----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ZENKI JIDAI | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | by Asia-T | | http://dungeon.taisa-labs.com/ | | | | Original story: | | Tuesday, July 3, 2001 | | | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | LEMON/YAOI! Two hundred years after the end of the ZENKI story, | | the demons engage in a power struggle against the humans, and the | | outcome of the war seems certain... Until an enemy with Chiaki's | | face stands before the mightiest of demon gods! LEMON/YAOI! | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 4 "And that's it," Goki recounted. "There's not a single Tradi left in Morioka-shi. Their largest weapons manufacturer has been permanently shut down. And who do you have to thank, Roh?" Roh remained silent. He had seemed distant throughout Goki's report. "Try to contain your excitement. I know you're fuckin' over- joyed and all," the blue demon teased, "but you look silly jumping around and squealing like a little girl with a lollipop." "What?" Roh seemed as though he'd just snapped out of a day- dream. "I thought that would get your attention. What's bothering you?" "Nothing." Goki grimaced. "Don't go all Zenki on me. It's not healthy to keep your troubles all bottled up inside. It breeds demons of the mind." Roh smirked at the metaphor. "So spill it, Roh. What happened while I was gone? ******** As they had traveled down the halls before, on their way to Roh's quarters, the others had all looked at Zenki and the human girls in a peculiar way. That had been expected. But there were a handful who did not control themselves so very well. Mostly young demons, immature at hardly 200 years old. Some of them laughed out loud and tried to touch Shiaki and her friend, frightening them. Some of them DID touch Shiaki and her friend. Zenki made a point of remembering exactly who it had been. And now, he was making them pay. No one dared to question Zenki's orders. So when he ordered five demons to follow him outside, they followed. When Zenki ordered them to attack him, after some hesitation, they attacked. And when he grew tired of their weakness, he screamed to them, "DIE!" And by Zenki's bare hands, all five of them returned to the demon plane, where they would have another 1000 years to contemplate their mistake before they'd be able to return. ******** The girls didn't talk about it afterward. Ayako had fallen immediately asleep, and when she awoke, her memory was fuzzy -- like Shiaki's had been. Shiaki didn't push the subject. She assumed that sexual relations with a demon were simply too intense for humans, and if the mind remembered too much, it would go mad. If she stayed in this place much longer, Shiaki would go mad. No sun or moonlight permeated into the basement, and the concept of time was lost. Her eyes were completely adjusted to the dimness by now. She could have been there for hours or days, and it all would have been the same to her -- an eternity. It soothed her to see that Ayako was able to fall asleep again. As long as she slept, her mind could take her to a different place... any place but this. ******** Roh had to guide his comrade to the cells. It had been so long since the prison was used that Goki didn't remember where it was. Holding the blue demon by the arm, Roh led him through the twisting halls, down the steps, into the basement. Ayako did not stir at the sound, but Shiaki's every sense became alert. Who would it be this time? What would they make them do? Shiaki could think of more pleasant fates than the one where she ended up never leaving this dungeon, helping some demon get his rocks off whenever he craved a human. She recognized Roh first and narrowed her eyes with hatred for what he'd done to Ayako. Then she saw who was with him... And she recognized him, too... "HIKARU!!" she yelled to him, jumping to her feet and going to the bars. Goki's eyes went wide with disbelief when he saw Shiaki. Roh whispered something into his ear and released his arm. He went immediately to Shiaki, who stuck an arm through the bars, grabbed Goki's shirt, and pulled him close to her. "Hikaru!" she whispered secretively. "Did they capture you, too? Oh, thank god you're still alive!" Goki was too much in shock to respond. "This is a bad place, Hikaru -- you've got to promise me -- promise you'll escape if it's at all possible! Will you promise??" Tears streamed down his face, and he choked out part of her name as well as he could. "I've never seen you cry before, Hikaru... please don't cry, we'll get out of this somehow -- all of us. But for now, you worry about you, okay?" Shiaki slid a gentle hand to the back of his neck and pulled him down to her. She kissed his trembling lips as his emotions over- flowed. She never thought she'd see someone as strong as Hikaru cry. She thought it would make her weak, to see her strongest friends weaken around her. But it was the opposite -- she felt stronger than ever before, knowing that they would be relying on her strength. She raised her other hand to stroke his hair -- that silken blue hair -- but something stopped her hand... a bar? A horn! In that instant, Goki wrapped an arm around Shiaki and kissed her back. Startled, she jumped away, and she felt his demon claw rip into her skin as she left his grasp. That had been an accident. Something tasted salty in her mouth... she reached up to touch her lip. Blood trickled from a wound inflicted by a demon's fang. That had also been an accident. /What the hell? Hikaru is a demon...? No... He can't be a Neon, he can't be a demon... It's not possible! Not my Hikaru!/ "Chiaki..." Goki spoke clearly. /That name... Why that name?!/ "Shiaki," a sinister voice uttered from the base of the stairs. Roh turned back and was surprised to see Zenki. No one had heard him approach, no one had felt his presence... as powerful as Roh and Goki were -- when Zenki did not want them to be aware of him, they were not. How long had he been there? "Her name is Shiaki, not Chiaki," he continued. "And you, Hospital Girl..." Somehow, Shiaki was relieved to see him. Her heart sank into her stomach and she thought she was going to throw up when she realized the mistake she had made... but the red demon's presence lent her a sense of security. He wouldn't hurt he, he'd promised. She had no such promise from Roh or the blue demon. "That is Goki, and he is a free demon. Just as I am." Even though he was speaking to her, Zenki /glared/ at Goki. He did not break stance until Goki's eyes fell to the floor with momentary submission. "Give me the keys, Roh." "Excuse me?" "The keys to the fuckin' cells, Roh. Give them to me." "Why?" "Because I'll just rip the goddamned door off if you don't, and then there won't be any point in owning a key at all. Now give them to me." There was no point in arguing with Zenki over trivial matters. Not when he was like this. Besides, what could a human... even the powerful Chiaki Enno... do in the earth's largest domain of demons? Roh held out his hand and Zenki snatched the keys up from it. He intentionally bumped into Goki's shoulder, nearly felling the slight demon lord, passing him to reach Shiaki's cell. Shiaki stood still as he slid the key into the lock, turned, and a click signaled that she was no longer a prisoner. The red demon pulled the door open and offered his hand to her. She hesitated in taking it, so he simply lashed his arm out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her out. Zenki casually tossed the key back to Roh and left with the girl. Shiaki twisted her neck to look behind her and see Ayako still sleeping. She saw Roh looking down at the keys in his hand. And as she was pulled up the steps, out of the basement, she heard Roh order the blue demon to leave him alone... with the girl... Zenki felt her pausing and even felt her pull against him, trying to go back. But Zenki wouldn't allow her to go back, where just anyone was allowed to enter... allowed to touch the prisoners... allowed to touch her. ******** Zenki wasn't exactly well-schooled in human anatomy, but he knew enough to know that it was bad if you could see the blood. He'd blasted the life out of enough humans to figure that much out for himself. He took Shiaki to his own quarters. They weren't much to look at -- two marble tables were set against the bare, gray walls, a futon mattress lied off-center on the granite floor, and there were no windows. It was cleaner than her cell had been and the electricity was functioning properly, and those were the only big differences. It was like being inside a tomb. "Sit," Zenki commanded. The only place to sit was the bed... "Um..." she stayed in place. "Hm?" He looked back at her and observed her apprehensive glances at the futon. "Shiaki. Don't be an idiot. It won't bite and neither will I." "I'm not an idiot..." she spoke quietly. "Ha! You're the biggest idiot I ever met." Zenki was rummaging through the contents of one of the desks. Shiaki had no clue what he was looking for, but she got the feeling that it might take a while. She believed him. She sat, wincing slightly as the movement shifted the skin that had been cut. Zenki wasn't going to find what he was looking for in his own desk. There wasn't much call for a first aid kit in a facility occupied solely by demons and mediums. One group had the power to heal and the other group never got hurt. "What happened to your face?" Shiaki asked timidly. "What?" "You're bleeding..." "That's impossible." As deeply as Zenki believed that, his hand went to his face anyway. And, indeed, a fine gash ran from his left cheek down the side of his neck to its base. The fluid which came from his veins was red, and it gave the illusion of being blood. But it wasn't. Red was only attributable to the element which charged through his system and gave him power -- it was the reflection of what he was on the other side. If Goki were cut, he would bleed blue. "How did it happen?" Shiaki prompted after a moment of silence. "I don't wanna talk about it." It was only of those immature demons he'd banished. Apparently one of them actually had a little bit of skill. Shame Zenki had to deprive him of his body. It upset him. He slammed the desk drawer shut, because he knew he wouldn't find anything useful in there anyway. What he needed was something clean that he could wrap around Shiaki's waist. His mind wandered, wondering what in the building was actually clean. His eyes fell on Shiaki, sitting patiently on the futon. She looked nervous, but she wasn't afraid like she had been before. The wound on her side wasn't looking good. Blood stained her white uniform and was beginning to soak into the sheets below her. And that was what he could use! He never slept on that futon. The sheets were fresh and clean under the top layer that might have just gathered a little dust. Shiaki held her breath when he approached her and kneeled down in front of her. Reaching to her side, he took an edge of the sheets and tore them right down the middle. She never even had to move. "Take off your clothes, Girl." Shiaki threw her arms in front of her chest and blushed wildly. "... I told you you were an idiot." Zenki lightly tossed the torn sheets onto her lap. "Use these to stop the bleeding. You know how, don't you? You worked in a hospital." "Wh-what about you?" Zenki raised a hand and reached two fingers to drag along his wound. Shiaki's hand relfexively flew up to stop him from aggrevating an injury, and his hand stopped at the soft touch of her fingers. He smiled to her with all sincerity. She remembered where she was and quickly drew her hand back. Zenki allowed an uncomfortable pause. "I will leave you to tend to that." His eyes shot a glance to her bleeding side. "But I will help with this one..." he spoke seductively before suddenly wrapping his mouth around the puncture wound on her lip. He did not restrain her in any way, yet Shiaki remained still, her eyes wide. It wasn't a kiss. He ran his tongue around the wound and allowed small drops of her sweet blood to trickle down his throat. His hands came to rest on either side of her as he lifted his body above hers, and she instinctively moved her body back, away from his, until she lying on the mattress. Still, he did not kiss her. He looked into her eyes. They had relaxed. She wasn't fighting him. That was when he released her lip. He touched a fingertip to his open wound, and the liquid that had gathered on it he touched to her mouth. It flowed between the crevice of her lips and a slight amount seeped between the crack. It was an intense flavor, unlike any food she'd ever had. She couldn't compare it to any taste, only to an emotion -- ferocity. Zenki lifted himself off the futon and away from Shiaki. She was perplexed, but Zenki didn't sense any disappointment in her. Some- thing... or some/one/... else was on her mind. The name "Hikaru" remained locked in Zenki's thoughts -- perhaps they were still in hers. "I'll find you something warmer to wear while you fix yourself. I'll be back soon. Don't try anything you wouldn't want your friend to get punished for -- am I understood?" "Y-Yes..." Once Zenki had left the room and shut the door behind him, Shiaki finally allowed herself to cry from the pain in her side. She was having difficulty concentrating on anything else. TO BE CONTINUED...