TCM Act 6: Paranoia
There is no other feeling like paranoia -- living in a world where you are surrounded by fear. Your existance may be, after all, meaningless. Don't worry, you are not alone. You don't have to be afraid, and, together, we can make it through life if we really do want to live.
[Scene 1]
Kyo silently observed as the bartender-in-training fed the ducks with some bread crumbs given to him from a little girl who had to hurry off and meet with her mother. Even the smile was similar to Shou's. Kyo knew, however, that this person was not Shou. They had their differences. Kyo would exploit them.
Just on cue, like the weather report said appromixately thirty seconds ago, the clouds gathered around in the sky. The sun was covered up as well as the blue color the sky should have. Unfortunately, it was only gray. A droplet of water fell onto Kyo's forehead as he glanced at the sky. A scowl was etched onto his face. Soon, a few more raindrops hit his face before it decided to downpour and drench the two in cold water.
Jui tossed the remains of the breadcrumbs into the pond before covering his head. He had cursed himself for not bringing an umbrella. (He officially hated the weathermen.) Kyo sighed and grabbed one of his hands before pulling him along. The assassin dragged him down the streets and into an apartment building about three feet away. Jui blinked in utter confusion as Kyo pushed him into an elevator and pressed a button.
"My boss is letting me live here. Don't think I'm rich or anything. I'm still pretty damn poor."
The doors slid open to reveal a clean, neat, tidy hall (completely opposite of Kyo's personality). The walls were pure white, the panels were of beautiful mahogany wood (as was the floor panel), and resting on the floor was a long, cream carpet that stretched out in the middle in every hall.
Jui's conscious would be tainted with guilt if he was to drip rain water onto this wonderful corridor. Kyo pulled him along by the hand, obviously holding no thought about his boss's reaction. He unlocked a door labeled [666] with a silver key and twisted the silver knob. He pushed Jui in, allowing him to study the living quarters. The wood was still mahogany, the walls were still white. The furniture in the center consisted of a long, rectangular black sofa and a glass coffee table with a flat screen TV. He noted that the wood paneling changed to black and white tiling in the kitchen, where stainless steel kitchen utilities were placed along with granite counter-tops.
"This is a nice place," Jui commented.
"It's a lot better than where I used to live, but what am I supposed to do with 500 TV channels?" Kyo retorted. "Anyways, you can take a bath, whatever, and change into some leftover clothes in that closet. I think my boss dumped them in there for me, but you can have them. I don't need them."
Jui smiled. "It sounds like you have a nice boss. What do you do?"
"Odd jobs," Kyo lied, but Jui took it as the truth (for it actually made some sense) and slipped into the bathroom. There was a closet, sure enough, in the bathroom. Jui slid open the door and pulled out a simple white button down and plaid pajama pants. Snatching a white towel from the rack, he placed it onto the metal rod nearby the bathtub (which was actually more like a hot tub with its jets and size) before drawing the water. Soon, he changed out of his clothes and stepped into the warm water.
His eyes traveled around the area. To the right of the bathtub was the shower; to the left was the toilet stall. On the left side, there were the metal rods. Across from the bathtub was the sink and the closet. The thing that bewildered him was the fact that the bathtub was shielded by clear, plastic beads and curtains that were pulled to the sides.
This one bedroom apartment seemed a little too elegant for Kyo.
The door clicked open.
"You must have some problems with your head. You forgot to lock the door," Kyo taunted the young man. He sighed before strolling to the toilet stall. "Well, I suppose that's a good thing. I needed to take a piss." Jui's face flushed. He was too carefree. The toilet flushed, and Kyo strolled over to the sink, washing his hands. He kneeled in front of Jui, cupping his face. "Hmm... You do have a pretty face, too. Another similarity."
"To who?" Jui blurted out. His face reddened even more. "You're comparing me to someone, right? Well, I'm not that person, so would you please stop it?"
"Oh, I already know that you're not that person," Kyo responded immediately, "since you're really different, too. One, you're much ruder. Two, you think about other people way too much--not in the worrying sense, too. Three, you're too quick to make assumptions. Four, you don't get drunk very easily. Five, you're not as emotional--" Jui's red face was possibly a mixture of embarrassment and anger now. Kyo smirked. "Should I continue? If not, then let me conclude what I was saying--you are not Shou. You are Jui. That failure of a bartender at Kyouki's." Jui was about to stand up until he realized that he was in a bathtub...naked...all alone with Kyo. His lips parted to protest, yet no sound came out.
Kyo took this as an opportunity and pressed his lips against Jui's roughly and forcibly. His tongue slipped in and explored before he pulled away.
"Six, you taste a lot different than Shou."
The bartender-in-training's cheeks flared, and he could feel the heat creeping up his neck and attacking his ears. Was he angry? Embarrassed? He shook the thoughts from his head, but it wasn't as if those emotions would just simply disappear.
More importantly, who was this Shou exactly? It was beginning to bother Jui. The thought of being compared to someone else...someone who Kyo was in love with, possibly. Then again, he "tasted" Shou, so Shou had to be a lover.
He heard a splash.
"W-W-What are you doing?!"
"Hey, it's my bathtub at the moment. If you have a problem with it, then get out," Kyo snapped. Jui's face reddened before splashing the shorter man sitting across from him. Kyo scowled before grabbing Jui's wrist and yanking him towards his body. (He considered Jui's action as a form of some kind of threat or misbehavior that Kyo himself did not appreciate.) Despite being short, as Jui noted before, Kyo was quite strong. It was nearly inhuman.
A yelp escaped his throat as he felt fingers tightening around his area--the most intimate place known to man. Shakily, he emitted a moan that followed suit as Kyo's warm breath hit his wet skin. "You must be punished," Kyo growled. Jui knew now, that it was better when Kyo wasn't aggitated. A warm tongue slid against his skin down his back. He couldn't help but shudder, causing the grip to tighten. The water was drained. Jui instantly shot up like a rocket, suddenly losing feeling. Kyo rolled his eyes as Jui reached out for a towel.
Two wet arms wrapped around Jui's body as teeth began to nibble at Jui's skin. Jui squealed before finding himself on a bed. He was unclothed as was the person on top of him. Normally, he would have felt humilated, yet Jui was uncertain this time. He just went with the flow.
Their bodies slowly grew drenched, and Jui slowly found himself accepting this pain. By the time the sun set, he found himself holding onto Kyo. His skin was bruised and sweaty. The floor and sheets were soaked. His body was sore, and he doubted that he could sit down.
"Hey, Kyo-san," Jui whispered to his sleeping "lover" with troubled brown eyes, "I really would like to know more about you." He did not want to move from his spot. Instead, he closed his eyes.
I don't know who this Shou is, but I would like him to know that Kyo-san isn't just his...
Jui would like to love Kyo as well, but he already knew that Kyo couldn't return his feelings. Kyo was only using him. That was it. Kyo had no emotions, no affection, nothing. That's why Jui would only close his eyes and embrace this warmth that was only temporary. Jui knew that Kyo's warm was only momentarily, and it would soon disappear. That was why he wished he could stay like this forever.
It was nice to have someone to love. Jui didn't care who Kyo really was, as long as he could have this feeling.
[Scene 2]
Kyo woke up at midnight. He ran a hand through his bedraggled blonde locks before stepping onto the wet floor. They had did it again after their short nap. It was Jui's punishment for appearing to be like Shou, after all. Jui was already punished twice. One for splashing him, another for impersonating Shou.
Jui tasted nothing like Shou. While Shou was sweet, Jui had a certain tang. At any rate, he should probably get started on his test run. He stole a glimpse at Jui before walking out of the bedroom. As expected, there was a letter lying on the kitchen table. Carefully and cautiously, Kyo unfolded the white envelope from his new shadow.
"At 00:00, your targets are raving at a club called NOBLE. I suspect that they might head to the back alley to grab some fresh air. You are allowed to strike then. The doors are sound proof, but the walls have about half of its thickness. Be careful."
Kyo strolled into the bathroom, pulled out some clubbing clothes (changing into them of course) along with a fresh outfit, snatched his bag from the hidden door in the back of the closet, and scrolled off into the night. As expected from those Versailles vampires, they really do know how to hire people.
Kyo strolled out of the alley right after saving Jui. His eyes darted right and left before speaking, "Hey, shadow of mine, do me a favor and track down these guys. I want to know where they are and what they are doing at midnight by midnight."
[Scene 3]
The time was eight in the morning. Jui would have gone off to work if he had it. He was forunate, for his butt ached like crap and he smelt like sex. He continued to loiter in Kyo's bed, pondering on the latter's whereabouts before dragging himself out of the bed and preparing for the rest of the day.
Of course, he would not sit down. His bottom would cry out in pain, and it would be self-torture. After fixing himself, he cleaned up the room to how it should be and also prepared breakfast (for two even though Kyo may not appear). Despite his lack of knowledge on how to cook, he made a decent breakfast.
Yet...he wondered where Kyo was.
[Scene 4]
"It reeks of blood here," Ruki commented as he stepped into the scene. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the scene. Turning his back around, he questioned, "Did my replacement do a fantastic job?"
"Oh yes," Kyo responded after splashing a bit of crimson around the bodies to be the outline of an uroboros. "Although I never met him, he did succeed my expectations." Kyo stood up and observed his work. After meeting the two guys who attempted to rape Jui, he decided to kill them and break apart their limbs. He stabbed them and ripped out their hearts, placing them in the center of the uroboros. Their four limbs were taken apart from the torso, the arms reaching out for the hearts while their legs were thrown elsewhere. Their mouths were agape and their bodies curved in a circle.
"Anyways, you need a place to change into fresh clothes. There's a net café that we bought not too long ago nearby. It's overun by vampires now. It's safe. Go there, shower, and change. Burn those bloody clothes, would you? It reeks of dirty stench of disgusting, filthy blood." Kyo scoffed, but he took his shadow's advice. He nearly ran into a hobo with bleached hair and a face that was similar to his.
"Good job," he commented before showing off hints of fangs, "but next time, you shouldn't have to kill useless victims." Kyo said nothing to the former shadow in return.
The net café was like any other, so it didn't interest him much. The murderer went home, only to be greeted by the aroma of breakfast. Sweet, sweet breakfast. A light smile curved onto his lips as he began to eat and thank the sleeping figure on the couch silently.