In the Darkness Title: In the Darkness Author: Ladyofshadow Rating: R Warnings: violence with whip Word count: 425 Prompt: Fruits Basket, Akito/Yuki: kept pet - "Would you finally be happy if I...?"
“You’re forever with me in the darkness, Yuki. You know that don’t you?”
Yuki raised his bowed head slightly, looking to Akito between his bangs. Even his view looked like prison bars. “Yes.” There is more to this world than darkness.
“You’re not just saying that to appease me?” Akito gripped Yuki’s chin, lifting it roughly so that he could meet his eyes.
“No.” I’ve seen that there is more.
“Pain is not meant for a God,” Akito said, wielding a whip. “The one closest to God takes away His pain.”
Akito cracked the whip and Yuki flinched.
“You’ll take it all away from me,” Akito said. “Now, remove your shirt.”
“Akito-san…” Why won’t he let me take him out of the darkness?
“I said remove your shirt!”
Yuki swallowed a lump in his throat and removed his shirt, carefully folding it in a pile beside his school jacket. Why does he insist on isolation?
“On your knees,” Akito commanded. When Yuki obeyed, he raised his arm and brought down the whip.
Yuki fell forward with a grunt, bracing his body up with clenched fists. I will not cry out.
“Does it hurt, Yuki? Is my pain too much?” When he received no answer he brought the whip down once, twice, three more times. He tilted his head, admiring crisscrossing patterns and how the blood pooled out of them. “Well?”
Yuki pressed his forehead to the ground, fingernails digging into his palms. He lifted his head and turned. “Your have much pain, Akito-san,” he said in a strained voice. There is more to this world than pain.
“It runs deep,” Akito said. He flicked the whip into an open wound. “Why do you not cry out?”
Yuki didn’t answer.
Akito frowned and went into a frenzy, bringing the whip down in a flurry of lashes. When he realized Yuki passed out he dropped the whip and fell to his knees, breathing heavily. “Yuki?”
He brushed Yuki’s bangs away from tear-stained cheeks and paused to touch fingers to his own cheek. There was wetness. He rose abruptly and tossed a blanket over Yuki’s prone form before he stalked out of the room.
Some time later Yuki woke and winced. He touched the blanket in surprise, rubbing the fabric between his fingers. Maybe he does realize that there is something more…and that frightens him.
He grit his teeth and pulled off the blanket. The dried wounds ripped open to bleed anew. He pulled on his shirt, knowing there would be stains. The jacket he pulled on hid them.