Nowhere

Kekkon woke up and found him self no longer in the Palace. He was lying on the floor of a cave. There was no light coming in from anywhere, but the cave seemed to have its own source of illumination.

He was still naked, so he gave himself a pair of jeans to wear, then went off to look for Hanerisu.

He recognised the caves as one of the Nowhere places in-between Plains. An inexperienced traveller could loose themselves forever in such places, and Kekkon knew he wasn’t an experienced traveller.

He met a Tenshi in the next cave. The Tenshi was tall and well muscled, much bigger than Kekkon. He had short raven-black hair, which matched his wings. He wore a pair of jungle-camouflage combat trousers and army boots.

The Tenshi turned around when he heard Kekkon enter the cave. “So you’re awake,” he said, his voice empty of inflection.

“I . . .” Replied Kekkon, then he realised. “Hanerisu!”

“That’s not my name anymore, you’ll have to get used to calling me Haneyoukou again.”

“But what happened? I don’t understand,” said Kekkon. He was not upset, as it was not in his nature to experience negative emotions that easily or quickly.

“I have been given my true form back.” Said Haneyoukou.

“But Haneyoukou, Sunshine Wing, your wings were white.” Kekkon said, his confusion growing.

“I have many wings, though the white was mainly for your benefit,” sneered Haneyoukou. “And a name is just a name. Parrot wings back there, her name means ‘moonlight reflected on water’.”

“I really don’t understand,” said Kekkon. He wanted to embrace Haneyoukou, despite his new appearance, but he found himself slowly beginning to fear the Tenshi.

“Its really quite simple,” said Haneyoukou, making up for seven years of passivity with a show of malice and aggression that reinforced Kekkon’s fear. “I was under cover, now that cover is no longer needed.”

Kekkon understood, and his spirit faltered some more. “So what about me?” He asked, not expecting a kind answer.

“What about you? And don’t look so wounded, its not like you’ve been honest either; why don’t you show me your true form?”

Kekkon transformed himself into a huge blood-red ogre-demon, complete with under-bite-causing tusks, knuckles that scraped along the ground, sharp horns, and a long reptilian tale.

Haneyoukou slapped him round the muzzle.

“Don’t give me that crap, show me your true form.”

Kekkon reappeared exactly the same as he had been for all the time the Tenshi had known him.

“That really is you, isn’t it,” said Haneyoukou, making more of a statement than a question. “You’re just a kid, an Akuma-brat. And I let you . . .”

Haneyoukou turned away from Kekkon. He was angry and confused. He still felt a great deal of affection for the Akuma, even though he knew it had only been part of his cover. He knew the whole affair between the two of them had been set up, that he himself had been the one to come up with the idea, and had volunteered himself for the task. But he didn’t feel the same as he had back then, a part of him was still Hanerisu, still broken winged and in desperate need of the protection Kekkon had provided.

Which was ridiculous, he was a hundred times stronger than the fledgling Akuma, could kill him easily, should kill him, now, then go and join the battle that he knew had already started. He tried to convince himself that he would be doing Kekkon a favour; the Akuma no longer had a place among his own kind, they would torture him for aeons for the weakness and compassion he had show a Tenshi. And he would be dead anyway if another Tenshi found him. Plus he was angry, angry about how he had had to spend the past seven years, angry at how weak he had been, and angry with Kekkon for the feelings he still had for him.

Haneyoukou turned back to Kekkon, who gave him a look full of hope and longing. Haneyoukou remembered how he would have melted before after receiving such a look and his anger boiled over into rage.

He punched Kekkon in the mouth. Kekkon fell, then clamped a hand over his mouth to stem the flow of black blood from his torn lip. He looked really scared now, the precariousness of his situation having finally sunk in.

Haneyoukou grabbed him by the wings and hauled him up, holding him suspended above the ground, which put an agonising strain on the muscles of his shoulders and back.

Kekkon tried to flap his wings free, to slip out of Haneyoukou’s grasp. When he realised that he was held firm he tried kicking and scratching at Haneyoukou, which had no effect at all.

Haneyoukou shook him until he went limp, exhausted by the strain of being held in such a torturous position. Haneyoukou walked him up to the nearest wall and slammed him against it, bringing him back to full consciousness.

Kekkon scrabbled for footholds in the cave wall, trying to ease the strain on his wings and back. He was terrified now, and sure that Haneyoukou would send him to oblivion very soon.

Haneyoukou saw how afraid Kekkon was, and his anger ebbed, he had power over this Akuma, not the other way around. Then he felt something else. With his body pressed up against the overpowered Akuma, he felt lust. He realised that was not something he should be feeling in his true form, but more importantly, he realised he could do something about it.

He shifted his hold on Kekkon, wrapping one arm around his narrow torso, pinioning his bat wings and holding him up at the same time, pinned between the wall and his own chest. With his free hand he tore off Kekkon’s jeans and undid his own trousers.

He felt strange for a moment, he knew that he shouldn’t be able to do this, and, less importantly, that it was probably wrong as well. The situation he was in was unprecedented, and he could only go along with the overwhelming flow of his feelings.

He angled his hips forward and upwards, allowing Kekkon to slip downwards. At the same time he used his free arm to hook underneath one of Kekkon’s legs, catching his knee in the crook of his elbow and pulling his legs apart so that he was helpless to stop himself being impaled on Haneyoukou’s erection.

After a few thrusts he was fully inside the Akuma. Kekkon was crying now, begging him to stop. He let go of his leg and instead clamped his hand over Kekkon’s mouth. Kekkon bit into his palm, but couldn’t even break the skin.

Haneyoukou began to thrust faster, Kekkon wrapped his legs around his waste, trying to ease his suffering. Haneyoukou kept his face turned away from Kekkon, he didn’t want to see him crying, didn’t want to face up to that yet. Instead he focused on a spot on the cave wall next to Kekkon’s head.

It took a long time for him to come. After he did he lifted Kekkon off himself and dropped him carelessly to the ground.

Haneyoukou staggered away, he was disgusted with himself. There was a lot of blood on his penis, and the black contrasted starkly with his own pale skin.

He willed the blood away and did up his trousers. He leant against a stone outcropping for support, remembering all the times Hanerisu had been raped, and how Kekkon had always been there afterwards to make the pain go away.

He turned back to where he had left Kekkon. The Akuma was sitting where he had been dropped, legs pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped around his knees. His abused wings lay limp behind him, the muscles too weak to even fold them properly. He was sobbing quietly, his whole body shaking.

Haneyoukou walked back towards him. Kekkon tried to get up and run away, but he was too exhausted. Haneyoukou wanted to say something, but everything he could come up with seemed pathetic, Hanerisu had heard every excuse there was, and he knew how empty they all were.

Since he couldn’t think of anything to say Haneyoukou simply picked Kekkon up, then sat down and cradled him in his lap, rocking him and making soothing noises while Kekkon sobbed himself to sleep.

Kekkon woke up, still in Haneyoukou’s arms, with every part of his body screaming in protest at the abuse he had suffered.

Haneyoukou, seeing that he was awake, stood up and carried him through the caves. Neither of them spoke, neither of them could speak.

After a short while they came to an exit and walked out to find themselves at the top of one of Mars’ colossal mountains, overlooking a vast rainforest.

Haneyoukou bundled Kekkon closer to his chest before spreading his wings and launching himself into the air. It was the first time he had flown in almost eight years, but he took to it with ease, exhilarated to be free at last.

He flew with Kekkon until he found the deepest valley in the rainforest, and he flew along the valley looking for the oldest tree. Once he found it he landed in front of it.

“I’m sorry for what I did to you,” Haneyoukou told Kekkon, “You were so good to me, and this is how I repay you. I set you up and then punish you for doing what I wanted.”

Kekkon said nothing, he was still too numb to really register what was happening to him.

Haneyoukou walked up to the tree and placed Kekkon inside it, binding him within its matrix.

“You’ll be safe here, no one will notice you, and you’ll have a chance to heal. When this war is over I’ll come back and get you, and make everything up to you, I promise.”

Haneyoukou placed his hand on the tree, feeling the life flowing through it. He stood like that for a long time before he took off.