[Fic] Part 1 - Revelations
Title: Part 1 - Revelations
Fandom: Yara Tomoyuki + THEY Budo
Pairings/Characters: Yamamoto Ryota, Yara Tomoyuki
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: AU, some mentions of science weirdness, violence, smut
Disclaimer: Not mine. Owned by J&A.
A/N: This is an AU fic, belonging to the same universe as these drabbles here and it follows right after this fic here. Also, this is LONG (8,058 words). O_o Also uh...I have no clue if more parts will follow in the near future. This plot-bunny just happened to bite me out of the blue. I have NOTHING further planned though.
Dedicated to: For yararanger. *sends you love and energy* ♥ #yaratime
One night had eventually turned into a week and the week had turned into a month. Yamamoto was growing accustomed to living at the pet shop. Especially the reptiles the shop specialized in. He helped Yara to tend to them, feed them and clean the cages and all.
He’d also gone to the police, asking them to check for registers of missing people with the name Yamamoto. Or well, he’d asked Yara to ask for him. Yamamoto didn’t dare go by himself, afraid he’d be seen by somebody. He generally avoided popular places and deserted places. Hiding in a crowd was a lot easier than hiding in the streets.
Yamamoto was glad that Yara didn’t ask him any questions. The other was patient and didn’t mind him staying with him, saying how it could get a bit lonely at the pet shop sometimes. On some nights, lying on the sofa, Yamamoto thought it was too good to be true. That it was surely some trap to lure him back and when he let his guard down, Yara would turn out to be someone completely different. But somehow he was always able to forget those thoughts again and stay. He wanted to trust Yara. With all his heart. Maybe because the other was the first human being who treated him normally and not like a test subject or lab-rat, something less than human.
A movement around his shoulders pulled him out of his thoughts. One of the larger snakes had wrapped itself around his arm and shoulders. She looked at him and hissed softly, “Worried, young one?”
His eyes darted around for a moment to check for other people before he answered softly, “Yes.”
“You should ask Chura if there is anything that bothers you about him. She knows him well,” the snake rubbed her head against his cheek for a moment before she slithered off again and after the mice which Yamamoto had released in the class cage earlier - her dinner.
Stepping out of the cage and closing it again, Yamamoto looked around the shop. Chura? Then he remembered. There was the extra little terrarium in the back. It held Yara’s pet-snake, which he’d brought along of course, seeing that he was staying at the shop for a longer period of time. Yamamoto had never touched her because she was his pet and all, something personal.
It was evening now and Yara was upstairs taking care of their dinner while Yamamoto had taken care of the pets in the shop. He was done now. So he had a few minutes to spare…
The dark eyes of the snake found him easily. He slid the lid of her terrarium back a little and she slid out at the top, looking at him inquiringly, curiously. Yamamoto reached out to caress her gently in greeting.
“Chura?”
“’tis me. How he calls me,” she replied her tongue flicked out and touched his fingers as he withdrew them again. “So it was you I could sense on him. We finally meet.”
“We do,” he was unsure how to start this conversation. What was he supposed to say? How should he ask about this? Yamamoto had almost forgotten how to really interact with someone else. He’d been isolated for so long. He’d watched Yara and things on TV the past few days to get an idea again.
“He’s a good person. Don’t be afraid of him. He is not what you should fear,” Chura told him, to his utter surprise. “I can sense your thoughts, other one. We’re brethren you and I...” She hissed again and then withdrew into her terrarium again.
Still blinking, Yamamoto closed the lid again. He didn’t get much time to think though because Yara called down for him to come up since dinner would be ready soon. Yamamoto called back and said he’d be up in a minute. He shot Chura another glance before he left to wash his hands at the back of the shop and then took the stairs to go upstairs and entered the living quarters.
Yara smiled at Yamamoto when they had their dinner. “The shop will be closed tomorrow. It’s a holiday. Do you want to do something? Go out or whatever? See a few more places and try to remember?”
He knew Yara only meant well. Yamamoto bit his lips. A part of him wanted to say yes. A part of him wanted to go out and explore the world he’d been isolated from for so long. But another part of him wanted to hide. It wanted to hide and stay safe. It did not want to risk being seen and then caught. Both sides were equally strong right now. He didn’t know how to answer the question.
The TV covered for the silence spreading between the two of them. Yamamoto hadn’t listened to it at all but suddenly something seemed to catch his attention.
“Two yet unidentified people were found at an abandoned factory building this morning. Workers, who were to oversee the destruction of the building, found them this morning. According to the police the two men in their 30s had been killed as recently as last night, one of them by what appears to be a large animal and the other by means yet unknown. The only thing police were able to recover at the crime scene that could hint towards the culprits is diamond dust. This means that-”
Yamamoto didn’t listen to the rest of the news report anymore. His eyes were staring at the picture of the diamond dust on the screen. A face appeared in his mind when he saw it. A familiar face.
“Yara-san?” he asked quietly.
“What is it, Ryota?”
“Where is that place?” Yamamoto looked at the other. “I…I want to go there.”
Yara’s eyes widened, “Do you remember something?”
It wasn’t a complete lie but it wasn’t the whole truth either. Yamamoto nodded. “I…when I saw that place suddenly a picture of a person appeared in my head. But it’s not clear. I think maybe when we go there…I might be able to remember more?” He wanted to go there to find something but not his memories.
He knew it was risky. It could lead straight into a trap but he had to take the risk. It was the only sign he’d gotten in weeks, almost months. It was the only lead he had. He had to follow it.
Glancing at the TV again they watched as people from the police carried off the bodies. Suddenly an arm fell out from below the stretcher’s thin cover. Yamamoto’s whole body recoiled. There was no mistake now. He would recognize the mark on the man’s hand anywhere.
A guard. A hunter. They were still looking for them all.
But they weren’t almighty. They could beat them. Or at least, Yamamoto hoped so. He hoped that other two hadn’t just been really lucky this time around.
“I’ll find out,” Yara nodded. “Then we can go there tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
Later that night, Yamamoto lay awake on the sofa once more. But this time it weren’t thoughts about Yara keeping him awake. At least, not thoughts only about Yara.
What would he do if he found them? Found the others? What would they do? Run? Fight? None of them had really put any thought into it before. The only thing on their minds had been to get away, to break out of their prison. Nobody had thought about the ‘and then?’.
Yamamoto liked the way things were now. He liked being at the pet shop and spending time with the animals and with Yara. If he found the others, would he have to give it all up? He couldn’t pull Yara into this after all. Somehow the thought of having to leave the other and never see him again hurt him. It just been a little over a month but Yamamoto had come to like Yara. A lot.
He liked him. And he trusted him. Maybe even enough to tell the other the truth. But he didn’t dare to tell the other the truth. Yamamoto was too afraid of Yara’s reaction. He feared…rejection.
After all, he was not normal. He was not what most other people considered a normal human being anymore. Those words had been thrown at him all the time back at the facility, to keep them from breaking out and running away. They had always been told that it would be pointless to run away because nobody would accept them. People would fear and despise them.
The only people who would still accept him as who he was and what he was would be those who knew and those who shared the same fate.
And yet a part of him was hoping, hoping that maybe Yara would be able to understand. Yamamoto wondered whether he could ask Chura about that, too. But would she understand? It was different for her after all. They were brethren, yes. They were the same and yet different. Very different.
Yamamoto tossed and turned around on the sofa, trying to get his mind to calm down enough to fall asleep. It took him until early morning to finally drift off for a few, short hours.
The smell of coffee eventually roused him from his sleep as well as the sounds coming from the direction of the kitchen. Yara grinned at him when he padded over, rubbing his eyes.
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty? Woke up even without a kiss from a prince?” he teased.
Flushing a dark red, Yamamoto muttered his own greeting.
“You slept like the dead. So I didn’t wake you up. Had a hard time falling asleep?” Yara asked then, tone changing from teasing to concern in a flash. His eyes fell onto Yamamoto’s arm. “Did you hit yourself in your sleep? It looks like you’re bruising.”
Blinking, Yamamoto looked at his arm, only to cover it up with his hand in alarm. “It’s nothing!” he said quickly before dashing into the bathroom and locking the door behind himself.
Once inside, he took his hand away from his arm again and stared at the spot where snake markings had started to appear. He watched as they started spreading all over his body. Yamamoto stumbled over to the tub and grabbed hold of its edge. It hurt. His body was changing - against his will, against its will.
Why now? Why again?
He had thought that it would stop once the scientists stopped injecting him with weird things. How often had this already happened before on that cold laboratory table? How often had he felt his body grow cold, his skin turn into scales? How often had he felt long, sharp fangs in his mouth instead of his normal teeth? How often had a pair of golden-green eyes with slit pupils looked back at him when he’d looked at himself in a mirror?
Groaning in pain, he sunk to his knees. He tried to bite back the sounds. He didn’t want Yara to hear.
But it was too late already.
“Ryota? Are you okay?” he could hear the other’s voice from the other side of the door. “You don’t sound good. Are you alright? Can I help you? Can you unlock the door?”
“I’m okay. Go away! It’s nothing!” he called back but he knew it sounded like the lie that it was. And yet he still hoped that Yara would understand and leave him alone. That it was something Yamamoto wanted to hide. Something private, something he couldn’t tell Yara about.
His whole body jerked up when another wave of pain hit him and he couldn’t bite back the scream. Then he collapsed on the floor and the scales disappeared again, along with the markings. His teeth turned back to normal and his vision changed back as well. He had just enough energy to keep breathing.
“Ryota??”
He heard a clicking sound from the door and suddenly it opened. Yara was holding some sort of contraption in his hand - a lock-pick - and he looked around until he found Yamamoto on the floor in a heap. “Ryota! What the hell happened? You sounded like you were getting killed or something!” he lifted Yamamoto up and his eyes widened. “You’re cold to the touch!”
Yamamoto tried to say something but his vocal chords weren’t working yet.
“I’m getting you to a hospital!” Yara picked him up.
That mobilized enough adrenaline in Yamamoto to let him speak again. “No!” he grabbed hold of the other’s shirt weakly. “Not the hospital. Please!”
“But Ryota-” Yara tried to argue but when he saw the look in Yamamoto’s eyes he gave in. What he saw in Yamamoto’s eyes was fear - no, complete and utter terror. He couldn’t force the other. Not when he looked at him like that. “Alright, I’ll take you to lie down on the sofa again.”
Yamamoto closed his eyes and sighed softly, relieved. He felt how Yara carried him and laid him down on the sofa gently, carefully and pulled the blanket over his body.
“I’ll be okay again in a bit,” he spoke quietly.
“Can you tell me what’s wrong with you at least? Can I help you?” Yara asked, genuinely worried.
He shook his head. “No. Nobody can help me.” Yamamoto couldn’t help the tear sliding down his cheek at this point. The fit had made him realize his situation. They had been right. He wasn’t normal and he would not be able to fit in with the normal people like this. Yamamoto couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t pretend to be normal any longer. He would have to leave. He would have to leave Yara.
If he could find the others, maybe together they would be able to figure something out.
“Ryota?” Yara’s voice was soft and his fingers touching Yamamoto’s cheek even more so.
Before he left, he wanted to tell the other the truth. Even if that was potentially a bad idea, Yamamoto wanted Yara to know. He owed the other at least that much after all this time. After the other had taken care of him, taken him in and not asked for anything in return.
When he felt some strength returning to his limbs, Yamamoto sat up and turned to look at Yara, who was sitting on the floor next to the sofa. “Before I talk to you now, I need you to promise me something,” he started. “I need you to promise me, no matter what happens, not to tell anyone else about this and about me - especially not about me.”
It was probably the most solemn and serious he had sounded ever since meeting the other. Their interaction had been on a friendly and playful level from the start. Yamamoto had felt like a little brother, being teased here and there and riled up. He had responded in a way that seemed to have come natural to him. He’d opened up to Yara, accepted him as an older brother figure, a guardian figure and a friend. So this was a pretty big break from that.
Yara looked at him for a few long moments, before he nodded. “I promise.”
“Okay,” Yamamoto nodded and then paused, trying to think of how and where to start. In the end he decided to start at the beginning and to tell Yara everything - or at least, almost everything. “Some of the things I’m about to tell you might sound strange. You might feel afraid or even disgusted but I ask you to please listen until the very end. I really want you to understand and I’m telling you all of this because I think you deserve to know after you’ve taken care of me for so long and been nothing but nice to me all this time as well.”
He swallowed heavily before he continued. “The truth is that I ran away from some sort of science facility, probably a secret one. A bunch of scientists was doing experiments on humans there. They probably still are. Only a part of it was affected by the break-out.” It was hard to talk about it he noticed, because of the memories. It was hard to remember. It hurt to remember. “I’m not sure how I ended up there. They said they had erased all of my memories from the time before I was brought there. The only thing I remember is the name Yamamoto Ryota. I don’t know whether it is my own or whether it was somebody close to me. It was the same for other people I met there. At the beginning, I was still among other people. Mostly people around my age, I think.”
It had been hard to tell just from the looks. After all, none of them had known.
“They didn’t tell us the memory thing at first. At the beginning, when I had just woken up there, they said that the place was a medical facility. That they were trying to find something that would help to advance mankind. It was all really confusing. Most of us didn’t care, I think. We were just confused and we were happy not to be alone,” Yamamoto remembered how the large, sterile room had become a bit more bearable to be inside of when he had had other people around him. How the world had become a slightly better, warmer place when Sakuma had smiled at him or when Eda had cracked a joke.
“It wasn’t anything much at first. They watched us and made us exercise and then they examined us, how our bodies were doing, something that seemed normal,” he paused again. “Ah, they erased our memories from before we came but they didn’t actually erase any you know, normal kinds of thoughts and sentiments I guess? Like, we still knew how to behave and be human I guess. What to consider a normal medical examination,” Yamamoto explained.
None of them had thought much of it at first. Maybe they had been ‘brainwashed’ that way. But that hadn’t lasted long. “After a while though, the first people started to disappear, one after another. Fear went around. Nobody knew what was happening to the others. I was afraid, too. And I would have been even more afraid if I had known about what was going to happen to me. They took me away after a week.” They had slept in shared dorm like rooms before, twenty or even thirty of them. He’d shared a bunk bed with Takahashi. The other had woken up when they had come in to get Yamamoto. He remembered the other trying to reach his hand out to grab him but missing him by just a few centimeters. Not that it would have changed anything but Yamamoto wanted to think that maybe the lingering touch of Takahashi’s hand would have made some kind of difference in what had followed.
“I was taken to a laboratory and they strapped me onto a table. I started to panic slightly. It just didn’t feel right. The men around me had ignored it and bared my arms. They didn’t say anything. They just injected something into me. After they were done, I was brought into a cell, or a cube, they called it sometimes. It was a small room with no windows, a bed, a bathroom corner,” he wrapped his arms around himself at the memory of his prison. “They left me alone there. At least physically. They would always watch me from somewhere else though. After all, they wanted to see what their injections would do to me. And they wanted to do so from a safe distance. I took me a while to understand why.”
Yamamoto closed his eyes for a moment again and willed them to change before he looked at Yara again. As expected, the non-human eyes made the other jump a little in surprise. “This is what they did to me,” he said then and willed his eyes to become normal again. His breathing was going harder. It cost a lot of energy to change at will. “First they injected different kinds of processed venom into me, like snake venom or other reptile venom in general. My body produced antibodies or adapted to it. Then, they started to change my cell structure, my entire body. They did it little by little because the amount of stress they subjected me to was too big to do it in one sitting. It hurt. What you witnessed earlier, at least partially, was just the tip if the ice-berg. I’ve had worse.” There had been times when a group of guards had come in to check on him, whether he was still alive.
Taking another deep breath, he finished the story, “After who knows how long, a few people managed to break out of that facility. I don’t remember how exactly it happened. But suddenly, there was a big explosion and a way opened up for us to escape through. We didn’t think twice about it and we ran. I don’t even remember who made it out with me exactly. I was focusing on getting away. Their guards, or hunters as they were called as well, came after us of course. They are still out there, looking for us. We saw two of them on TV yesterday. The two people who were killed. I know for sure because they had the markings on them. You wouldn’t notice them normally but if you know where to look, they’re there. It’s a scar at the top of the back of their index fingers, on the first joint after the nail. It comes from the tranquilizer and tazer weapons they use.”
At his point he slowly got up from the sofa, stumbling a little bit as he was still weak on his legs. “Thank you for taking care of me for all this time, Yara-san. I understand if you feel scared or disgusted now but I wanted to tell you all of this because I wanted to repay you for your kindness. You didn’t have to accept me the way you did, take me in and take care of me. Thank you, really. For everything. But this is good bye now. Don’t worry, you will never see me again after today.”
He made his way downstairs and stopped for a moment to look at the pet shop once more. Yamamoto would miss this place. He knew.
“What are you doing, other one?” he could hear a voice from the side and he looked over to see Chura looking at him through the glass of her terrarium. She tilted her head over inquiringly and nudged at the glass, beckoning him over.
A few minutes wouldn’t matter, Yamamoto thought and went over to open the lid and led her slide out.
“I’m leaving. So this is good bye to you, too, Chura,” he said softly and caressed her head gently as she slithered up his arm to wrap herself around his shoulders. The back of her tail smacked his head gently.
“But you don’t want to leave, other one.”
“I must leave. I have no choice. So please from now on, take care of him for me, too?” he looked down and tried to hold back the flood of emotions which threatened to pour out of him right now. “If you’re with him, I think I can be a little more at ease.”
She hissed disapprovingly. “He doesn’t want you to leave.”
“Things have changed. He knows about me now. He doesn’t want me to stay anymore,” Yamamoto shook his head. There was no way the other would.
“You’re wrong, other one,” she smacked the back of his head with her tail again. Then her head turned the other way. “You tell him yourself. He’s not listening to me.” She slid off Yamamoto again and back into her terrarium. Yamamoto blinked. She hadn’t been addressing him, had she?
A moment later, he realized who she had been talking to. He found a pair of arms around him which pulled him back and pressed him against a warm body. “Thank god, you’re still here,” Yara sighed with very obvious relief swinging in his voice. “You know, you have to give a person a few moments to process such a long story and so much information. Don’t just throw such a brick at people and then leave. That’s hit and run, you know?”
“Yara-san?” Yamamoto’s eyes widened.
Yara looked over at Chura. “You can talk to her?” he asked softly. “I hope she scolded you.”
Yamamoto had to laugh softly. “She did.” He turned around in the other’s embrace. “Yara-san, why? I mean, aren’t you afraid? Disgusted? Anything? I’m not normal. We’ve barely known each other for more than a month. How can you be so nice to me?”
The other looked into his eyes for a few long moments and then sighed softly. “I don’t even know myself. It just happened? I didn’t feel anything bad from you. A part of me could even understand your situation somewhat. You know, the whole waking up without any memories in some kind of hospital thing. I wanted to help you just like my family had helped me back then. I felt like it would be wrong to just leave you like that since you didn’t seem to have anyone else.”
Swallowing audibly, Yamamoto had try and keep his emotions in check. How had he ended up in the care of someone like Yara? Again, it all seemed too good to be true.
“Also, when I looked at you, I got a similar feeling to when I first laid eyes on Chura here in this shop,” Yara continued with a soft chuckle. “That feeling that tells you that this is ‘the one’. An instant kind of attraction or maybe the thing people call ‘love at first sight’?” He smiled at Yamamoto. “And you being part snake certainly explains why I fell in love with the way you dance, too. It’s still a bit rough around the edges but we could work on that.”
They had danced together outside in a park not too long ago. Yara had told him that he was a dance instructor but that he’d taken a break from work to watch the shop for the time being. On one of their walks to the grocery store, they had taken a detour through the local park and found a group of dancers practicing there. Some of them had recognized Yara and invited him to join.
At first Yamamoto had only watched them but after a while he’d joined them, body itching to move. It seemed to come so natural to him. And he’d gotten lost in the moment and hadn’t realized how the others had stopped dancing to watch him instead. Until the music ended.
Realizing he’d kind of spaced out, Yamamoto tried to pull himself back to the present again. It was then that he realized something and he turned to gape and stare at Yara. “Wait you just said you-”
Love at first sight.
Something in his brain seemed to have fried because all he could do was flail his arms a bit and make incoherent sounds. He was incapable of forming any words. He could hear how Chura was laughing at him from her still open terrarium, obviously very amused by the whole situation.
“You’re so slow, other one.”
Her teasing wasn’t really helping Yamamoto in his efforts to recover coherent speech. And now he could hear Yara snickering at him as well. Little crinkles and wrinkles appeared on his face as he laughed and the mirth made his eyes sparkle softly. Yamamoto just stared. He was completely and utterly captivated by the sight by the whole situation by- actually just by Yara. And it only occurred to him now that the almost sleepless nights he’d spend on the sofa, thinking about Yara and how the other would react and what to do about him, had been because he’d felt something for the other as well.
“You only realize that now, other one? We’ve all known for a while,” Chura commented from the side.
A quieter voice from the shop added, “He’s young. He still needs to learn many things.”
“For a snake, you look a bit like a fish right now,” Yara laughed and nudged Yamamoto towards the stairs. “Let’s go back up and talk things through, okay? Or maybe think things through again. Take all the time you want. We don’t have to open the shop today. We can also go out at another time. If what you said about the thing on TV is true, maybe you shouldn’t go there right now. Whoever it was will probably be long gone and those after you will probably look there first as well, thinking it will be the first place for you guys to look for your kin as well.”
Yamamoto just let himself be pushed upstairs again and flopped down onto the sofa heavily. He needed a moment. Or maybe a few, to gather himself again.
“It doesn’t make sense?” he was finally able to talk again.
Shrugging, Yara replied, “Things rarely ever make sense in life?” He sat down next to Yamamoto and wrapped an arm around the other to pull him closer again. “It’s more fun this way.” He grinned and leaned in to kiss Yamamoto but the other shied away.
“No! I could poison you!” Yamamoto shook his head. His fangs had retracted but he didn’t know if the transformations were also messing with his more human form.
Yara gently touched Yamamoto’s cheek and tilted the other’s face back and forced him to look at him. “Well, too late. You already did,” he murmured softly and before Yamamoto could try to object one more, pressed his lips on the other male’s in a soft kiss.
Eyes fluttering close, Yamamoto felt his resolve crumble and his fear retreat at the contact. It was making his body tingle pleasantly and affected a part of him deep inside that he thought that he had lost long ago. A part of him that was still able to feel something else but pain, a part of him that could still feel happy.
When their lips parted again, a soft sigh fell from Yamamoto’s lips. “Yara…” and he curled up against the other, content to just be held for the time being. The exhaustion from the fit finally caught up with him again and he drifted off into something that was partially sleep and partially unconsciousness.
Hours later, when he opened his eyes again, he thought that it had all just been a dream but when his mind started to clear, he could still feel arms around him. He was no longer lying on the sofa but on the bed and Yara was lying next to him, with an arm wrapped around Yamamoto’s waist. The hold was loose enough so that Yamamoto could move and not feel uncomfortable and restrained but at the same time it was also strong enough to keep him there, to keep him from running away.
It made him smile happily and he curled up against the other for the rest of the night.
The holiday had passed just like that and the days after were back to their normal routine. That was until Yara announced the return of his friend.
“I’m going to take you home with me,” Yara announced over breakfast. “I’ll take you and Chura there tomorrow morning and then I’ll hand over the shop to my friend again and then come back. So make sure you say good bye to everyone down in the shop if you want to do so?”
Yamamoto’s face fell a bit at that, “Oh.”
“Maybe I’ll take you here again sometime and introduce you and all but maybe not right now? We’ll have to think of some back story for you. Can’t just introduce you as the kid that suddenly turned up on the doorstep one day after all,” he winked with a smile.
That made sense. Yamamoto nodded. “Okay.” The thought of leaving the shop made him a little sad but he’d be living with Yara and Chura. And that was more than he could have asked for already, really. Also, as Yara had said, they could come back at some point. Actually wanting to return somewhere was a really new thought for Yamamoto. Having a place he actually wanted to go back to was a novel experience.
So when he made his round with the food in the evening, he made sure to say good bye to everyone who would understand him. After that he helped Yara to clean up the living quarters again so that Yara’s friend wouldn’t come back to a huge mess in his home.
Early the next morning, Yamamoto then found himself sitting on the train with Chura’s terrarium on his lap. It was a short trip, only a couple of stations. And the walk from the station to the apartment building Yara lived in wasn’t long either. It seemed to be a popular and busy area, which put Yamamoto at ease somewhat. He’d be able to leave the apartment and not hide in there all the time then.
When Yamamoto stepped into the apartment, he could feel Yara’s presence everywhere. It was a lot stronger than it had been at the pet-shop. Which made sense, seeing that this was the other’s true home. Chura let out a content hiss when Yara took her terrarium from Yamamoto and set it back onto a chest of drawers, its proper place. “There, Chura’s made herself at home already. Now it’s your turn. Ah before that I guess I should give you the tour.”
Yara lead him around the apartment, “Here’s the bathroom, then the rest room. Over here is the kitchenette, right inside the living room, okay almost and over there is the bedroom.” It wasn’t a big apartment but it wasn’t tiny either. The two of them would be able to live in it comfortably.
“You can watch some TV while I’m gone? Or use the computer. I think I have a guest profile on it that doesn’t require a password. Or you can just sleep. If you want to change the linens on the bed, there are more in the closet on the side somewhere at the top,” Yara offered. “There should still be something to drink in the fridge and maybe there are some snacks in the pantry. I’ll bring some proper food home later. Do you have any requests?”
Yamamoto shook his head. “I’m fine. Chura says she feels like having chicken though?”
Laughing, Yara grabbed his keys again, “Alright then, chicken it is. See you two later!” He waved and then left the apartment again, locking the door behind himself.
Seeing that Chura was dozing, Yamamoto explored the apartment by himself. He looked at the collection of CDs and DVDs and discovered pictures here and there which showed Yara with other people, probably other dancers. There were some pictures of Yara in action as well. Yamamoto wondered whether they’d be able to dance again soon.
In the end Yamamoto curled up on the bed and fell asleep. He wasn’t tired really but the weather outside was still cold and wet and his senses were telling him to hibernate. Yara’s bed was also really comfy and it didn’t take much for him to drift off. He felt so safe here.
And yet he jerked up a bit when he felt somebody touch his cheek a couple of hours later. “Sorry, did I startle you?” Yara apologized and sat down on the edge of the mattress. “I’m back.”
“Welcome back,” Yamamoto greeted the other and his racing heart slowed down again. “You did, at least a bit.” He answered the other’s question then. “Did everything go well? Was your friend happy with the shop? Or did we mess something up?”
“Nope, it’s all good,” Yara smiled. “We didn’t talk long. He was glad to be home and well I left him to deal with his jetlag and settle in again.”
Touching Yara’s hand, Yamamoto noticed, “You’re cold. Did the weather get worse?”
“I think it’s snowing. Pretty rare for this area but I guess it happens,” Yara nodded and shivered a bit. “Seeing you curled up on the bed like this is so inviting, you know that? All warm and comfy.”
Smiling, Yamamoto said, “You’re more than welcome to join.”
“You know what? I think I’ll do just that,” Yara said and stood up to strip off the upper layer of his clothes. He put on a loose pair of sweatpants and then crawled under the covers to join Yamamoto.
Turning around, Yamamoto leaned up for a kiss and wrapped his arm around Yara to pull him closer. He would be able to share his warmth better than. Or at least that was his excuse for doing this. Not that he really needed an excuse to kiss and touch Yara these days. The other didn’t seem to mind it. Yara just let Yamamoto do as he pleased, at least right now.
After a few moments of kissing and innocent touching though, Yamamoto could feel one of Yara’s hands wander down his flank first and then further down towards the waistband of his own sweats. “Yaracchi?” he’d learned that nickname from Chura, “Are you sure you want to?” They hadn’t moved beyond kissing and some touching yet but he could feel that Yara wanted more. Yamamoto did too but he was still feeling insecure. What if he transformed? He knew one could lose control at least for a few moments during sex. What if he accidentally hurt Yara then?
He desperately wished he knew more about his own body right now.
It seemed as if Yara had guessed his thoughts, “No other way but to try and find out, Ryota. I’ll manage, somehow. We’ll manage.” He rolled them over and made Yamamoto look up at him. “And I want you. I was waiting for us to come back here because I didn’t want to do it over at the shop. It would’ve felt more than a little awkward.”
“Yaracchi,” Yamamoto looked into the other’s eyes for another long moment before he gave in. “Okay.” It was true. He had to try and see what happened. There was no other way to find out.
“I want you, too.”
This urge had been something new for him as well. He’d known about its existence and everything but he’d never really experienced it. The scientists had never really been interested in that and all the experiments had left him too tired or in too much pain to consider it. But now his body was letting him know that he wanted it, needed it even.
He let Yara pull off his shirt. A gust of cool air brushed over Yamamoto’s skin and for a brief second, pale snake markings appeared on his skin. It made Yara chuckle softly and he traced them with his fingers.
“You don’t get goose-bumps but snake-skin instead? That’s actually kind of cool,” his fingers brushed Yamamoto’s collarbone and then skirted one of the younger male’s nipples teasingly, eliciting a soft sound from Yamamoto that sounded a bit like a cross between a whimper and a soft squeak.
“Usually I don’t? Just now,” Yamamoto shivered a bit. His skin felt so sensitive right now. Yara’s touch went deeper than skin. “Touch me more?” he grabbed onto the other’s shoulders.
Smiling, Yara asked, “If you’ll let me? Then I will.”
“Yes,” Yamamoto breathed softly in reply and his body arched up as Yara kept his word.
Just touching didn’t keep Yamamoto satisfied for too long though. The urge was growing stronger inside of him. Before Yara could touch Yamamoto’s cock, he flipped them over. Yara let out a surprised ‘oof’ and looked up at Yamamoto, raising an eyebrow inquiringly. “Ryota?”
Yamamoto licked his lips and replied, “I can’t just let you spoil me the whole time and do all the work. Let me return the favor. I’ll show you something good.” He hadn’t told the other that he’d found a stash of dirty magazines while cleaning up the apartment above the shop the other day. They had been very interesting and very educational.
“Something go- holy shit!” Yara cursed softly and grabbed hold of the bed sheet.
If his mouth hadn’t been busy that moment, Yamamoto would have grinned proudly at Yara’s reaction to his little ‘tongue trick’. Nobody else would be able to copy that for sure. He could hear Yara muttering under his breath. Something about how this wasn’t anything from this world. And then the other started to make sounds. Sounds that sent shivers of excitement down Yamamoto’s spine and urged him on further. Sounds that sent little ripples of heat and electricity through his whole body.
He echoed one of the sounds at one point and it seemed to have set Yara off. Yamamoto was surprised by the sudden salty and bitter taste in his mouth and coughed a bit, pulling his mouth away. A few stray droplets of come splashed onto his lips.
A hand reached out to wipe them off gently. “You weren’t kidding when you said you’d show me something good,” Yara commented and pulled Yamamoto back up.
Crawling into Yara’s lap, Yamamoto breathed against the other’s lips, “Now it’s your turn again, Yaracchi. Make me feel good, too?”
Yamamoto felt how the other shivered in reaction to his words. “Where did my innocent Ryota go all of a sudden?” Yara asked with a soft laugh. “Or rather, where was this sexy Ryota hiding all this time? I think I kind of like him.” He didn’t bother to flip their positions and grabbed around on the nightstand. He produced a bottle of massage oil.
“I guess this’ll work,” he muttered, more to himself than to Yamamoto, who was blinking a bit. Actually he hadn’t quote worked out this part yet. But Yara seemed to know what was going on so he’d follow the other’s lead.
A sound half-gasp, half-yelp came from him the next moment when something penetrated him. Looking down, Yamamoto saw that it was one of Yara’s fingers, slick from the oil. “W-What?”
“I assumed you knew?” Yara blinked back but then smiled gently and leaned up to kiss Yamamoto’s temple reassuringly. “Trust me? It’ll hurt a bit at first but the pain will go away later. Or at least, it’ll become less bad. If it’s too uncomfortable I can stop?”
For a moment Yamamoto contemplated that offer and thought of accepting it but his body won over in the end and he shook his head. “Continue.” As Yara had said before, there was no way but to try and find out. If he never tried something, he’d never know what it was or how it would go. You had to risk things in order to gain things. No pain, no gain, was what Yara had taught him. “I think I’ll be fine.”
“I promise to make it worth it,” Yara kissed Yamamoto’s forehead gently and continued with his ministrations, his preparations. Yamamoto leaned down for more kisses, proper kisses, to distract himself a bit. The kisses were comforting. They were something he knew, something he was sure about.
Then, all of a sudden, something hot and pulsating was inside of him. Yamamoto’s eyes widened and he broke the last kiss. He raised his head slightly to look at Yara. “Yaracchi?”
Yara was obviously looking for words, something to say but in the end only came up with, “Ryota?”
The realization that Yara was inside of him hit Yamamoto and he moaned softly and slumped forward, against the other’s body. It lowered him even further onto the other and set his body on fire. So this was how it felt like. He couldn’t say it felt really good - there was some slight discomfort - but the emotional significance overtook the physical issues right now.
Resting his head on the other’s shoulder, Yamamoto repeated his words from before, “Make me feel good, Yaracchi.”
“I won’t disappoint you,” Yara replied, apparently having found his coherency at least for now.
And true to his word, he did send Yamamoto off into different worlds of sensations, worlds that had thus far been undiscovered by the other. Towards the end, Yamamoto remembered that he’d touched himself but then things had started to become blur - Yara’s hips, the other’s reassuring words, the other’s hands on him, the other inside of him, the heat inside of him, everything.
The world started spinning uncontrollably and turned bright and white for a few moments. When it started to reappear around him again, Yamamoto found himself lying on the bed next to Yara. He could see the rapid rise and fall of the other’s chest and saw the traces of something white and sticky on the other’s abdomen. He reached out with one hand, which felt heavier than before, and traced the lines of the other’s abs, smearing some of the sticky substance all over in the process.
“Back on this earth, Ryota?” Yara asked softly.
“Back in your arms,” Yamamoto replied with a tired but happy smile.
Laughing softly, Yara asked, “Who taught you how to sweet-talk like that?”
That had been the first night back at Yara’s apartment. A proper ‘coming home’. Yamamoto would recall it over the next few days. Sometimes in the most inappropriate moments ever. Chura kept teasing him about it when he talked to her.
After a few days, Yara decided to take him to the dance school with him. Yamamoto had asked the other whether they’d be able to dance again the night before.
“You’ve come to like dancing, huh?” Yara smiled at Yamamoto fondly.
“It feels right?” Yamamoto said. “I can’t really say why that is. It just does.”
“That’s how it’s supposed to be. A calling,” gentle fingers brushed through Yamamoto’s light hair. “Let’s go tomorrow. I think I’ve come up with a vague enough back-story for you so I can start introducing you to people without them asking too many questions. You’re a distant cousin from the countryside who’s come here to learn more about dancing. So your family sent you to me because, well, I guess it would make sense even without explaining. Do you think that’ll work?”
Yamamoto nodded, “I think. I just hope people don’t want any details?” He’d have to think of ways to steer conversations away from potentially troubling areas.
He was still thinking about that on their way to the dance school the next day. They had just gotten off the train again and were walking down the busy street and Yamamoto automatically avoided people who were coming towards him, hood of his sweater drawn low to hide some of his face. Yara was walking next to him.
After a while they were about to turn and walk up the stairs leading into a building when something told Yamamoto look further up the street. When he did so, his eyes widened and his instincts told him to run.
“Ryota?” Yara called after him.
But right now, Yamamoto didn’t hear the other. He ran forward. He had to catch up to- he had to-
“Ryu!” finally his fingers came within reach of the hem of the other’s shirt and grabbed hold of it. There was no mistake. The other had aged a little but Yamamoto could still recognize the other. Recognize his friend. The memory of that one moment, of the other reaching out for him from the bunk bed returned to him as clear as if it had been just a few days ago. “Takahashi Ryu!” he called the other by his full name.
Slowly, Takahashi’s figure turned around and his gaze landed on Yamamoto’s shorter form.
A part of Yamamoto was afraid of what he might see there. Would the other remember him? What if the other had been made a hunter? What if he’d just jeopardized everything, his freedom, his life, Yara?
His hand tightened its hold on the fabric of the shirt. He had just bet everything on a single card.
Everything.
To be continued...?
Fandom: Yara Tomoyuki + THEY Budo
Pairings/Characters: Yamamoto Ryota, Yara Tomoyuki
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: AU, some mentions of science weirdness, violence, smut
Disclaimer: Not mine. Owned by J&A.
A/N: This is an AU fic, belonging to the same universe as these drabbles here and it follows right after this fic here. Also, this is LONG (8,058 words). O_o Also uh...I have no clue if more parts will follow in the near future. This plot-bunny just happened to bite me out of the blue. I have NOTHING further planned though.
Dedicated to: For yararanger. *sends you love and energy* ♥ #yaratime
One night had eventually turned into a week and the week had turned into a month. Yamamoto was growing accustomed to living at the pet shop. Especially the reptiles the shop specialized in. He helped Yara to tend to them, feed them and clean the cages and all.
He’d also gone to the police, asking them to check for registers of missing people with the name Yamamoto. Or well, he’d asked Yara to ask for him. Yamamoto didn’t dare go by himself, afraid he’d be seen by somebody. He generally avoided popular places and deserted places. Hiding in a crowd was a lot easier than hiding in the streets.
Yamamoto was glad that Yara didn’t ask him any questions. The other was patient and didn’t mind him staying with him, saying how it could get a bit lonely at the pet shop sometimes. On some nights, lying on the sofa, Yamamoto thought it was too good to be true. That it was surely some trap to lure him back and when he let his guard down, Yara would turn out to be someone completely different. But somehow he was always able to forget those thoughts again and stay. He wanted to trust Yara. With all his heart. Maybe because the other was the first human being who treated him normally and not like a test subject or lab-rat, something less than human.
A movement around his shoulders pulled him out of his thoughts. One of the larger snakes had wrapped itself around his arm and shoulders. She looked at him and hissed softly, “Worried, young one?”
His eyes darted around for a moment to check for other people before he answered softly, “Yes.”
“You should ask Chura if there is anything that bothers you about him. She knows him well,” the snake rubbed her head against his cheek for a moment before she slithered off again and after the mice which Yamamoto had released in the class cage earlier - her dinner.
Stepping out of the cage and closing it again, Yamamoto looked around the shop. Chura? Then he remembered. There was the extra little terrarium in the back. It held Yara’s pet-snake, which he’d brought along of course, seeing that he was staying at the shop for a longer period of time. Yamamoto had never touched her because she was his pet and all, something personal.
It was evening now and Yara was upstairs taking care of their dinner while Yamamoto had taken care of the pets in the shop. He was done now. So he had a few minutes to spare…
The dark eyes of the snake found him easily. He slid the lid of her terrarium back a little and she slid out at the top, looking at him inquiringly, curiously. Yamamoto reached out to caress her gently in greeting.
“Chura?”
“’tis me. How he calls me,” she replied her tongue flicked out and touched his fingers as he withdrew them again. “So it was you I could sense on him. We finally meet.”
“We do,” he was unsure how to start this conversation. What was he supposed to say? How should he ask about this? Yamamoto had almost forgotten how to really interact with someone else. He’d been isolated for so long. He’d watched Yara and things on TV the past few days to get an idea again.
“He’s a good person. Don’t be afraid of him. He is not what you should fear,” Chura told him, to his utter surprise. “I can sense your thoughts, other one. We’re brethren you and I...” She hissed again and then withdrew into her terrarium again.
Still blinking, Yamamoto closed the lid again. He didn’t get much time to think though because Yara called down for him to come up since dinner would be ready soon. Yamamoto called back and said he’d be up in a minute. He shot Chura another glance before he left to wash his hands at the back of the shop and then took the stairs to go upstairs and entered the living quarters.
Yara smiled at Yamamoto when they had their dinner. “The shop will be closed tomorrow. It’s a holiday. Do you want to do something? Go out or whatever? See a few more places and try to remember?”
He knew Yara only meant well. Yamamoto bit his lips. A part of him wanted to say yes. A part of him wanted to go out and explore the world he’d been isolated from for so long. But another part of him wanted to hide. It wanted to hide and stay safe. It did not want to risk being seen and then caught. Both sides were equally strong right now. He didn’t know how to answer the question.
The TV covered for the silence spreading between the two of them. Yamamoto hadn’t listened to it at all but suddenly something seemed to catch his attention.
“Two yet unidentified people were found at an abandoned factory building this morning. Workers, who were to oversee the destruction of the building, found them this morning. According to the police the two men in their 30s had been killed as recently as last night, one of them by what appears to be a large animal and the other by means yet unknown. The only thing police were able to recover at the crime scene that could hint towards the culprits is diamond dust. This means that-”
Yamamoto didn’t listen to the rest of the news report anymore. His eyes were staring at the picture of the diamond dust on the screen. A face appeared in his mind when he saw it. A familiar face.
“Yara-san?” he asked quietly.
“What is it, Ryota?”
“Where is that place?” Yamamoto looked at the other. “I…I want to go there.”
Yara’s eyes widened, “Do you remember something?”
It wasn’t a complete lie but it wasn’t the whole truth either. Yamamoto nodded. “I…when I saw that place suddenly a picture of a person appeared in my head. But it’s not clear. I think maybe when we go there…I might be able to remember more?” He wanted to go there to find something but not his memories.
He knew it was risky. It could lead straight into a trap but he had to take the risk. It was the only sign he’d gotten in weeks, almost months. It was the only lead he had. He had to follow it.
Glancing at the TV again they watched as people from the police carried off the bodies. Suddenly an arm fell out from below the stretcher’s thin cover. Yamamoto’s whole body recoiled. There was no mistake now. He would recognize the mark on the man’s hand anywhere.
A guard. A hunter. They were still looking for them all.
But they weren’t almighty. They could beat them. Or at least, Yamamoto hoped so. He hoped that other two hadn’t just been really lucky this time around.
“I’ll find out,” Yara nodded. “Then we can go there tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
Later that night, Yamamoto lay awake on the sofa once more. But this time it weren’t thoughts about Yara keeping him awake. At least, not thoughts only about Yara.
What would he do if he found them? Found the others? What would they do? Run? Fight? None of them had really put any thought into it before. The only thing on their minds had been to get away, to break out of their prison. Nobody had thought about the ‘and then?’.
Yamamoto liked the way things were now. He liked being at the pet shop and spending time with the animals and with Yara. If he found the others, would he have to give it all up? He couldn’t pull Yara into this after all. Somehow the thought of having to leave the other and never see him again hurt him. It just been a little over a month but Yamamoto had come to like Yara. A lot.
He liked him. And he trusted him. Maybe even enough to tell the other the truth. But he didn’t dare to tell the other the truth. Yamamoto was too afraid of Yara’s reaction. He feared…rejection.
After all, he was not normal. He was not what most other people considered a normal human being anymore. Those words had been thrown at him all the time back at the facility, to keep them from breaking out and running away. They had always been told that it would be pointless to run away because nobody would accept them. People would fear and despise them.
The only people who would still accept him as who he was and what he was would be those who knew and those who shared the same fate.
And yet a part of him was hoping, hoping that maybe Yara would be able to understand. Yamamoto wondered whether he could ask Chura about that, too. But would she understand? It was different for her after all. They were brethren, yes. They were the same and yet different. Very different.
Yamamoto tossed and turned around on the sofa, trying to get his mind to calm down enough to fall asleep. It took him until early morning to finally drift off for a few, short hours.
The smell of coffee eventually roused him from his sleep as well as the sounds coming from the direction of the kitchen. Yara grinned at him when he padded over, rubbing his eyes.
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty? Woke up even without a kiss from a prince?” he teased.
Flushing a dark red, Yamamoto muttered his own greeting.
“You slept like the dead. So I didn’t wake you up. Had a hard time falling asleep?” Yara asked then, tone changing from teasing to concern in a flash. His eyes fell onto Yamamoto’s arm. “Did you hit yourself in your sleep? It looks like you’re bruising.”
Blinking, Yamamoto looked at his arm, only to cover it up with his hand in alarm. “It’s nothing!” he said quickly before dashing into the bathroom and locking the door behind himself.
Once inside, he took his hand away from his arm again and stared at the spot where snake markings had started to appear. He watched as they started spreading all over his body. Yamamoto stumbled over to the tub and grabbed hold of its edge. It hurt. His body was changing - against his will, against its will.
Why now? Why again?
He had thought that it would stop once the scientists stopped injecting him with weird things. How often had this already happened before on that cold laboratory table? How often had he felt his body grow cold, his skin turn into scales? How often had he felt long, sharp fangs in his mouth instead of his normal teeth? How often had a pair of golden-green eyes with slit pupils looked back at him when he’d looked at himself in a mirror?
Groaning in pain, he sunk to his knees. He tried to bite back the sounds. He didn’t want Yara to hear.
But it was too late already.
“Ryota? Are you okay?” he could hear the other’s voice from the other side of the door. “You don’t sound good. Are you alright? Can I help you? Can you unlock the door?”
“I’m okay. Go away! It’s nothing!” he called back but he knew it sounded like the lie that it was. And yet he still hoped that Yara would understand and leave him alone. That it was something Yamamoto wanted to hide. Something private, something he couldn’t tell Yara about.
His whole body jerked up when another wave of pain hit him and he couldn’t bite back the scream. Then he collapsed on the floor and the scales disappeared again, along with the markings. His teeth turned back to normal and his vision changed back as well. He had just enough energy to keep breathing.
“Ryota??”
He heard a clicking sound from the door and suddenly it opened. Yara was holding some sort of contraption in his hand - a lock-pick - and he looked around until he found Yamamoto on the floor in a heap. “Ryota! What the hell happened? You sounded like you were getting killed or something!” he lifted Yamamoto up and his eyes widened. “You’re cold to the touch!”
Yamamoto tried to say something but his vocal chords weren’t working yet.
“I’m getting you to a hospital!” Yara picked him up.
That mobilized enough adrenaline in Yamamoto to let him speak again. “No!” he grabbed hold of the other’s shirt weakly. “Not the hospital. Please!”
“But Ryota-” Yara tried to argue but when he saw the look in Yamamoto’s eyes he gave in. What he saw in Yamamoto’s eyes was fear - no, complete and utter terror. He couldn’t force the other. Not when he looked at him like that. “Alright, I’ll take you to lie down on the sofa again.”
Yamamoto closed his eyes and sighed softly, relieved. He felt how Yara carried him and laid him down on the sofa gently, carefully and pulled the blanket over his body.
“I’ll be okay again in a bit,” he spoke quietly.
“Can you tell me what’s wrong with you at least? Can I help you?” Yara asked, genuinely worried.
He shook his head. “No. Nobody can help me.” Yamamoto couldn’t help the tear sliding down his cheek at this point. The fit had made him realize his situation. They had been right. He wasn’t normal and he would not be able to fit in with the normal people like this. Yamamoto couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t pretend to be normal any longer. He would have to leave. He would have to leave Yara.
If he could find the others, maybe together they would be able to figure something out.
“Ryota?” Yara’s voice was soft and his fingers touching Yamamoto’s cheek even more so.
Before he left, he wanted to tell the other the truth. Even if that was potentially a bad idea, Yamamoto wanted Yara to know. He owed the other at least that much after all this time. After the other had taken care of him, taken him in and not asked for anything in return.
When he felt some strength returning to his limbs, Yamamoto sat up and turned to look at Yara, who was sitting on the floor next to the sofa. “Before I talk to you now, I need you to promise me something,” he started. “I need you to promise me, no matter what happens, not to tell anyone else about this and about me - especially not about me.”
It was probably the most solemn and serious he had sounded ever since meeting the other. Their interaction had been on a friendly and playful level from the start. Yamamoto had felt like a little brother, being teased here and there and riled up. He had responded in a way that seemed to have come natural to him. He’d opened up to Yara, accepted him as an older brother figure, a guardian figure and a friend. So this was a pretty big break from that.
Yara looked at him for a few long moments, before he nodded. “I promise.”
“Okay,” Yamamoto nodded and then paused, trying to think of how and where to start. In the end he decided to start at the beginning and to tell Yara everything - or at least, almost everything. “Some of the things I’m about to tell you might sound strange. You might feel afraid or even disgusted but I ask you to please listen until the very end. I really want you to understand and I’m telling you all of this because I think you deserve to know after you’ve taken care of me for so long and been nothing but nice to me all this time as well.”
He swallowed heavily before he continued. “The truth is that I ran away from some sort of science facility, probably a secret one. A bunch of scientists was doing experiments on humans there. They probably still are. Only a part of it was affected by the break-out.” It was hard to talk about it he noticed, because of the memories. It was hard to remember. It hurt to remember. “I’m not sure how I ended up there. They said they had erased all of my memories from the time before I was brought there. The only thing I remember is the name Yamamoto Ryota. I don’t know whether it is my own or whether it was somebody close to me. It was the same for other people I met there. At the beginning, I was still among other people. Mostly people around my age, I think.”
It had been hard to tell just from the looks. After all, none of them had known.
“They didn’t tell us the memory thing at first. At the beginning, when I had just woken up there, they said that the place was a medical facility. That they were trying to find something that would help to advance mankind. It was all really confusing. Most of us didn’t care, I think. We were just confused and we were happy not to be alone,” Yamamoto remembered how the large, sterile room had become a bit more bearable to be inside of when he had had other people around him. How the world had become a slightly better, warmer place when Sakuma had smiled at him or when Eda had cracked a joke.
“It wasn’t anything much at first. They watched us and made us exercise and then they examined us, how our bodies were doing, something that seemed normal,” he paused again. “Ah, they erased our memories from before we came but they didn’t actually erase any you know, normal kinds of thoughts and sentiments I guess? Like, we still knew how to behave and be human I guess. What to consider a normal medical examination,” Yamamoto explained.
None of them had thought much of it at first. Maybe they had been ‘brainwashed’ that way. But that hadn’t lasted long. “After a while though, the first people started to disappear, one after another. Fear went around. Nobody knew what was happening to the others. I was afraid, too. And I would have been even more afraid if I had known about what was going to happen to me. They took me away after a week.” They had slept in shared dorm like rooms before, twenty or even thirty of them. He’d shared a bunk bed with Takahashi. The other had woken up when they had come in to get Yamamoto. He remembered the other trying to reach his hand out to grab him but missing him by just a few centimeters. Not that it would have changed anything but Yamamoto wanted to think that maybe the lingering touch of Takahashi’s hand would have made some kind of difference in what had followed.
“I was taken to a laboratory and they strapped me onto a table. I started to panic slightly. It just didn’t feel right. The men around me had ignored it and bared my arms. They didn’t say anything. They just injected something into me. After they were done, I was brought into a cell, or a cube, they called it sometimes. It was a small room with no windows, a bed, a bathroom corner,” he wrapped his arms around himself at the memory of his prison. “They left me alone there. At least physically. They would always watch me from somewhere else though. After all, they wanted to see what their injections would do to me. And they wanted to do so from a safe distance. I took me a while to understand why.”
Yamamoto closed his eyes for a moment again and willed them to change before he looked at Yara again. As expected, the non-human eyes made the other jump a little in surprise. “This is what they did to me,” he said then and willed his eyes to become normal again. His breathing was going harder. It cost a lot of energy to change at will. “First they injected different kinds of processed venom into me, like snake venom or other reptile venom in general. My body produced antibodies or adapted to it. Then, they started to change my cell structure, my entire body. They did it little by little because the amount of stress they subjected me to was too big to do it in one sitting. It hurt. What you witnessed earlier, at least partially, was just the tip if the ice-berg. I’ve had worse.” There had been times when a group of guards had come in to check on him, whether he was still alive.
Taking another deep breath, he finished the story, “After who knows how long, a few people managed to break out of that facility. I don’t remember how exactly it happened. But suddenly, there was a big explosion and a way opened up for us to escape through. We didn’t think twice about it and we ran. I don’t even remember who made it out with me exactly. I was focusing on getting away. Their guards, or hunters as they were called as well, came after us of course. They are still out there, looking for us. We saw two of them on TV yesterday. The two people who were killed. I know for sure because they had the markings on them. You wouldn’t notice them normally but if you know where to look, they’re there. It’s a scar at the top of the back of their index fingers, on the first joint after the nail. It comes from the tranquilizer and tazer weapons they use.”
At his point he slowly got up from the sofa, stumbling a little bit as he was still weak on his legs. “Thank you for taking care of me for all this time, Yara-san. I understand if you feel scared or disgusted now but I wanted to tell you all of this because I wanted to repay you for your kindness. You didn’t have to accept me the way you did, take me in and take care of me. Thank you, really. For everything. But this is good bye now. Don’t worry, you will never see me again after today.”
He made his way downstairs and stopped for a moment to look at the pet shop once more. Yamamoto would miss this place. He knew.
“What are you doing, other one?” he could hear a voice from the side and he looked over to see Chura looking at him through the glass of her terrarium. She tilted her head over inquiringly and nudged at the glass, beckoning him over.
A few minutes wouldn’t matter, Yamamoto thought and went over to open the lid and led her slide out.
“I’m leaving. So this is good bye to you, too, Chura,” he said softly and caressed her head gently as she slithered up his arm to wrap herself around his shoulders. The back of her tail smacked his head gently.
“But you don’t want to leave, other one.”
“I must leave. I have no choice. So please from now on, take care of him for me, too?” he looked down and tried to hold back the flood of emotions which threatened to pour out of him right now. “If you’re with him, I think I can be a little more at ease.”
She hissed disapprovingly. “He doesn’t want you to leave.”
“Things have changed. He knows about me now. He doesn’t want me to stay anymore,” Yamamoto shook his head. There was no way the other would.
“You’re wrong, other one,” she smacked the back of his head with her tail again. Then her head turned the other way. “You tell him yourself. He’s not listening to me.” She slid off Yamamoto again and back into her terrarium. Yamamoto blinked. She hadn’t been addressing him, had she?
A moment later, he realized who she had been talking to. He found a pair of arms around him which pulled him back and pressed him against a warm body. “Thank god, you’re still here,” Yara sighed with very obvious relief swinging in his voice. “You know, you have to give a person a few moments to process such a long story and so much information. Don’t just throw such a brick at people and then leave. That’s hit and run, you know?”
“Yara-san?” Yamamoto’s eyes widened.
Yara looked over at Chura. “You can talk to her?” he asked softly. “I hope she scolded you.”
Yamamoto had to laugh softly. “She did.” He turned around in the other’s embrace. “Yara-san, why? I mean, aren’t you afraid? Disgusted? Anything? I’m not normal. We’ve barely known each other for more than a month. How can you be so nice to me?”
The other looked into his eyes for a few long moments and then sighed softly. “I don’t even know myself. It just happened? I didn’t feel anything bad from you. A part of me could even understand your situation somewhat. You know, the whole waking up without any memories in some kind of hospital thing. I wanted to help you just like my family had helped me back then. I felt like it would be wrong to just leave you like that since you didn’t seem to have anyone else.”
Swallowing audibly, Yamamoto had try and keep his emotions in check. How had he ended up in the care of someone like Yara? Again, it all seemed too good to be true.
“Also, when I looked at you, I got a similar feeling to when I first laid eyes on Chura here in this shop,” Yara continued with a soft chuckle. “That feeling that tells you that this is ‘the one’. An instant kind of attraction or maybe the thing people call ‘love at first sight’?” He smiled at Yamamoto. “And you being part snake certainly explains why I fell in love with the way you dance, too. It’s still a bit rough around the edges but we could work on that.”
They had danced together outside in a park not too long ago. Yara had told him that he was a dance instructor but that he’d taken a break from work to watch the shop for the time being. On one of their walks to the grocery store, they had taken a detour through the local park and found a group of dancers practicing there. Some of them had recognized Yara and invited him to join.
At first Yamamoto had only watched them but after a while he’d joined them, body itching to move. It seemed to come so natural to him. And he’d gotten lost in the moment and hadn’t realized how the others had stopped dancing to watch him instead. Until the music ended.
Realizing he’d kind of spaced out, Yamamoto tried to pull himself back to the present again. It was then that he realized something and he turned to gape and stare at Yara. “Wait you just said you-”
Love at first sight.
Something in his brain seemed to have fried because all he could do was flail his arms a bit and make incoherent sounds. He was incapable of forming any words. He could hear how Chura was laughing at him from her still open terrarium, obviously very amused by the whole situation.
“You’re so slow, other one.”
Her teasing wasn’t really helping Yamamoto in his efforts to recover coherent speech. And now he could hear Yara snickering at him as well. Little crinkles and wrinkles appeared on his face as he laughed and the mirth made his eyes sparkle softly. Yamamoto just stared. He was completely and utterly captivated by the sight by the whole situation by- actually just by Yara. And it only occurred to him now that the almost sleepless nights he’d spend on the sofa, thinking about Yara and how the other would react and what to do about him, had been because he’d felt something for the other as well.
“You only realize that now, other one? We’ve all known for a while,” Chura commented from the side.
A quieter voice from the shop added, “He’s young. He still needs to learn many things.”
“For a snake, you look a bit like a fish right now,” Yara laughed and nudged Yamamoto towards the stairs. “Let’s go back up and talk things through, okay? Or maybe think things through again. Take all the time you want. We don’t have to open the shop today. We can also go out at another time. If what you said about the thing on TV is true, maybe you shouldn’t go there right now. Whoever it was will probably be long gone and those after you will probably look there first as well, thinking it will be the first place for you guys to look for your kin as well.”
Yamamoto just let himself be pushed upstairs again and flopped down onto the sofa heavily. He needed a moment. Or maybe a few, to gather himself again.
“It doesn’t make sense?” he was finally able to talk again.
Shrugging, Yara replied, “Things rarely ever make sense in life?” He sat down next to Yamamoto and wrapped an arm around the other to pull him closer again. “It’s more fun this way.” He grinned and leaned in to kiss Yamamoto but the other shied away.
“No! I could poison you!” Yamamoto shook his head. His fangs had retracted but he didn’t know if the transformations were also messing with his more human form.
Yara gently touched Yamamoto’s cheek and tilted the other’s face back and forced him to look at him. “Well, too late. You already did,” he murmured softly and before Yamamoto could try to object one more, pressed his lips on the other male’s in a soft kiss.
Eyes fluttering close, Yamamoto felt his resolve crumble and his fear retreat at the contact. It was making his body tingle pleasantly and affected a part of him deep inside that he thought that he had lost long ago. A part of him that was still able to feel something else but pain, a part of him that could still feel happy.
When their lips parted again, a soft sigh fell from Yamamoto’s lips. “Yara…” and he curled up against the other, content to just be held for the time being. The exhaustion from the fit finally caught up with him again and he drifted off into something that was partially sleep and partially unconsciousness.
Hours later, when he opened his eyes again, he thought that it had all just been a dream but when his mind started to clear, he could still feel arms around him. He was no longer lying on the sofa but on the bed and Yara was lying next to him, with an arm wrapped around Yamamoto’s waist. The hold was loose enough so that Yamamoto could move and not feel uncomfortable and restrained but at the same time it was also strong enough to keep him there, to keep him from running away.
It made him smile happily and he curled up against the other for the rest of the night.
The holiday had passed just like that and the days after were back to their normal routine. That was until Yara announced the return of his friend.
“I’m going to take you home with me,” Yara announced over breakfast. “I’ll take you and Chura there tomorrow morning and then I’ll hand over the shop to my friend again and then come back. So make sure you say good bye to everyone down in the shop if you want to do so?”
Yamamoto’s face fell a bit at that, “Oh.”
“Maybe I’ll take you here again sometime and introduce you and all but maybe not right now? We’ll have to think of some back story for you. Can’t just introduce you as the kid that suddenly turned up on the doorstep one day after all,” he winked with a smile.
That made sense. Yamamoto nodded. “Okay.” The thought of leaving the shop made him a little sad but he’d be living with Yara and Chura. And that was more than he could have asked for already, really. Also, as Yara had said, they could come back at some point. Actually wanting to return somewhere was a really new thought for Yamamoto. Having a place he actually wanted to go back to was a novel experience.
So when he made his round with the food in the evening, he made sure to say good bye to everyone who would understand him. After that he helped Yara to clean up the living quarters again so that Yara’s friend wouldn’t come back to a huge mess in his home.
Early the next morning, Yamamoto then found himself sitting on the train with Chura’s terrarium on his lap. It was a short trip, only a couple of stations. And the walk from the station to the apartment building Yara lived in wasn’t long either. It seemed to be a popular and busy area, which put Yamamoto at ease somewhat. He’d be able to leave the apartment and not hide in there all the time then.
When Yamamoto stepped into the apartment, he could feel Yara’s presence everywhere. It was a lot stronger than it had been at the pet-shop. Which made sense, seeing that this was the other’s true home. Chura let out a content hiss when Yara took her terrarium from Yamamoto and set it back onto a chest of drawers, its proper place. “There, Chura’s made herself at home already. Now it’s your turn. Ah before that I guess I should give you the tour.”
Yara lead him around the apartment, “Here’s the bathroom, then the rest room. Over here is the kitchenette, right inside the living room, okay almost and over there is the bedroom.” It wasn’t a big apartment but it wasn’t tiny either. The two of them would be able to live in it comfortably.
“You can watch some TV while I’m gone? Or use the computer. I think I have a guest profile on it that doesn’t require a password. Or you can just sleep. If you want to change the linens on the bed, there are more in the closet on the side somewhere at the top,” Yara offered. “There should still be something to drink in the fridge and maybe there are some snacks in the pantry. I’ll bring some proper food home later. Do you have any requests?”
Yamamoto shook his head. “I’m fine. Chura says she feels like having chicken though?”
Laughing, Yara grabbed his keys again, “Alright then, chicken it is. See you two later!” He waved and then left the apartment again, locking the door behind himself.
Seeing that Chura was dozing, Yamamoto explored the apartment by himself. He looked at the collection of CDs and DVDs and discovered pictures here and there which showed Yara with other people, probably other dancers. There were some pictures of Yara in action as well. Yamamoto wondered whether they’d be able to dance again soon.
In the end Yamamoto curled up on the bed and fell asleep. He wasn’t tired really but the weather outside was still cold and wet and his senses were telling him to hibernate. Yara’s bed was also really comfy and it didn’t take much for him to drift off. He felt so safe here.
And yet he jerked up a bit when he felt somebody touch his cheek a couple of hours later. “Sorry, did I startle you?” Yara apologized and sat down on the edge of the mattress. “I’m back.”
“Welcome back,” Yamamoto greeted the other and his racing heart slowed down again. “You did, at least a bit.” He answered the other’s question then. “Did everything go well? Was your friend happy with the shop? Or did we mess something up?”
“Nope, it’s all good,” Yara smiled. “We didn’t talk long. He was glad to be home and well I left him to deal with his jetlag and settle in again.”
Touching Yara’s hand, Yamamoto noticed, “You’re cold. Did the weather get worse?”
“I think it’s snowing. Pretty rare for this area but I guess it happens,” Yara nodded and shivered a bit. “Seeing you curled up on the bed like this is so inviting, you know that? All warm and comfy.”
Smiling, Yamamoto said, “You’re more than welcome to join.”
“You know what? I think I’ll do just that,” Yara said and stood up to strip off the upper layer of his clothes. He put on a loose pair of sweatpants and then crawled under the covers to join Yamamoto.
Turning around, Yamamoto leaned up for a kiss and wrapped his arm around Yara to pull him closer. He would be able to share his warmth better than. Or at least that was his excuse for doing this. Not that he really needed an excuse to kiss and touch Yara these days. The other didn’t seem to mind it. Yara just let Yamamoto do as he pleased, at least right now.
After a few moments of kissing and innocent touching though, Yamamoto could feel one of Yara’s hands wander down his flank first and then further down towards the waistband of his own sweats. “Yaracchi?” he’d learned that nickname from Chura, “Are you sure you want to?” They hadn’t moved beyond kissing and some touching yet but he could feel that Yara wanted more. Yamamoto did too but he was still feeling insecure. What if he transformed? He knew one could lose control at least for a few moments during sex. What if he accidentally hurt Yara then?
He desperately wished he knew more about his own body right now.
It seemed as if Yara had guessed his thoughts, “No other way but to try and find out, Ryota. I’ll manage, somehow. We’ll manage.” He rolled them over and made Yamamoto look up at him. “And I want you. I was waiting for us to come back here because I didn’t want to do it over at the shop. It would’ve felt more than a little awkward.”
“Yaracchi,” Yamamoto looked into the other’s eyes for another long moment before he gave in. “Okay.” It was true. He had to try and see what happened. There was no other way to find out.
“I want you, too.”
This urge had been something new for him as well. He’d known about its existence and everything but he’d never really experienced it. The scientists had never really been interested in that and all the experiments had left him too tired or in too much pain to consider it. But now his body was letting him know that he wanted it, needed it even.
He let Yara pull off his shirt. A gust of cool air brushed over Yamamoto’s skin and for a brief second, pale snake markings appeared on his skin. It made Yara chuckle softly and he traced them with his fingers.
“You don’t get goose-bumps but snake-skin instead? That’s actually kind of cool,” his fingers brushed Yamamoto’s collarbone and then skirted one of the younger male’s nipples teasingly, eliciting a soft sound from Yamamoto that sounded a bit like a cross between a whimper and a soft squeak.
“Usually I don’t? Just now,” Yamamoto shivered a bit. His skin felt so sensitive right now. Yara’s touch went deeper than skin. “Touch me more?” he grabbed onto the other’s shoulders.
Smiling, Yara asked, “If you’ll let me? Then I will.”
“Yes,” Yamamoto breathed softly in reply and his body arched up as Yara kept his word.
Just touching didn’t keep Yamamoto satisfied for too long though. The urge was growing stronger inside of him. Before Yara could touch Yamamoto’s cock, he flipped them over. Yara let out a surprised ‘oof’ and looked up at Yamamoto, raising an eyebrow inquiringly. “Ryota?”
Yamamoto licked his lips and replied, “I can’t just let you spoil me the whole time and do all the work. Let me return the favor. I’ll show you something good.” He hadn’t told the other that he’d found a stash of dirty magazines while cleaning up the apartment above the shop the other day. They had been very interesting and very educational.
“Something go- holy shit!” Yara cursed softly and grabbed hold of the bed sheet.
If his mouth hadn’t been busy that moment, Yamamoto would have grinned proudly at Yara’s reaction to his little ‘tongue trick’. Nobody else would be able to copy that for sure. He could hear Yara muttering under his breath. Something about how this wasn’t anything from this world. And then the other started to make sounds. Sounds that sent shivers of excitement down Yamamoto’s spine and urged him on further. Sounds that sent little ripples of heat and electricity through his whole body.
He echoed one of the sounds at one point and it seemed to have set Yara off. Yamamoto was surprised by the sudden salty and bitter taste in his mouth and coughed a bit, pulling his mouth away. A few stray droplets of come splashed onto his lips.
A hand reached out to wipe them off gently. “You weren’t kidding when you said you’d show me something good,” Yara commented and pulled Yamamoto back up.
Crawling into Yara’s lap, Yamamoto breathed against the other’s lips, “Now it’s your turn again, Yaracchi. Make me feel good, too?”
Yamamoto felt how the other shivered in reaction to his words. “Where did my innocent Ryota go all of a sudden?” Yara asked with a soft laugh. “Or rather, where was this sexy Ryota hiding all this time? I think I kind of like him.” He didn’t bother to flip their positions and grabbed around on the nightstand. He produced a bottle of massage oil.
“I guess this’ll work,” he muttered, more to himself than to Yamamoto, who was blinking a bit. Actually he hadn’t quote worked out this part yet. But Yara seemed to know what was going on so he’d follow the other’s lead.
A sound half-gasp, half-yelp came from him the next moment when something penetrated him. Looking down, Yamamoto saw that it was one of Yara’s fingers, slick from the oil. “W-What?”
“I assumed you knew?” Yara blinked back but then smiled gently and leaned up to kiss Yamamoto’s temple reassuringly. “Trust me? It’ll hurt a bit at first but the pain will go away later. Or at least, it’ll become less bad. If it’s too uncomfortable I can stop?”
For a moment Yamamoto contemplated that offer and thought of accepting it but his body won over in the end and he shook his head. “Continue.” As Yara had said before, there was no way but to try and find out. If he never tried something, he’d never know what it was or how it would go. You had to risk things in order to gain things. No pain, no gain, was what Yara had taught him. “I think I’ll be fine.”
“I promise to make it worth it,” Yara kissed Yamamoto’s forehead gently and continued with his ministrations, his preparations. Yamamoto leaned down for more kisses, proper kisses, to distract himself a bit. The kisses were comforting. They were something he knew, something he was sure about.
Then, all of a sudden, something hot and pulsating was inside of him. Yamamoto’s eyes widened and he broke the last kiss. He raised his head slightly to look at Yara. “Yaracchi?”
Yara was obviously looking for words, something to say but in the end only came up with, “Ryota?”
The realization that Yara was inside of him hit Yamamoto and he moaned softly and slumped forward, against the other’s body. It lowered him even further onto the other and set his body on fire. So this was how it felt like. He couldn’t say it felt really good - there was some slight discomfort - but the emotional significance overtook the physical issues right now.
Resting his head on the other’s shoulder, Yamamoto repeated his words from before, “Make me feel good, Yaracchi.”
“I won’t disappoint you,” Yara replied, apparently having found his coherency at least for now.
And true to his word, he did send Yamamoto off into different worlds of sensations, worlds that had thus far been undiscovered by the other. Towards the end, Yamamoto remembered that he’d touched himself but then things had started to become blur - Yara’s hips, the other’s reassuring words, the other’s hands on him, the other inside of him, the heat inside of him, everything.
The world started spinning uncontrollably and turned bright and white for a few moments. When it started to reappear around him again, Yamamoto found himself lying on the bed next to Yara. He could see the rapid rise and fall of the other’s chest and saw the traces of something white and sticky on the other’s abdomen. He reached out with one hand, which felt heavier than before, and traced the lines of the other’s abs, smearing some of the sticky substance all over in the process.
“Back on this earth, Ryota?” Yara asked softly.
“Back in your arms,” Yamamoto replied with a tired but happy smile.
Laughing softly, Yara asked, “Who taught you how to sweet-talk like that?”
That had been the first night back at Yara’s apartment. A proper ‘coming home’. Yamamoto would recall it over the next few days. Sometimes in the most inappropriate moments ever. Chura kept teasing him about it when he talked to her.
After a few days, Yara decided to take him to the dance school with him. Yamamoto had asked the other whether they’d be able to dance again the night before.
“You’ve come to like dancing, huh?” Yara smiled at Yamamoto fondly.
“It feels right?” Yamamoto said. “I can’t really say why that is. It just does.”
“That’s how it’s supposed to be. A calling,” gentle fingers brushed through Yamamoto’s light hair. “Let’s go tomorrow. I think I’ve come up with a vague enough back-story for you so I can start introducing you to people without them asking too many questions. You’re a distant cousin from the countryside who’s come here to learn more about dancing. So your family sent you to me because, well, I guess it would make sense even without explaining. Do you think that’ll work?”
Yamamoto nodded, “I think. I just hope people don’t want any details?” He’d have to think of ways to steer conversations away from potentially troubling areas.
He was still thinking about that on their way to the dance school the next day. They had just gotten off the train again and were walking down the busy street and Yamamoto automatically avoided people who were coming towards him, hood of his sweater drawn low to hide some of his face. Yara was walking next to him.
After a while they were about to turn and walk up the stairs leading into a building when something told Yamamoto look further up the street. When he did so, his eyes widened and his instincts told him to run.
“Ryota?” Yara called after him.
But right now, Yamamoto didn’t hear the other. He ran forward. He had to catch up to- he had to-
“Ryu!” finally his fingers came within reach of the hem of the other’s shirt and grabbed hold of it. There was no mistake. The other had aged a little but Yamamoto could still recognize the other. Recognize his friend. The memory of that one moment, of the other reaching out for him from the bunk bed returned to him as clear as if it had been just a few days ago. “Takahashi Ryu!” he called the other by his full name.
Slowly, Takahashi’s figure turned around and his gaze landed on Yamamoto’s shorter form.
A part of Yamamoto was afraid of what he might see there. Would the other remember him? What if the other had been made a hunter? What if he’d just jeopardized everything, his freedom, his life, Yara?
His hand tightened its hold on the fabric of the shirt. He had just bet everything on a single card.
Everything.
To be continued...?