Part Eight
Scent of Deceit:
He could hear the fat one
moving about in the other room, trying his best to clean up the small apartment
as best he could. The television was on and Tsume could hear the soft laughter
from a studio audience on some dumb game show sucking up to an equally lame
host. He growled and scratched his head restlessly, biting his lower lip as he
stared out of the window with growing impatience. Although, he and Hige had
promised to wait for at least another half hour, Tsume still couldn’t get rid
of the thought that sitting here and waiting for Kiba and Toboe to show up was
probably the worst idea they could have come up with.
Since when?
He thought ruefully. Since when did I
give a shit about someone else like this?
He had always trusted his
instincts – always believed that his first choices in whatever he chose to do
was almost always the best. It had never failed him in the past…well allowing
himself to be swindled by Sykes and his gang had been one such mistake…but for
the most part, he had done very well for himself and took pride in being able
to handle anything that came his way. He wondered what would have happened if
he hadn’t stopped to pick up Kiba on that fateful day. He wondered if he would
have been somewhere else at this time probably trying to get some new or
illegal contract or deal. He wasn’t short on cash or anything, but the last failed
job had dealt him a serious blow to his finances.
However, that was still no
excuse for what was happening now. If he hadn’t met Kiba, he would have lived
on – knowing nothing about his supposed ‘wolf’ heritage and also not wanting to
be a part of it anyway.
If you hadn’t met Kiba, you would have died, boy.
Tsume made a face at the
taunting voice knowing full well that it was right. If that nosey guy hadn’t
come butting in, he might have been floating all over the ocean in a tiny
million pieces by now. Just another damn statistic in this fucked up city.
So what did this mean? That
he owed Kiba a favor? No, both of them had repaid each other in kind, so what
the hell was he still doing here? Why hadn’t he walked away from this motley
bunch of misfits hours ago? Why couldn’t he just go back to his apartment and
stay there and pretend that last night and this morning hadn’t happened?
Because you’re knee deep in this mess, boy, the taunting voice began again – this time much
louder and much more persistent. It’s
because of him and you know it. You like the way he feels against you, don’t
you? You like the way he tastes and fits just right with you, don’t you? You
want to ravish him completely, don’t you? Claim him as yours, eh, boy?
“Shut up…shut up…” he
muttered harshly into the silence, but it refused to stop as it continued its
merciless commentary. This wasn’t just about wanting Kiba physically. It was
much deeper than that - so much more than just carnal pleasures.
Oh and what’s all this about a wolf and about being a
bunch of animals, hmm? So yeah, you do act that way sometimes, but don’t you
think it’s a bit strange? Don’t you want to know more about your past?
“No!”
Hige stuck his head into the
bedroom with a quizzical look on his face. “Did you say something, Tsume?” he
asked.
“No…I’m fine.”
“Ah, okay…because I just
thought I heard you screaming ‘No!’ and I was curious and…”
“Just get the fuck out,
Hige.”
“Right.”
He could hear the fat one
hurl an insult to him from the safety of the living room and Tsume couldn’t
help the small smirk that came to his lips. The fat one might have issues, but
at least he wasn’t afraid to say what he thought about people.
Wanting to know more about my past, hmm?
He didn’t want to think about
his past for he knew that it would only bring back a well of memories which
contained bitterness and pain. If he had any parents, he didn’t know of them.
His earliest memory was of him sitting in the middle of cobbled streets, with
cold rain seeping into his bones.
Abandoned. Alone. Helpless.
And then one day…he had
looked up to meet cold and gray eyes which held no promises. What choice did a
little boy have, but to go with one who could at least give him a roof over his
head and some food which he had so desperately needed. But as the saying goes,
all things must come with a price and Tsume had known first-hand just what
price he had to pay for being ‘protected’ by his mentor.
He rubbed a hand across his
forehead wearily and tired to will away the bile that had risen to his throat.
What was the use of thinking about a past that could not be rectified? He had
the future to think about now and that future consisted of a curious fool who
had come waltzing into his life to turn it upside down.
“You had better be safe,
Kiba,” he whispered a bit too fiercely. “You had better be safe.”
__
“Forgive me for not introducing
myself, Kiba. My name is Darcia and I would like to speak to you…alone.”
Darcia. Darcia! Darcia!!
The name resonated in Kiba’s
mind over and over again, causing him to wince at the sudden gamut of
conflicting emotions that raced through it. He was aware of his shallow
breathing and the perspiration that had broken out on his seemingly feverish
skin. He had no idea of what kind of power this man exuded, but Kiba knew that
it was going to be a lost cause trying to pick a fight with him.
Besides, hadn’t Hige said
that Darcia was an integral part of the hunt for him? If he wanted to know more
about his supposed Wolf origins, he would have to rely on this man to fill in
the blanks for him. However, what was quite embarrassing and rather humiliating
was the ‘other’ kind of effect Darcia was having on him. Having assumed that
only Tsume could make him feel this surge of heat to a rather sensitive region
on his body, Kiba could now feel the very same thing happening as he met the
cool blue eye that peered at him. The inane thought of throwing Darcia to the
ground and having his way with him overwhelmed the younger man till the point
of him thinking that the world was about to sway off its axis.
“Perhaps we should go
somewhere more private,” Darcia was saying and Kiba could feel his head moving
back and forth in denial.
“We…we can talk here.” Yes,
out here in public where he could still maintain some sort of self-control over
his emotions. He wanted to be done with Darcia, so that Toboe wouldn’t have to
meet him in person.
Speaking of Toboe, the young
boy was taking an awfully long time in getting the napkins.
“Out here?” Darcia masked his
displeasure at the suggestion with a small smile. He knew he could forcibly
take Kiba away from here if he so chose to, but he had to woo this beautiful
creature and that would mean taking his time to get to know Kiba. He eyed the
vicinity, noting that only a few late evening visitors strolled the park. He
narrowed his gaze as he picked up two weak but distinct scents of the other
beasts. He knew that one of them was the boy Kiba had come with and Darcia
could only assume that the second belonged to the female. It seemed like both
of them had survived the incident at Quent’s mansion after all.
“All right,” he finally said
with an amiable smile as he sat on the bench beside Kiba. He noticed the
younger man flinch and he hid a smirk of satisfaction. It would be so easy to
persuade Kiba to come with him – even better would be to have this man writhing
below him in pure ecstasy.
“How do you know my name?”
Kiba asked suddenly. He deliberately kept his gaze fixed somewhere above
Darcia’s eyes for he had the feeling that if he kept staring into that blue
gaze, he would eventually lose his resolve. “How did you find me? And what do
you want from me?”
“Haha, a million and one
questions already, Kiba,” the older man said with a light shrug. “I love your
direct approach. It’s quite refreshing to see…”
“Answer my questions,
Darcia,” came the cold retort which did nothing to hide Kiba’s impatience.
The older man’s brows
furrowed at the sharp tone and with some effort, he managed to contain his own
irritation. He forced another smile to his visage and replied quietly.
“I am just like you, Kiba and
believe me; it’s very easy to track down a fellow wolf…”
“Stop saying that,” Kiba
growled, taking a quick glance around as if hoping that no one else had heard
that. “What proof do you have to say something like that?”
Darcia’s lips curved into a
smirk. “You know as well as I do the differences between you and the other
humans. You have noticed your incredible strength and your heightened senses of
smell, sight and sound, have you not? Tell me, Kiba where did you come from?”
The dark-haired man blinked
in confusion, the words forming on his lips to give a response, but they died
away as he stared into Darcia’s mocking blue eye. “I…I came from…”
From where?
He could feel his head beginning to pound again like a million tiny soldiers
pacing up and down incessantly. He sank trembling hands into his hair, his
features tight with concentration as he tried to remember something…anything about his childhood.
There was a fire…
“You don’t remember anything,
do you?” Darcia crooned softly into Kiba’s ear, causing Kiba to flinch back
with something akin to terror in his eyes. There was something vaguely familiar
about Darcia now – something that did not bring good memories at all.
“Sta…stay away from me,” Kiba
began as he began to slide away on the bench and away from the penetrating
stare. “You…”
“Go on,” Darcia cajoled in a
husky voice filled with temptation and promises. “It hurts, doesn’t it? The
memories…”
“Stay away from me!” Kiba
cried out in terror, but this time instead of pulling back, he found himself
lunging forward to sink his fangs into Darcia’s left shoulder. He could feel
the man flinch and hiss in pain but Darcia made no move to fight back. He
closed his eyes and moaned in satisfaction, a feral grin coming to his features
as Darcia realized he had achieved his purpose.
The blood thrummed through Kiba’s
veins like a rush of adrenaline and he continued to suck hungrily.
Like a vampire,
he thought wildly as he felt every pore on his flesh, every nerve become alive
at the delicious taste of his tormentor. I’m
like a fucking vampire! Stop this! Stop this now! Oh god…
He could feel his lashes
growing heavier – a slow lethargic feeling coming over him as he struggled to
keep his eyes open. He was falling under Darcia’s spell and the more he
struggled to fight it off, the weaker he became. He was a proud man and hated
to rely on anyone for help, but Kiba was powerless to stop himself from
thinking of the one person that he needed more than anything else in the world
at this time.
Tsume…Tsu…me…come for me!
__
“Will you not come with me to
see him?” Blue asked softly as she caressed the boy’s hair gently. Toboe’s head
lay on her lap and for the meantime; Kiba and the ice-cream were completely
forgotten.
Toboe, who had been enjoying
Blue’s attention, sighed softly at the inevitable question. He sat up slowly
and turned his gaze away as if ashamed of the response he was about to give.
“I…I don’t think it would be a good idea, Blue.”
“He was good to us, Toboe,”
Blue said almost desperately. “You can’t just abandon him now in his time of
need…”
“He tried to kill me!” Toboe
whispered back fiercely before lowering his gaze again. His cheeks flushed at
the memory of Kiba and Tsume and he shook his head slowly. “They…Kiba, Tsume
and Hige…if it wasn’t for them, I’d be dead now, Blue. I thought you’d be able
to understand that.”
Her eyes flashed for an
instant at the names of the others and she rose to her feet, her lips tightened
in displeasure. “He rescued you from the streets and took care of you when no
one else would and this is how you repay him? I thought you were better than
that, Toboe. He must have been out of his mind by then…when he tried to kill
you that is…I mean…he would never have done that if those…those men hadn’t showed up.” She placed her
hands upon his shoulders, staring deeply into his widened brown eyes. “Come
with me, Toboe. Let’s get away from this place! We’ll make a new life together,
just you and I, what do you say?”
“I…I can’t Blue,” Toboe
whispered thickly. He could feel the sting of unshed tears burn in his eyes as
he lowered his head sadly. “I want…to be with them….ah!” He gasped and rose to
his feet quickly, causing Blue’s hands to fall away from his shoulders. He
sniffed the air gently – not really aware he was doing so – and then frowned as
he looked towards the direction of where he had left Kiba.
“Do you smell that, Blue?”
Toboe asked softly as his entire being became taut with awareness. The female sucked
in a harsh breath at the sight the normally timid boy made. There was something
so wild and unkempt about the way he looked and for a moment, she was sure she
had seen Toboe flash a pair of fangs. She shook her head rapidly and took a
step backwards. She too was aware of what was going on and had tried her best
to stop Toboe from feeling it too. But there was no denying the prickle of
awareness on her skin or the heavy scent of a being just like…them.
“Let’s…let’s go, Toboe,” she
began. “Let’s get away from here…”
“No!” His eyes flashed with
determination. “I’m tired of running away and I won’t do it anymore! Kiba’s in
trouble and I have to help him!”
With that said, the boy began
to run as fast as he could, towards the area he had last left his companion. He
kicked himself for becoming too distracted with Blue, and now…who knew what was
happening to the older man? The sound of running footsteps beside him had Toboe
turning his head quickly. His eyes widened in surprise as he met Blue’s
determined profile.
“Blu…Blue?”
“Don’t think I’m going to let
you get into trouble,” she replied curtly, but Toboe could see the small smile
on her lips and he felt incredibly pleased at her decision.
However, they came to a
screeching halt as they noticed the tall man walking away with Kiba slung over
his shoulder.
“Kiba!” Toboe cried out in
dismay. “Let Kiba go!” He made a mad dash for the man, but Blue held him back.
“Let me go, Blue! Damn it! Let me go! Let Kiba go!!”
“Wise decision there,” Darcia
said softly as he eyed the newcomers with interest. The few visitors at the
park had stopped to witness the new developments but neither participant paid
much attention to them. “What’s the use of trying to stop me, hmm, Toboe?”
The young boy gasped.
“How…who are you?!”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Darcia teased with a sneer as he began to walk away. “Run back to your master,
young ones and do not bother with the big boys, hmm?”
“You let him go now,” Blue
demanded fiercely. She was standing before Toboe, her hands clenched into tight
fists, eyes flashing with anger even though she wasn’t sure of why she was even
protecting this Kiba anyway. It wasn’t as if she liked him neither was she
going to be friends with him. She was just doing this for Toboe and that was all.
Darcia, who had begun to walk
away again, stopped and cocked his head to the side to eye the blue beast
baring its fangs at him. “Beautiful,” he muttered softly. “If I wasn’t already
enamored with the white one, I’d take you away, my dear Blue.”
Her eyes narrowed in fury at
the deliberate taunt and she lunged for him, only to find herself being hurled
several feet into the air and thrown rather painfully against a sturdy tree.
“BLUE!” Toboe cried out in
horror as he watched her slide down to the ground in a slump. He could see the
dark red blood that was beginning to pool around her head. “Blue…Blue…”
“Pray, she’s all right,” the
man replied lazily as he began to walk away again. “She’ll be…hmm?”
Toboe had moved fast and now
had his fangs buried within Darcia’s left arm. He snarled angrily at the steady
blue gaze that was directed at him, while wondering if he could knock Kiba away
at the same time. The dark-haired wolf looked unconscious and there was blood
around his mouth as well. Just what had Darcia done to Kiba?
“So you can display some
courage and strength when provoked,” Darcia observed coolly, hardly paying
attention to the blood that was now trailing down his arm from Toboe’s
unrelenting grip. “But I weary of you weak ones…so very much.”
He lifted a leg and tried to
kick Toboe, but the boy hadn’t been a professional thief for nothing. He dodged
the blow intended for him and swung to Darcia’s left, burying his fangs within
the man’s thigh this time around. Darcia growled in fury and with a swift blow
to the young wolf’s head, finally managed to dislodge Toboe from him.
“Damn you,” he muttered thickly,
licking his bleeding hand as he watched the young one try to stagger to its
feet. He placed a booted feet upon Toboe’s head, smirking cruelly as he
listened to the low whimpers of pain. “When the other ones come for surely they
will, tell him – the one named Tsume – that I am waiting. He will find me
easily enough. Tell him to trust his senses, hmm?”
Toboe tried fruitlessly to
get to his feet, to scream, to do something to stop Darcia from getting away,
but he was in pain and could barely see now, thanks to the thick flow of blood
that blocked his vision. He could only watch as Kiba was taken away from him
and as he found himself slipping into unconsciousness, he begged silently for
Tsume to forgive him.
__
Tsume had felt it and he had
thought he would go mad.
Kiba’s cry for help.
Damn it!
Someone had him and Tsume had
an idea of just who it was.
He was definitely going to go
insane with rage.
They leapt from building to
building, the sunset now giving way to a cool early evening as the moon began
to rise into the darkened sky. Hige hadn’t even bothered trying to tell Tsume
to cool his jets because he too had felt Kiba’s confusion and desperate plea
for help. He had no idea how they were going to deal with a man like Darcia but
he had a feeling that being with Tsume would make things so much easier.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Tsume
cried out as he began to run even faster. “Do you feel that?!
“Yeah…it’s Toboe…and…” Hige
stalled, not really sure of what he was sensing. “The girl?!”
“Makes no difference now!”
Tsume yelled back. He could see the park in his sights and leaping down to the
ground, he sped down the streets, leapt over the wrought iron fence and glanced
frantically around for where the two wolves could be. It wasn’t difficult to
spot them as a few curious onlookers and concerned citizens had them
surrounded.
“Get out of the way,” Tsume
growled as he pushed a few of the people aside. One look at the slumped female
against the tree and then towards Toboe told him all he needed to know. “Hige!
Take care of the woman; let’s get them out of here before…”
“Hey, mister leave them
alone,” Someone cried out. “There’s an ambulance coming!”
“They don’t need an
ambulance,” Tsume retorted sharply as he lifted Toboe within his arms. “Got
her, Hige?”
The brown-haired man nodded
firmly and with a look of understanding between them, they leapt out of sight
with their precious cargo. They finally came to a stop beside the main river
which separated the
Where? Where is he? Where have they taken him to?!
Toboe coughed softly as he
felt the water against his lips. He shivered and trembled within Tsume’s arms.
It was as if he had heard Tsume’s desperate questions in his mind and as he
opened his lashes weakly, he stared into the tortured visage above him.
“Some…some guy…” he began but
coughed again as he felt something thick lodge in his throat. Tsume winced at
the amount of blood that escaped the boy’s lips and swore to kill the guy
responsible for this.
“Who…?” Tsume asked softly as
he wiped away the blood. “What did he look like?”
“She says its Darcia,” Hige
said as he held up Blue, who looked no better than Toboe. “There’s no mistaking
the guy with the patch, she says.”
“Darcia.” It
was one word that was spoken with so much venom; Toboe shrank back a little at
the homicidal look that had now filled Tsume’s eyes.
“Do you know where they
went?” he finally asked coldly. Toboe shook his head slowly.
“He said you’d know where to
find him…to trust your senses…and come find him…”
Tsume’s jaw tightened as he
rose to his feet, but a soft tug on his arm had him blinking at the boy on the
ground. “What is it, Toboe?”
“Be…be careful…” the boy
whispered pleadingly. “He’s…so strong and I don’t…I don’t want to lose my new
family…”
And I don’t want to lose the guy I’m going crazy for
either, Tsume thought as he gave
Toboe a small smile of reassurance. “I’ll be fine. You just do your part and
get better, got it kid? Hige?”
“Uh huh?”
“Take care of them…I’ll be
back for breakfast and make it for two.”
Hige raised a brow but still
looked at Tsume with a frown of determination on his features. “I’m holding you
to that, buddy. If not, we’ll all come looking for you guys.”
Tsume saw Blue and Toboe nod
in agreement at the decision and for the first time in his life, felt something
akin to happiness? In his heart. He
had found a group of people he could finally trust and call friends and for
that Tsume discovered that he was extremely grateful. He had people waiting for
him now - people who actually gave a shit about his welfare and he knew that he
couldn’t afford to let them down.
“Sure, whatever,” he growled
thickly before turning away. He lifted a hand to give them a quick salute
before leaping towards the bridge. He stood upon the tallest pole, watching the
cars and boats below him like tiny ants with a look of indifference.
Kiba…you bastard…look at what you’re making me do. Why
do I go crazy for you?
He closed his eyes and took a
deep breath, clearing his mind from all thoughts and concerns.
Trust your senses…you’ll know where to find me.
The half-moon peeked from
dark clouds and Tsume opened up his eyes again. There was a feral glint in
those golden eyes and his teeth seemed to have become sharper as they gleamed
beneath the moonlight.
He could smell them – Darcia
and Kiba. However, it was mingled as if they were both in consummation or in
heat. Tsume’s rage knew no bounds as he took flight towards the intoxicating
scents of his prey.
He had no clear cut plan of
what to do when he got there but he was determined to claim Kiba tonight even
if it cost him his life.