Yomi made a gesture to Hikaru, that ceased his narration. Gandara's King was deeply touched by the adversities that elegant grey youko had suffered. Hikaru had been through much more anyone could imagine. His detatched, high-born manners concealed the torments he bore inside his youko's heart.

"Your love story is so beautiful, and yet, so sad... I feel a little embarrassed..."

Hikaru slowly turned to Yomi. His sorrow was so intense a grimace of pain and sorrow showed in his face. It had been difficult for him to speak of it all, mainly whenever Hayashi was mentioned. Nevertheless his emotion seemed under control now. Distracted, he played roaming his fingers along the abandoned Gomoku board. The lines and diagonals drawn by the game became a shuffled pile of black and red pieces. Hikaru felt destroying that perfect geometrical order they formed helped to focus himself.

In fact, destruction had helped him a lot through the past years. It had been the only relief for his his affliction. It was weird, but sprawling vengeance had been the only link he kept with sanity all those years.

"Why?" He asked.

"My strive cannot be compared to yours." Yomi showed Hikaru a tender-hearted smile on saying this. "In a way, I was the only one to be blamed of my fall. Kurama had given me countless warnings. He had always displayed openly how much my company displeased him, and yet, I insisted on that unrequited love."

The King sighed in. He drank a little more sake, surprised that neither he or Hikaru were actualy drunk. It seems conversing about their backgrounds kept them aware enough to wash away drunkenness.

"Nothing I was given was a surprise to me. I knew, from the beginning, Kurama was only waiting for the best moment to get rid of me. My tragedy is my fault alone. I remained in the gang, counting on that impossible love affair. I wanted Kurama to give me the only thing he could never do - give me love..."

Yomi stopped. His voice failed, and he sobbed softly. Hikaru imagined he was on the verge of sheding tears, but like the King had said, his eyes had become dry, due to the deep cuts they had suffered. He was intensely pale now; his quivering lips and his hard gasped breathing were signs of his quiet weeping. Even though his face remained dry, it was obvious Yomi was suffering.

"He made me suffer, day after day, and I remained by his side, because I... I..." He sucked air in, painfully.  "I cannot hide it. I enjoyed the way he treated me. He trampled over my pride, he made me suffer, he despised me, and I enjoyed every bit of it." Yomi stared at Hikaru. His shut eyes fluttered, and he reached out for the youko, to hold his hands. "How could I blame Kurama for giving me pleasure?"

Hikaru did not steal himself from the touch of Yomi's hands. He held the Kings's large hands with his, and squeezed them with a caress.

"After the disgrace fell upon me, and I was blinded and forced to exile from his presence, I have blamed the Silver Youko of it all because it was the easiest course. However I feel I am the one to blame instead. It hurts to know I was the agent that provoked my own downfall. Even hard to admit, it is the truth - I am the one to blame."

"No. It is still Kurama Youko's fault."

Yomi said nothing.

"He could have acted otherwise. You were just a pawn at his schemes. You were a tool he used and discharged. In addition, he kept you by his side because he felt some kind of pleasure in mistreating you. You were a perfet sado-masochist couple. In a way, you shared love; a distorted kind of love, but if Kurama actually displeased you so much he would not have waited so long to kill you."

Yomi heard it all attentively.

"I had allowed him to humiliate me too easily. If I had fought for my own pride, if I had fought to keep my self-esteem, then perhaps he might..."

"We are all crying over spilled milk..." Hikaru declared, bluntly. It was a sensation he did not apreciate. Anyway, it was impossible to turn back the time. It is why he always tried to avoid the subject of his past. Why talk about it? Why recall it? Why mourn? Nothing would change. The only relief he could get could be by means of vengeance, and yet, he had failed in killing Kurama Youko.

The grey youko continued his musing.

"You enjoyed suffering, and he delighted in giving you both physical and emotional pain. It seems perfect to me - You actually shared a strange love relationship." Hikaru paused to pour sake to himself. "Nevertheless it did not give Kurama the right over your life. He did not need to hire a hitman to put you to death; this is his mistake, the sin he must be blamed of. All in all, you cannot be guilty of provoking your own death, Yomi."

He smiled softly; Hikaru was right... Any youkai willing to dump a partner would merely do something like write down a note and walk away. But not Kurama. The Silver Youko must kill him and make it final and irreversible.

Kurama had always enjoyed being dramatic in everything he did...

"Thank you, Hikaru. I appreciate your kindness."

"I am just trying to confort a friend. I know love wounds hurt immensely"

"Could you comfort me closer?" Yomi proposed, spreading his arms in an embracing gesture. "I like our contact."

Hikaru shook his head very slowly. He lowered his eyes, not to look at Yomi in the face.

"Not now... I'd rather not to..."

"Recalling Hayashi breaks your heart, yes?"

Hikaru just sighed in, sorrowfully. Yomi insisted, calling him to his arms, and Hikaru just denied it again.

"You cannot imagine how hard it was then..." Yomi turned his face down, and his hair concealed his beautiful, pale face. His voice became husky, and yet filled with pain. He re-filled his cup with sake. He had long ago lost the count of the bottles they had emptied together. And it was still painful to give away certain details of his past. Liquor was not numbing his senses and his heartsickness enough. "I left the camp exulting with joy and satisfaction. I felt my body ache; the night spent being loved by the youko had inflicted a few sores and bruises all over my flesh. But I loved the feel they gave me. I went into battle exulting with my new-found love and happiness. I wanted to go back to Kurama loaded with riches. I even fantasized about teh two of us bathing together in a pool of golden coins and precious gems, and he would then make me his eternal partner..."

"You loved him so much... "

"I had faith all things would change then." Yomi noticed Hikaru had scooted a little towards his side. He wanted to encircle him in his arms again, but he wanted the youko to be the one to make the first move. "I had planned it all. Kurama's whole crew was engaged in that specific action. I commanded them, and I had planned every detail of our assault."

Another sip of sake, and the King kept on.

"We arrived at the Fortress before dawn. It was a vast stronghold on the edge of a high steep cliffwall. It was a platteau of difficult access, and yet, my satisfaction was so high I felt no hardship, I felt no strain. My group followed me on my antecipation as well. We wanted to be recognized again like the most feared group of thieves in the Makai, and we werer ready to struggle for it. Every one of us wanted to make a difference. It was no secret Kurama felt a little disenchanted, lacking motivation to lead our group. Many youkai were even scared Kurama might want to get rid of the whole gang somehow..."

"They knew their own leader well enough not to trust him."

Yomi agreed with Hikaru's comment. In fact, on recalling those facts now he realized even then he had felt a strange feeling - a hunch things might not have follow as planned. If he had not been given that incredible, paradisiac evening of romance, he might have listened to his foreboding. But he was still intoxicated from all the passion Kurama had offered him; it was his insane desire, his urging to impress Kurama, that guided Yomi then. He ought to become the most daring and ingenious thief of the Makai; only then Kurama would value him enough to love him. Thus Yomi left aside any precaution, any sense, to throw himself deeply into that piece of action.

"The few ones who were veterans in the gang were afraid Kurama might betray them. I am not sure of it, but it seeems there was an underground plan among some of Kurama's gangmen to slay the youko and then steal his hidden treasureBut it was only a rumor."

Hikaru gave a derisive smile, that he concealed beneath the cup as he drank more sake.

"He would be given what he deserved."

Yomi reached out to caress the curve of Hikaru's shoulder. He could never suspect under that elegant, noble appearance, existed such a vindictive youko. He was a fascinating creature. There must many other mysteries of his personality still to be unfolded...

"Kuronue's death made the gang lose its spirit, its vivacity. We seemed a band of headless zombies then. Nevertheless, this assault, this action in particular, aroused everyone's interest. I was the one responsible to give them motivation and determination; mainly after the arresting evening of pleasure Kurama gave me. My satisfaction was so intense I contagiated everyone. We were all ready to steal the Treasure Room of the Reikai, if we had to." Yomi gasped. He drunk the rest of sake oin his cup in one draw. "I led them to death. If I had suspected of Kurama's intentions, I could have saved them. They were all there - We were a group of thirty strong, brave youkai and were all framed."

Hikaru felt a shiver up his spine. Yomi had reached for his hand, squeezing it with a warm caress. He tried to disguise his reaction, but he knew Yomi perceived it by the candid smile that appered on his lips.

"I was in Heaven; my demon heart was full of hope. But a few instants of confusion and shock were enough to throw me into a pit of darkness and abandonenment."

Yomi stopped for a little while. His shut eyes fluttered, and he breathed in deeply. His fingers fumbled restlessly with the hem of his kimono. His hands werer shaking.

"We had already observed the fortress routine. We would start the assault during the morning guard shift. We carried ropes and hooks, and we had found an excellent blind spot to climb the walls and enter the stronghold. Once inside, some would fight the opposition, and others would attack the Treasure room." Yomi smiled softly. "Nothing could go wrong; we even had a a map showing passages and corridors. It is why we were so confident. I burned with the desire to impress Kurama, to show him I could be as good, even beter than Kuronue. What we did not know is our enthusiasm and over-confidence made us careless - we did not expect such an ambush."

Gandara's King sighed in softly.

"I could not suspect I was signing my own dead warrant then. We barely had time to appraoch the walls. The attack we suffered was too sudden. Many of the gang died without ever knowing who or what had hit them." yomi gulped, recalling the fright of those moments. He remembered asking the runners what was going on, but he was given no reply. They werer already dead; and many others followed. "The whole front plattoon was hit first. I heard the cries of terror and pain coming from them but there was no time for reaction."

"Was it a one-youkai action?"

"Yes. He was extremely nimble. He had ambushed us in between the Fortress' walls and the brink of the cliff. We were given no way to run. I saw the ones next to me fall down, and watched in panic the rest of the crew be slashed down. He was a strong winged-youkai, very fast, very agile. Our group tried to fight him back, but they were no match for him. He wore an armor, and fought with two swords, one in each hand, with an astounding facility. It took the mercenary mere seconds to wipe out my whole crew. Then, after killing every one else of the gang he came to attack me."

"Weird... Snipers usually kill the leader first."

"He did not want to kill me immediately. I imagine he wanted to subjugate me first, then take me to either interrogation or torture; perhaps both."

"I see."

"He must have been hired to torture me for a very long time before finishing with my life. Kurama enjoyed playing with his victims."

"Hn. Probably he would even be there to watch and command the torture. Blinded, you would not be aware of his presence."

"It is a strong supposition, dear Hikaru. The Kurama Youko I knew then would love such entertainment."

"Vengeance brings us to terrible extremes..." The grey youko spoke softly. He had also his share of bloodshed and torture. He had also exulted in inflicting pain upon his sworn enemies. Funny as it might be, it was Kurama himself, and his youko gang, that had led Hikaru to act in such a fashion. It was not a matter of cruelty. He merely gave as bad as he had gotten. "Kurama is detestable. Perhaps I shall be granted the grace to watch him writhe in pain and die a slow death one day..."

Yomi could not agree with that; no matter what he would never actually hate Kurama. But he understood Hikaru's motives to bear such hate against the silver fox.

"I tried to defeat him with all my might, but he was stronger than me. Fighting with two blades at one time gave him a tremenduous advantage. He wounded me several times, and everytime I tried to attack he dodged my sword and we crossed blades. He moved fast, and I could not follow his attacks. It was then he took me by surprise. He jumped on me, and slashed my eyes." Yomi lowered his head. His voice sounded extremely low and sad. "He wielded his two blades in a fst, simultaneous blow and slashed my eyes. Every thing became red. The pain was intense like never I had felt before. It was sharp, deep, maddening..." Yomi paused. He reached out for Hikaru's; they held hands amorously. "It was like a shock drilling through my skull... It was so intense I felt I could lose my reasoning right there."

Hikaru stroked Yomi's hand with his fingers. His silence and his caress gave the King support to continue.

"I felt the blood run down my face, and I screamed with shock and pain. My eyes burned. I felt as if red-hot irons were stuck up inside my eyeballs. It was a maddening pain I still remember in my nightmares..."

"Yomi..."

It is then he realized Hikaru had crawled to his side again. They were sitting close, so close the king could sense the warmth of that youko's aura flickering all along his arm, his thigh... The soft touch of a caressing hand touched his brow, his face... Gentle fingertips stroked his closed eyes, affectionately.

He bent forward and encircled Hikaru with his arms, embracing him against his bosom.

The youko did not oppose it.

"I became enraged. The pain was so intense I grew wilder. In a flash of awareness I understood my only chance of survival lay on reacting right away. I could only see red, and pain continued to sever my sight. Yet, I held my sword tighter and attacked forth, blindly, desperately, urging to kill whatever my blade might hit. I went berserk... The pain was agonizing, and I think I channelled all of it into fighting the enemy." Yomi felt better now, as Hikaru rested his head on his shoulder. The perfume of his long, silky hair was like a balm. "I held my sword with all my might, and even though the bloody red that soaked my sight had become sheer black, I was not intimidated by it. I stepped forth, thrusting my sword blindly but courageously, and I felt I had hit aim. I managed to wound the bastard when he was coming to strike another blow at me."

"This extreme situation brought up the best of your fighting spirit." Hikaru commented. Such a surge of courage and energy used to happen with him also. A conflict could change his disposition completely. "You fought for your life, Yomi. You used all energy and courage you had in stock."

Yomi aquiecsed. He sneaked his arm around Hikaru's waist and leaned on him. They were one supporting the other now, very quietly, like a pair of embracing lovers holding a pose for a romantic picture.

"He fled. I demanded his name; I demanded to know who had ordered that attack, but ran away without answering me."

Hikaru caressed Yomi's face. His skin was smooth but cold.

"That mercenary never completed his job. Wounded, he feared for his life and ran away. I still heard him say something about no payment being worth the his life...  The bastard ran away, and I still tried to chase him, demanding an explanation, but the pain and the blackness that struck my eyes confounded me. Disoriented, I fell down the brink of the cliff."

Yomi huddled around Hikaru, and his hands played with the folds of the youko's kimono. "It was a long way down. I panicked when My body hit the rocks and and tumbled down the steep. I tried hopelessly to hold myself to something, anything, but my hands found no support..."

Hikaru lowered his eyes. He was not insensitive to the pain Yomi might have felt then. It must have been an hour of deadliest terror - blind, wounded, rolling down a chasm..."

"I called for Kurama. I cried for his name, begging him to come and rescue me from that nightmare. But he never came to me..."

Yomi gasped. His deep voice became smothered by emotion, and he concealed his face with one arm. His other hand was taken by Hikaru, who caressed it, transmitting warmth and friendship to him.

"I loved him, I could have given my life for him. Kurama was all I prayed for, and he never came to save me." Yomi took a deep breath in, trying to recompose himself. "I hit the bottom of the precipice and I just remained there, disoriented, defeated, wounded... I cried bloody tears from my slashed eyes, expecting Kurama to come and save me from all that disgrace, but he abandoned me..."

The King's voice failed. Silence fell upon the two of them. For a long moment they communicated only through the caressing movements of their intertwined fingers and the sweet pressure of their holding hands.

"I don't know what hurt more. If the shame of being defeated, the loneliness, or the cuts in my eyes... Somehow, the faith I possessed Kurama would come to help me was the  motivation that kept me alive." The hand Yomi covered his face with moved around Hikaru's shoulders. The youkai smiled slightly when he felt the silky touch of the fox's  greyish hair on his skin. "I could still sense Kurama's scent all over me; in my imagination we had finally become lovers. I wanted to outlive that tragedy to go back to him. Thus, I waited, and my you-ki, made stronger for the passion in my heart and my determination, allowed me not to die from my wounds. I remained in the bottom of that precipice for a long time, unaware of my surroundings, just waiting for my beloved silver fox to save me." He stopped, and made a gesture to reach the sake. Hikaru promptly served Yomi, handling the cup delicately, and filling it before passing it to the youkai's hands. "I managed to tap around me and find my sword. Then I cut a strap off my tunic, and used it to bandage my cut eyes. The wound hurt like nothing I had ever felt. It was excrutiating. Yet, the certainty Kurama would come and heal my pain and my wounds with his plants and potions, quietened my despair."

Hikaru felt his own eyes wet. Discreetly, he wiped out a tear that rolled down his face with the sleeve of his robe. It was such a miserable thing to have faith on such a monster...

"You have suffered much, Yomi... You suffered because you have offered such a beautiful love to one who cared not for it... Such loyalty, such dedication..."

"Yes... I waited for Kurama and he never came to help me - and I never knew why. This is the reason why I chased the mercenary that slashed my eyes, and tortured him - I needed to know who ordered it, and why. I have lived days, years, centuries, feeding on the hope Kurama would return to me and we could rebuild the dream of love and partnership I always longed for..."

"You are deep and sensitive. Finding such a beauty inside your demon's heart is a surprise to me."

Yomi smiled.

"I am also marvellled at your dedication and courage, Hikaru. You are indeed a noble youko; I could never have expected it."

Yomi placed a kiss on Hikaru's brow, and cuddled closer to him. He spread his knees giving room for the youko to sit in between them, and nestled him sweetly against his bosom, always stroking his back, and playing with the long strands of grey hair that cascaded along his shoulders.

"I failed though. I failed in challenging the leader of those pillagers and I..."

"No. You wounded Kurama where it hurts him the most - his pride."

The youko's blue eyes locked at Yomi's face. The King still smiled; it was a confiding, keen smile to the fox.

"Indeed?"

Gandara's King acquiesced. His expression became one of astute indulgence.

"Perhaps you should dedicate the rest of your life to loving instead of killing..." He suggested, making his hand move down Hikaru's back to encircle his slender waist. "On my part I have long ago given up waiting for Kurama."

Yomi smiled. A warm smile, unveiling the king's flirting intentions.

Uneasy, the fox lowered his eyes, and squirmed in the embrace. But he did not pull away from the King's arms. He merely breathed in deeper, and relaxed. Perhaps Yomi's assumption might be right. To be frank, he was indeed tired of so much killling and torturing - It had never been part of his nature.

Gently, he pulled Yomi's hand to him, and took a sip from his sake. Somehow, he felt it was yet too early to quit drinking. Yomi's intentions towards him were making him nervous again. And he had not yet decided what to think, or what to do about it.

"No one appeared to rescue you from that pit?" Hikaru asked, willing to go back to topic.

"No." He sighed out. "I waited there for days, sitting cross-legged, very still, trying to save energy. Those were the darkest, most painful days of my whole existence. As days passed and Kurama did not come, I became more and more hopeless. I wanted to die, and yet, I did not dare to slash my own throat and finish with it all. In the back of my mind a little hope, a little faith resisted, that Kurama would come. I fooled myself, I invented excuses to justify his delay... I refused to perceive the truth -  that Kurama could be the one behind that ambush. Who else could know our tactics so well to ambush us with such an astounding perfection?"

"You had to shun the truth away. If you were aware of the full scope of Kurama's cruelty by then, you would bear no will, no motivation to keep yourself alive."

"Yes... The love I felt for the youko helped me then. I remember that many times during those days I aimed my sword at my stomach, ready to practice the harakiri and put an end to all that disgrace. But the image of his cold beauty, the remembrance of his arms around me, and his fierce lovemaking made me want to resist."

A caress was Hikaru's response to Yomi.

"I lost the count of how many days I remained at the bottom of that cliff. Blind, I could not find a way out of there, Alone, I could neither find food or water nor defend myself. My clothes were ragged, dirty, bloody; I looked like a beggar..." His smile became bittersweet. Truth is somehow he had always been a beggar, supplicating Kurama for attention, for affection, always humiliating himself before the powerful, alluring silver youko... "After a while I realized I had to do something not to starve to death. Then I tappered my way out of there, using my sheathed sword like a cane. I  found the cliffwall, and started to climb it, scratching and clawing up for my way blindly."

Yomi paused. His hand caressed the curve of Hikaru's waist, and stroked the small of his back. His tail tickled him, waving softly against his thigh. Hikaru fillled his cup and Yomi's again, and they drunk together, quietly, a sip at a time, till Yomi resumed his story.

"It was terrifying. I had just been blinded, I had had no time to developed any extra-sense. My you-ki was weak; I felt in a chaos. But I fought for my life, I struggled  to resist. My eyes never stopped paining me. It was a torture; deep, sharp, piercing through my skull cruelly... It was by then I started to suspect my blindess might be permanent. But such fear just served to make me wish deeper for Kurama's presence. I craved for the youko..."

Hikaru quietly rested one of his hands on Yomi's thigh. The front of the robe the king wore had opened enough for him to take a glance at the marble-like paleness of his thigh. The youko could not resist caressing his cold skin.

Yomi smiled, in silence, enjoying the feel. He quivered with the touch of the youko's long fingers along his thigh. He was definitively sure he wanted Hikaru; he would not let that youko escape him...

Gandara's sovereign chuckled with the passionate audacity of his own thoughts.

"What happpened?"

"Nothing, my dear youko... Nothing..." He kissed Hikaru's brow again, and patted his back. "The irony of it all is that I sought refuge at the Gates of the Fortress I was supposed to have assaulted. When I arrived there, I saw no one from the gang - neither alive nor dead; their corpses had already been disposed of. Protected by anonymity, I found a niche on the walls, and stayed there, waiting. I begged for food, water, alms... I was still firm on the belief Kurama would come and rescue me from all that humiliation." He squeezed Hikaru against his body, and the youko consented with the caress. In fact, he even purred, nuzzling Yomi's chest. The sake had made both of them very relaxed. "Being no more but a ragged pariah, I was forbidden to enter the city. I remained outside, counting on the kindness of the passing strangers. But we know there is hardly any charity and goodness in the Makai."

"It must have been hard."

"Indeed. I was beaten up. My sword was stolen. I was thrown garbage for food; and I was famished enough not to refuse it. Blind, it was very hard to try to defend and care for myself." He sighed. "It is a period of my life I do not like recalling. My misery was too much. I was nothing but an starving indigent. Even kids beat me up, kicking me away like a diseased beast. Not to mention I was raped, several times, by youkai who took advantage of my blindness."

"No one came to help you?"

"Why would anyone help me? I was not good enough to become a slave - What is the use of a blind slave, Hikaru? Without my sight, I was nothing, therefore I was treated as nothing."

The grey youko agreed. He leaned back on Yomi's embrace to listen to the rest of that astounding story of defeat and resurgence.

"My depression grew everyday; my weakness grew along. I was becoming sick, I was starving, losing vitality fast. It was then someone offered me help. I was offered work. A youkai who was passing by, proposed me to work for him, in exchange for food and a place to sleep."

"How come?"

"He was afraid a healthy, unimpaired servant might try against his life. Being blind, I offered no risks to him. He was an old youkai. A former merchant and diplomat, fallen in disgrace. He was nothing more than an old youkai withdrawn from society to avoid trouble and war. Makai was much more dangerous 1000 years ago than it is now."

"Did you trust his proposal?"

"What else could I do, Hikaru? I was starving. Being beaten up was not enough; the whole group of beggars and homeless that roamed around the Fortess raped me on a daily basis because I was defenseless." Yomi could not avoid a sarcastic smile. "I may be considered a bit of a masochist, but even this was too much to bear..."

Hikaru could not even smile. It was too much terrorizing for him to imagine such situation... It was very similar to what happened to Hayashi; he had always been forced to the most shameful and disgusting acts by that monster he had for brother.

Unbelievable as it might seem, their stories were somehow intertwined. Similar tragedies have happened to each of them, caused by the same villain.

No wonder they have felt such at ease one with the other to speak it all out.

"I could never have imagined you had faced such dark moments in your life. But you seem to have overcome it all - I am impressed by your inner strenght."

"It was my instinct of survival. I bore with the pain, the wounds and infections, the weakness, the humiliation... I put up with it all because I must be alive to find Kurama again. I resigned myself to be treated like a beast. I allowed my new master to tie my hands, tie a rope around my neck, and I followed his cart blindly and obediently. It was humiliating, but at least, he cleaned the cuts in my eyes and gave me food. Then, little by little, I recovered from my sores, wounds and broken bones."

"Oh.. I see..."

"I helped him. After a while I found he was from the same youkai tribe I had come from. The difference is that even 1000 years ago, he was already twisted and old, and his horns were cut and blunt. I was a strong demon, and the blindness did not make me a dangerous servant. I could do tasks which were too heavy or inadequate for my master. Even blind I could chop wood, carry water, dig, pull a cart... I was useful because of my physical strenght." Yomi snorted. "Hn. In fact I was his beast of burden. I trasnported loads, did all heavy work... "

"How long did you stand such situation?"

"For years. I had no other choice but to resign myself to my Master's orders in exchange for food and a safe sleeping place.  I was free; I was never declared a slave. My master always enphasized I was free to leave at any moment. But blind, even if I escaped, I could not go far. I was frightened by my own vulnerability. I could not survive on my own. I could not hunt, find water, travel, or even fight for my life. Alone I was an easy prey for any one; mainly old enemies. There were many youkai who had sworn revenge against Kurama and his gang. Having been his second officer put me in the spotlight. Thus, I prefered to remain out of  focus in order to avoid trouble. It was very difficult to adapt myself to that boring routine... I grew more and more depressed as days, months and years passed and Kurama never came to rescue me from serfdom..."

"Yomi... It is very sad..."

"It was humiliating, I agree. Many times I wished I had died instead of being impaired that way. I had been a warrior, a thief, the second officer of Youko Kurama's gang - now I lived the degraded existence of a blind beast of burden. It took me years, but I  learned to live with it, or not to live at all. My master was content with me. I was his  first servant who had not tried to rob and kill him. Thus, he never mistreated me. In fact, he even taught me the basics of developing my inner strenght and perception." Yomi sighed. "If I were to follow my will, I would leave it all behind and run free to  to find Kurama and rejoin him. But since I had lost the light of my eyes I hardly heard any news about the silver fox... It is as if he had disappeared from the Makai. I craved to meet him again and abandon that slavery, but how could I? Blind? Disoriented? Alone? It was scaring... Blindness is a terrorizing thing... Losing sight is like losing your whole world, all you believe, all you trust upon... Too much of our knowledge about the world is based on sight. It took me years to understand I needed to develop other skills and perceptions."

"How did you escape serfdom to start building your own Kingdom, Yomi? Your rise is almost unbelievable... Many other youkai would just have surrendered to disgrace."

"This is a completely different story; a long one, as well... Anyway, serfdom did  not last much. I started to develop my senses, and expanding my you-ki, little by little. I resumed  my sword and fight training during my work breaks, secretly. I used a sword made of wood then, but my training was very serious and painstaking. Somehow I felt focusing on the training helped me regain my sanity and my dignity. I learned to guide myself more by the sound, smell, touch and vibration of the environment. The more I developed my extra-perception, the more I gained motivation to keep on, harder and harder. All in all, Kurama would be very disappointed if he found me in such a miserable condition. I needed become once again the feared thief and warrior I had been. Kurama would never love the blind, pathetic beggar I was then." Yomi paused. He licked his own lips, and took a little more of his sake, calmly. "As time passed and my training became harder, I noticed I could perceive reality with the eyes in the back of my mind; it was like a vision; an image generated in my mind, that happened not to be illusion or dream, but plain reality. I started to see things with inner eyes that my training and my you-ki development had implanted in my spirit."

Gandara's King touched Hikaru's face, stroking the design of his features with the tip of his fingers.

"My power level is so high I can actually see the world around me. I see colors, I see shapes, I see things moving around me... At first it was like a dreamscape image, evanescent and subtle. Nevertheless, it improved as years passed. " He chuckled. "Now my inner sight is far more perfect and accurate than my actual eye-sight could ever be. I grew virtual eyes in my mind, and in my heart in return for the loss of my actual eyes."

"How did you manage it?"

"Concentration, training, meditation, willpower, and an intense wish to keep on living and to regain my pride and dignity." He stroked the beautiful grey hair that cascaded like a silky curtain down along Hikaru's shoulder. It was soft; so soft... "It was not easy; I developed my psychic energy to and my four remaining senses beyond their limits. It took me centuries to reach a power level high enough to allow me to start fighting for my dignity and territory. I left my former Master, and started my struggle for dominance and power all over again. I acquired fame as a thief and warrior once more. My reputation grew fast - youkai feared me much when they realized I was blind, and yet powerful. My blindness and my strenght inspired respect and fear on them; it was something never seen before in the Makai. I started to become a kind of a legend. Then it was easy to gather followers. I found my place among the Makai Lords, conquered territories and kingdoms, formed a large army, and built this city. The rest you can read about in Gandara's annals, in any of our Libraries..."

"What happened to your former Master? Have you killed him?"

Yomi showed a smile.

"No. He had helped me when I needed the most. He has always been with me, not as a Master, but as my private counsellor. It was Yoda who helped me then. This is the reason why he has such a high position in my Kingdom. He has been my private counsellor all this time."

Hikaru turned over his shoulder to gaze at Yomi's gently smiling face.

"Indeed? You must trust him a lot."

"I do. He is loyal and discreet. When I became powerful and independent because of the improvement of my inner vision, he chose to serve me then, like I had served him before. Yoda is the depositary of many secrets and information about many Overlords of the Makai. He helped me engender the schemes, tactics and agreements that allowed me to spread and consolidate my power and influence. It was his expert advice that helped me become what I became, and in exchanged, I destroyed the ones who had disgraced his life in the past. It was a pact of interests - he helped me with all he knew, and I helped him offering the influencial position and power which had been stolen from him."

"He is definitively loyal to you."

"Yoda? Yes. He knows much of what I have told you tonight. For years he had been the only one I trusted to disclose the story of my past to. He is loyal to me and my son. Now that Shura is the sole ruler of the Makai, Yoda will continue serving him, with the same care and dedication he had offered me." Yomi's hand slid down Hikaru's head, stroking his hair. "I feel purged, at peace with myself now. Shura has succeeded me; he is content in love, and has the sweetest and most loving partner by his side. They are guarded by the most efficient and powerful army of the Makai, and have got an excellent counsellor... "

Gandara's King sighed in. He seemed a little disheartened as he spoke:

"What is there for me now? What should I fight for? Now I even know the answer to the questions that provoked this insane urge to survive and conquer a ruling place in the Makai - It was all because of Kurama... I even found the answer to the question that tortured me for centuries - it was the silver youko who had sent that mercenary to kill me." He drank his sake al up and placed the cup on the floor by his side, before cuddling tighter to Hikaru again. "There is nothing I wish for from here on but sharing the one thing I have never experienced - A mutual, true love..."

Yomi's smile to Hikaru was so warm, bearing such an inviting tenderness that the youko blushed intensely.

"Perhaps a true love happens only once in someone's life..."

"Or perhaps not... Should not we give it a second chance? I am fed up of waiting for Youko Kurama. I rarely dream about him now. It seems I'm finally cured from the insane passion that ruled over my reason. I was actually sick of love." Yomi chuckled tenderly. "But I still want to find a love partner; I won't give it up easily..."

Hikaru squirmed, shifting in Yomi's embrace. He said nothing. He wanted to pull himself away, but finally all that sake was starting to affect him. He felt lazy and dizzy. He preferred relax and lean back on Yomi's broad chest. The youko closed his eyes and covered his mouth with one hand to conceal a yawning.

"I have already noticed how much obssessed you can be regarding your affections; you are bound to fixations and fetishes, Yomi - This is not very healthy..."

Yomi said nothing. He pressed his lips together not to laugh. He was glad Hikaru had noticed it... It spared him of explaining details about certain entertaining activities that were about to happen between them - very soon...

"All of us have our little secrets and fantasies, don't we, Hikaru?"

The youko quivered with the passionate warmth of Yomi's voice He has spoke it right in his ear, and his breath, and the amorous vibration of his voice made him feel a sharp tingling that ran all along his tail and his spine. His fur bristled up.

He lowered his face to conceal his flushing cheeks, and neither agreed nor disagreed with Yomi's statement. He just remained there, in his arms, allowing to be caressed by his large but gentle hands.

Yomi kissed the youko's head, sensing the taste and perfume of his silky hair.

"My story is over, Hikaru... Shouldn't we save the rest of the evening for other activities now? We have been so close and..."

Hikaru felt tense. He pulled himself a little from Yomi, uneasy with the sudden intensity of his touch. He scooted a little apart from Yomi and looked at him over one shoulder. The king was definitively precipitating certain matters...

"I have not finished it. Do you think Hayashi and I left the city and lived happily ever after? Oh, Yomi... It was then my whole drama started. You overcame the adversity that fell upon you and became a King. I became a an exiled loner that lived to seek revenge; only this, and nothing more..."
 
 

To be Continued...