of where Canute bit him yesterday showing prominently against the porcelain color of his skin on his wrist.
Canute couldn’t help but be drawn to those marks and feel a little shiver of happiness. Those were a sign that he had claimed the younger man.
“I should be asking you that question,” Canute replied, trying to make light of things.
Haru shook his head. “I asked you first. Are you doing okay? I can’t believe you could be so casual about… about…”
“About battle? About killing a person?” Canute filled in, trying to be helpful, although he knew he sounded a little too nonchalant, a little too disaffected, about what he was about to do.
Haru nodded. “Something feels a little odd. I don’t understand why it has to be this way.”
Canute didn’t know what Haru meant, but he knew he wanted to assuage his Kindred’s fears. “Sometimes, there are people who need to be taught a lesson that they can’t use brute force to have their way,” Canute replied. “And sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire.”
“But doesn’t it take a toll on you?” Haru asked. “I know that you’re a warrior, and I know that this is something you’ve done many times before, but holding a life in your hands and being the one to decide whether it lives or dies…doesn’t it weigh you down?”
Canute blinked. In all his years as a soldier, no one had asked him that question. To know that someone was actually thinking about his well-being in this way was…refreshing, to say the least. “As a vampire, sometimes you have no choice but to use your strength. Others can’t defend themselves and as someone stronger, it’s your duty to stand up for those who can’t defend themselves.”
“Beyond the human world, sometimes winning is a matter of life or death. Sometimes, the act of winning is more than meets the eye,” Canute said, sighing. “But I would be lying if I said it was easy. I live a life where the cycle of violence just goes on and on, and at times it’s easier to be numb about things than to think about them too much.”
Haru frowned. “I don’t like that,” he admitted truthfully. “I mean, I know I don’t have any control over what you can and can’t do, but I don’t like that this is the way things are.”
“Well, how would you like things to be, then?” Canute asked.
The young kami shrugged. “I don’t know, really,” he replied. It seemed his Kindred was going to be someone who was honest and truthful, maybe even to a fault. “All my life, I was taught to live life a certain way. It’s made things simple for me, but it’s not exactly the most eye-opening of experiences. My grandpa told me to be open to all that life has to offer me, that where life goes, I should go, too. Most importantly, he told me that all things have a right to grow.”
Canute smiled. “Your grandfather is a kami of the forests, too?”
Haru offered a little grin of his own, and nodded. He moved his hand down towards Momo’s head, petting the beagle. “It’s why we talk about growing, and life, and blossoming so much. Now, though, my grandfather is a kami of the mountain. He’s strong enough to watch over bigger domains.”
“Is that also why you’re having a hard time with this situation?”
Canute was trying to be diplomatic with the way he spoke, but it was difficult. It’d always been easier for him to be blunt and straight to the point, but he also knew that this—all of this, from being someone’s Kindred, to being with a vampire—was something new for Haru.
Oddly, it didn’t feel like it did with Ranmaru, either, where he had to play games and be coy to try and get a reaction—something, anything from the man he thought was his Kindred—and that was refreshing in its own way. Because Haru was so…open, his emotions so clear on his face without having anything hidden, Canute understood why he had to bend a little and be flexible instead of brute-forcing his way and speaking too bluntly. Frankly, he preferred it this way. It
felt right. There wasn’t that niggling sensation at the back of his brain telling him that something was wrong.
This was just how it was meant to be, and odd though it was to feel so secure so soon after that betrayal, Canute wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Since things felt right, Canute didn’t want to question it.
“Yes,” Haru replied, again maybe a little too honestly than he should have. “Holding someone’s life in your hands shouldn’t be an easy thing. As a kami, my duty is always to make sure life thrives wherever I go. That’s why I was given those woods to watch over. Taking away, instead of giving life, seems so…so…”
“Wrong?”
Haru was clearly at a loss for words, but it wasn’t as though he was trying to piss Canute off. He was conflicted.
Once upon a time, Canute might have been, too.
Haru nodded. “Wrong is one way to put it. Another would be strange. I know this has been the way of your life for a long time, and so I don’t want to impose my thoughts and opinions on you. Do you really have to live your life as an executioner?”
“I don’t have to,” Canute said. “But sometimes you’re faced with a decision where the lesser evil is to spill blood with your own hands. Some people don’t deserve mercy.”
“Maybe someday I’ll understand what you mean,” Haru replied.
Canute leaned forward, closing the space between them. He found Haru’s lips with his own, pressing a chaste one against the younger man’s. Thankfully, Haru didn’t pull away. He kissed back. Though they had a difference of opinion, it seemed, at least, that Haru was mature enough to know that it didn’t change a thing between them.
Haru was right about one thing though. Canute didn’t need to live life this way. So why was he?
“You don’t have to,” Canute said after pulling away from Haru. “Maybe someday, we’ll live a quieter life. As soon as this is all done, in fact, I can bring you to my home. You can see what it’s like there, and we can decide where we want to live.”
“You want to do that?” Haru asked. “With me?”
“Of course. There’s no one else I’d rather spend eternity with than the one who calms my inner demon, the perfect half to make us both whole. But that’s some time, perhaps many days, maybe weeks, perhaps months into the future. Cyrus, my family’s patriarch and my oath-sworn brother, found his Kindred recently and he’s decided to step back to make sure he doesn’t endanger Bastien’s life.”
“So it’s actually possible not to live a life of violence, then,” Haru said, smiling.
“Not completely, but I can try,” Canute said. Vampire culture was—is—much bloodier than the way humans did it. A lot of vampires thought that mortals were much more expendable because barring a mass extinction, it wasn’t possible to completely wipe out humanity. He just couldn’t say those things to Haru without sounding so dispassionate and apathetic.
Haru nodded. He then smiled that same, warm smile as he always did, and Canute immediately felt at ease. Canute couldn’t help but want to touch Haru’s face. That little, dramatic part of him wanted to swear an oath to Haru’s health, happiness and well-being.
That was probably the Kindred bond talking between the two of them.
“There’s also actually finishing the last part of our Kindred bond,” Canute said after a moment, finding himself lost in Haru’s gaze but having to pull back. “But we can wait to do that if you’re not comfortable with it.”
Haru tilted his head. “I thought we were already bonded.”
“Yes, we are. I’ve already drank your blood. But it just feels more complete to do it while...” Canute stopped, and gestured, trying to imply what exactly he wanted. Did Haru not know about that?
“While doing what?” Haru asked, his eyebrows knitting together.
Canute sighed.
“Sex, Haru,” Canute said. “To really complete the bond, we need to have sex.”
Chapter Six
Sex.
They needed to have sex.
Haru sat there, frozen, jaw slacked, with Momo staring up at him and wagging his tail.
When he spent too long frozen in his spot, Momo actually had to bark to pull him out of his reverie.
Effective as it was for pulling Haru back to the situation at hand, he also couldn’t help the heat rising to his cheeks at the mere mention of it. Sure, kissing was fine, after all, wasn’t that to be expected for a relationship? But to talk about doing something so intimate so candidly, and considering how fast everything had been going, Haru was definitely unprepared for that.
It felt so soon. But maybe it wasn’t? Haru could feel that intangible bond like some kind of ethereal line entangled around the both of them. The red string of fate, like Lady Himiko said, entwined around them.
One thing was for sure, and that was that Haru had never had a brazen, candid conversation about sex…with anyone. Not with his grandfather—perish the thought—nor his sister, and not even Kaguya!
Haru felt his cheeks heat up. He probably looked like a tomato.
Canute took one look at him before a little grin started to quirk the corners of his lips upward.
Haru’s cheeks felt even hotter.
“If you don’t want to, Haru, I can wait,” Canute said. The way the vampire said his name—Haru—it sounded like the barest, softest whisper, tickling this little part of the kami that made him shiver with bated breath. “We can take things as slow as you need to.”
“Um, well, it’s not that I don’t want to,” Haru said softly in reply, his voice shaky. “I just don’t have any idea how to do any of that. I know two people in love do it together.”
“Would you like me to teach you?” Canute asked.
Well, that was certainly blunt. But Haru didn’t find himself disliking the idea at all! He’d seen what Canute had underneath the clothes he wore, and Haru would have been lying if he said that he wasn’t intrigued at the prospect of…all of that, being pressed up against him. In fact, the moment he’d thought about the body that lay underneath Canute’s meager, borrowed apparel, Haru couldn’t help the very visceral reaction his body was having.
Haru felt his cock stir against his pants, and the soft, baggy clothing he wore couldn’t hide his clear erection.
“I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet,” Haru said honestly, his face still bright red. The ground should have swallowed him up by now. He felt so embarrassed that he had to say this, but Haru knew he wouldn’t have been able to perform as well as his Kindred would have wanted. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Canute asked, extending a hand to gently cup Haru’s cheek. “I don’t own your body, Haru. I’m glad you’re honest with me.”
Slowly, Haru found himself moving forward more and more until he was partway to settling himself onto Canute’s lap. “But I do want to get to know you better. In other ways.”
“Like?” Canute said. “If you’d like to talk, you’re my Kindred. There’s nothing I won’t tell you, as I hope you will be as open with me, too.”
“I mean, physically. I don’t mind if we kiss,” Haru answered, saying that last word a little more softly. Gods, could somebody put me out of my misery? “Or… you know. Hug, that sort of thing.”
There was something that flared in Canute’s eyes, something that made Haru feel a shiver of need crawl up his body.
“I see,” Canute said, his voice suddenly a little thicker than before. The vampire cleared his throat and leaned back, putting just a bit of distance between himself and Haru. “I don’t want to do anything you’re not comfortable with, and if you want to get to know one another better, I think we should talk more. You know, to try to make you more comfortable in each other’s presence.”
“I don’t feel uncomfortable with you,” Haru said. “Maybe part of it is just the lack of time we’ve spent together. It feels odd to be this entwined with you but not really know you at all.”
Canute nodded. “I understand. I will try my hardest
to be a patient teacher, but I’m not the most patient of men when it comes to these matters.”
Haru tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. “But aren’t you a soldier? Aren’t patience and discipline two of the most important traits a soldier should have?”
“Disciplined, yes, but I’m not the person to ask when you require training and teaching. But for you, I will do my best,” Canute admitted. “I don’t suffer fools lightly, and I suppose my discipline extends only in so much as I have to follow orders or else I might jeopardize whatever mission I might be on. I get angry rather quickly, actually.”
Haru nodded. He hadn’t even realized that he was finally settled into Canute’s lap, with the vampire’s hands clasped behind him, right against the small of his back.
Something solid, strong, and rigid pressed up against Haru’s stomach. When he looked down, there was a very clear, and very real tent on Canute’s pelvis, pointing up at him, even twitching ever so slightly. It was as if Canute’s body was accusing him, wagging a finger—well, it was much more substantial than a finger—at him and admonishing him.
Without thinking about the consequences, Haru grasped at his Kindred’s erection.
Canute gasped. “Haru,” he moaned. His voice became thick and low, his cock suddenly springing to full mast, Canute’s eyes went wide and intense emotion seemed to brim inside them.
There was this small, soft voice inside of Haru’s head that relished in the reaction that Canute had shown. The hitch in the vampire’s breath was like an alarm to Haru’s systems, telling him that he was rapidly approaching dangerous, undiscovered territory, and to be careful. But the thundering of his heartbeat and the burgeoning desire inside him told him to let loose and let go, and that meant doing this.
Haru’s touch became firmer, grasping at Canute’s cock from above the thin layers of cotton kimono that the vampire was wearing. Slowly, ever so slowly and delicately, he moved his hand from the seat of Canute’s erection to the top, and slid his hand downward into the fabric as he felt the only slightly prickly sensation of hair, and the firm smoothness of his Kindred. His fist finally enclosed around Canute’s shaft, and the accompanying gasp—or was it a sigh?—was like a balm to Haru’s senses.