S Vol. 1 (Yaoi Novel)
As the motor hummed, Lin took a picture. Tied up, whip marks on his chest and a sex toy sticking out of his ass, knowing that he had been well and truly framed, Shiiba’s despair turned black before his eyes. If this got out into the world… If Shinozuka saw it…if this was seen…that was what he was most scared of. He couldn’t bear the thought.
Shiiba was turned round so he was face up again. Lin put a small ring-like object around his penis. It seemed that this also had a vibrate function and Lin switched this on too, starting up the motor.
The vibrating motion pleasured his penis. There was nothing he could do. Lin looked on, pleased at the shamed and humiliated man before him.
“How is it?” he asked. “Feel good? Which feels best? Shall we make it stronger? Here.”
Lin flicked the switch and the vibrator in Shiiba’s anus moved faster. It was strange that he was not sensitive in that place.
The ring over his penis had elastic properties. It expanded as Shiiba hardened, never stopping with its delicate vibrations. It wasn’t enough to make him come, but it still heightened Shiiba’s state of arousal.
“Oh, there is a little drool coming from your sweet mouth,” Lin said. “The ring isn’t enough. Let’s make it stronger.”
His protests were ignored. The ring around his penis moved more violently. Shiiba felt the force shoot through his entire body.
He tried to bite back the moans issuing from his mouth. The pleasure was building inside him like a whirlpool, which tormented him even more. Contrary to his will, his body was reacting. He couldn’t stop himself.
“That’s right,” Lin purred. “Move your hips. Feels good, doesn’t it? Make all the dirty sounds you want, it turns me on even more.”
Lin started taking more photos. His eyes glistened with sexual excitement. It disgusted Shiiba so much, he wanted to puke. He decided to shut his mouth tightly.
Lin looked slightly disappointed.
“So shy,” he said, pouting. “But you’re a dirty boy who needs punishment, aren’t you?”
Lin took out the vibrator and removed the ring. Without the vibrations, Shiiba could relax a little. But this time, Lin whipped him even worse. Alternating between strong lashes and weak lashes, Lin covered Shiiba’s entire body with whip marks.
“…Ngh…ah…” Shiiba threw his head back in pain and bit down on his lip. He didn’t want to give Lin the pleasure of hearing him beg again. Whatever he did, he wanted to stay strong until the end. If he could just keep going…
“Shall we get onto this then?” Lin asked.
Giving up on the whip, he took out a large vibrator, his favorite of all his toys. It was a terrifyingly large object.
If Lin moved that thing inside him, Shiiba was afraid of what it might do to him.
“What about this one?” Lin said. “So big. I’ll help you push it up into that tight ass of yours. Right up inside. But if you like it, that won’t be a punishment. So we’re going to do this without lube.”
Lin pushed Shiiba onto his stomach, and shoved a pillow underneath him. Shiiba’s hips lifted with the movement, presenting his behind. Lin caressed the two buttocks and pushed the vibrator into his tight passage.
“You’ve not taken it from behind much, have you?” Lin mocked. “It’s so good. You’re just like a girl.”
Shiiba’s muscles tightened, desperately trying to reject the vibrator. As if to mock this feeble display of resistance, Lin pushed even harder. It was going in. The entire thing—
It was then that they heard something. Lin stopped. It was a knocking at the door. A quiet but persistent knocking.
“Who is that? I’m busy,” he growled.
Lin left the bed to see who the visitor was, evidently annoyed by this intrusion. Shiiba couldn’t see much from the bed.
“What is it?” he heard Lin snarl.
“I was told that this was Mr. Tanaka’s residence?” a voice said.
“What?” Lin yelled. “There’s been a mistake. Go and check at the front desk.”
Lin was cut off and there was some kind of commotion going on outside. Shiiba thought that he could hear some kind of groaning noise. He guessed that something was happening, but he couldn’t move. However, he could sense the presence of a few people entering the room.
Then two men wearing dark business suits appeared, supporting Lin on both sides. Shiiba couldn’t be sure whether Lin was conscious or not since there was a black bag pulled over his head. His body tensed up.
“Who are…” he began, desperately trying to get up. But he could only lift his head a little.
Ignoring Shiiba’s questions, one of the men turned a little to let another pass.
On seeing the person behind them, Shiiba was stunned. His eyes and mouth went wide open, he looked like an idiot.
Munechika put his finger to his lips. He was indicating to stay quiet, but Shiiba didn’t understand what was going on. Kaname quickly turned Shiiba round and attempted to undo the restraints. He turned to Munechika when he realized it wasn’t that simple and whispered that they needed a key. Munechika was agitated. He wrapped Shiiba’s completely naked body in a bed sheet then he lifted Shiiba up onto his shoulders.
“Hey…” Shiiba protested. He tried to twist his body away, but he still had not gotten back his strength.
Kaname asked the men to do something and then started walking in front of Munechika. Opening the door, he checked their surroundings and quickly proceeded down the corridor. Carrying Shiiba, Munechika followed behind.
They got into a staff-only elevator and started to descend to another floor. Another voice indicated that they were there. Through a crack in the sheets, Shiiba could only make out a hotel staff’s uniform.
They got into the parked Benz with Kaname in the driver’s seat and Munechika settling into the back, placing Shiiba beside him. The tires of the Benz screeched as the car sped off. They flew onto the expressway at a terrifying speed.
After a while, finally Munechika spoke. “Kaname, are we being followed?”
“It doesn’t look like it now,” Kaname answered.
“I see. Shiiba, you can come out now,” Munechika said, pulling the sheet back.
Shiiba was lying on his side in the back seat. With Munechika’s help, he sat up straight.
“When we get out of the car, we’ll set you free, just hold on a little longer,” Munechika said.
“I don’t get it…what…those men, who were they? Did they kill…Lin?” Shiiba managed to ask.
He still couldn’t speak properly and his voice came out in spurts. But the drug was certainly wearing off, and he was getting strength back in his muscles.
Perhaps due to the suppository that Lin had inserted, Shiiba’s bottom half burned. The drug had dissolved and had been absorbed, so he was starting to feel its effects.
“I wouldn’t be so stupid as to kill that man,” Munechika said. “He’s just having a little nap. Those guys are associates of mine. It was necessary to have someone look after Lin, so the men stayed there.”
Shiiba still couldn’t handle what had happened. While he was still dealing with his confusion, the car pulled up silently at a residential street. Kaname stopped the car right in front of the entrance of a house.
“It’s my safe house,” Munechika answered. “Can you walk?”
Nodding, Shiiba got out of the car after Munechika. But as soon as he took one step, his knees gave way and he tumbled to the ground. Munechika gently picked him up.
“Idiot,” Munechika said. “If you can’t walk, just say so. Jeez. You’re really stubborn.”
Kaname proceeded ahead and opened the door, waiting for them. He didn’t say anything as they entered; he only bowed.
“It looks like no one followed us,” he said once they were inside. “I’m going back to the hotel. For our peace of mind, there are people stationed outside.”
“Thank you,” Munechika said.
With that, Kaname left. Still carrying Shiiba, Munechika went into a room with a bed. As he was lowered onto the bed, Shiiba sighed. He didn’t like being carried around like an object.
“What was the drug?” Munechika asked.
Shiiba shook his head. “I don’t know. He slipped something into my drink which made me unable to move, and then he gave me something to get me excited.”
He didn’t need to say where Lin had put it. The drug that had been administrated last was causing Shiiba more trouble than the first. The place that it had been pushed into ached and itched. It was also making him feel flushed all over. Maybe that was why his skin was feeling unusually sensitive. He could feel absolutely everything that touched his skin. It was a lot like the very beginning of a cold, but without the ill feeling and the fever. Instead, he just felt more and more excited. His throat was dry and his breathing erratic. He didn’t feel entirely like himself.
“Munechika, get me out of these quickly,” he begged. His wrists had stopped hurting from the restraints, but he felt embarrassed about looking like this in front of Munechika.
“Hmph. You look good in that get up,” Munechika said. “I’ll leave you like that for a while. Poetic justice.”
Shiiba objected. “I had no choice! I had to for Andou, I have to—” Shiiba didn’t get to finish. A large hand suddenly slapped him across his cheek.
“You’re an idiot!” Munechika yelled. “How was that for Andou? Do you think he would have been happy with you taking a risk like that? You were just there for yourself. Besides, you should have learned that you’re no good at seduction by now.”
The words were more of a shock than the slap. Shiiba almost felt like he was being rejected.
“What do you know?” he yelled back. “I have to work alone! I can’t rely on anyone. I have to take risks to get information!”
Munechika said nothing. Shiiba realized what a fool he had been. He felt rage for himself more than he did Munechika.
Suddenly, he felt hysterical, like he needed to burst out into tears. He turned his body on the bed, rolling off it and falling prostrate on the floor. Tears of bitter frustration welled up in his eyes and he burst into great sobs.
Munechika sat down next to him and lifted him up back to the bed. Stroking back Shiiba’s ruffled hair, he whispered, “Don’t cry…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit you.”
Shiiba wanted to tell him it wasn’t because he hit him, but he couldn’t find any other excuse for his behavior. He tried his best to calm down. Munechika always seemed to amplify feelings of doubt within him. He didn’t understand why, whenever he was with this man his heart seemed so confused. How did this man know how to push all his buttons?
“Well you did it,” Munechika continued. “Even though I tried to stop you, you still met with Lin. This was what was going to happen in the end. I couldn’t let that bastard do what he wanted with you. And when I went in the room and saw you like that, my blood boiled.” Munechika’s voice couldn’t conceal his jealousy. It made Shiiba feel strange. The way Munechika was talking was like that of a passionate lover. “Don’t cheapen yourself. You’re worth more than that.”
Munechika’s voice took a strange tone. It was like an old man advising a schoolgirl who had been taking money for dating older men. Even though there was the contradiction that they had entered into their own deal.
But Shiiba didn’t feel a desire to argue now. Instead, he was enjoying the sense of security he felt while being held against this man’s broad protective chest.
Munechika buried his face into the back of Shiiba’s neck. His gentle lips and his warm breath, Shiiba felt it all across his body.
As if he sensed this, Munechika asked him, “Does the drug hurt?”
Shiiba’s breath was shallow. Munechika looked down in concern.
“Yeah. Please. Don’t touch me too much.” Shiiba’s voice was lower than usual. His heart was weakened from not being able to control his own body.
“I can’t help it,” Munechika said, returning to his insolent self. He gave a cheeky smile. “You can tell me to stop. But I can’t do that. You have no idea how sexy you look just now.”
“Don’t be a jerk,” Shiiba said with an indignant expression. He suddenly sucked in his breath. Munechika had slipped his hand under the sheet. The palm of his warm hand was softly stroking Shiiba’s inner thigh, a part of him that was so sensitive. Shiiba shivered under Munechika’s touch. “Let go. I’m serious…”
Munechika’s hands didn’t stop. Instead, they stroked the top of Shiiba’s penis. With both his hands still tied, there was nothing that Shiiba could do to stop the ministrations.
“Already hard?” Munechika teased. “You’ve been hard ever since the hotel. That must be sore. I’ll make you feel better.”
“No. I don’t need that. Let me out of these restraints. I can deal with it myself.”
“Sorry, I don’t need to see you do that tonight. Oh, that’s right. Why don’t you pay back all your debt tonight?”
Munechika pushed Shiiba’s shoulders. He fell down with a thud back on the bed. While holding Shiiba down, Munechika took off his own shirt.
“Munechika, why don’t I pay you back some other time?” Shiiba pleaded. “I really need a rest tonight…”
Because of the drugs, his body felt different. He didn’t know what might happen if Munechika touched him like this.
“I want it tonight,” Munechika insisted. “Just let me…Shiiba, I want you tonight.” Munechika’s low voice sounded composed, but he was shaking a little.
Shiiba didn’t know whether this was out of fear or anticipation. Munechika threw off the sheet entirely. Shiiba closed his eyes. To be completely naked in front of another man, he hadn’t felt it then, but now he felt shy.
A hand reached between Shiiba’s legs and with rhythmic movements, started to urge Shiiba on. It was too much for Shiiba who was already feeling a high state of arousal. His whole body was hot. He was losing his wits.
At some point, Shiiba had started moving his hips to match Munechika’s hand movements. His body was in absolute agony. However, his legs opened of their own accord. His mind said he didn’t want to do this, but his body submitted to his true desires.
“It’s almost like once it’s up, it’s never coming down again,” Munechika commented lewdly.
Munechika suddenly stopped his vigorous hand movements. Shiiba, at the height of pleasure, had almost been released. He almost cried with irritation. Opening his eyes, they met with Munechika’s who was now looking down at him.
“Huh…?” Shiiba asked, still dazed with lust.
“Tell me you want me,” Munechika said. “Ask me to sleep with you.” He started caressing Shiiba again to add emphasis to his words. His actions were gentler and were intent on having Shiiba say the words. “If you ask me to sleep with you, then, I’ll let you have what you want. And, I’ll be your S too.”
Munechika’s heart and body were on the line. It was a skillful plan. And Munechika’s attempt at seduction had almost worked. But Shiiba still didn’t want to say the words that Munechika needed to hear from him. If he did that now, then Munechika may be his S, but the power in the relationship would be decided from the beginning. Shiiba wouldn’t be able to control him.
“No matter how long you wait, I won’t ever say those words,” Shiiba answered firmly, trying to hold back the tide of lust he felt in his own heart.
“Such a strong man…but I wonder if you will stick with that,” Munechika said, turning Shiiba over and grabbing his buttocks. Quick as a flash, he inserted his finger into the hole.
Feeling a sharp stab of pain, Shiiba’s face screwed up.
“This is where he put the drugs, right?” Munechika said. “It’s dissolved, but there’s still a little left in here.”
Shiiba felt a burning sensation where Munechika probed. It wasn’t pain he was feeling though, but a pleasure so great it made him want to cry.
There was a squishing sound as Munechika’s fingers kept probing in that small hole. The drug had moistened Shiiba’s insides.
It was going to make Shiiba crazy. He couldn’t hold back. Emotion and reason left him. All his body could understand was a hot pleasure.
“Just one finger and you can’t take any more,” Munechika said. “I bet anything fatter would really hurt up here, huh?”
Hearing Munechika whisper only made Shiiba more turned on. He wanted it. He wanted Munechika’s cock inside him. He needed it so much he couldn’t think of anything else. A hunger. A needful lust.
“Say it,” Munechika repeated. “You can’t do anything else, right? Just tell me you want it then I’ll make you feel better. Shiiba quit police work. Come live with me. I’ll look after you.”
Shiiba peeked at Munechika. The man was serious. This wasn’t Munechika’s normal joking-around personality. Shiiba’s breathing was irregular and he shook his head.
“I can’t,” he answered. “I don’t want to quit my job. I can’t be yours.”
Their eyes locked together in wordless resistance to each other. Munechika scrutinized Shiiba. Realizing that he couldn’t change Shiiba’s mind, he sighed deeply and got up.
“If you really don’t want to be mine…you really are a stubborn bastard,” he said.
Before Shiiba could tell him to wait, Munechika had already left the room. He returned straight away with a wire cutter. Having the belts cut free, Shiiba finally had his freedom.
“Kaname will bring you your clothes in a bit. Just wait there,” Munechika said.
When Munechika tried to leave the room, Shiiba stopped him.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I’m going home. The retreat of the defeated.”
Seeing Munechika so down, hurt Shiiba. To keep his own pride, he had trampled on this man’s pride instead.
If they parted here he knew that he would never see the man again. Whatever orders he got from his superiors, Shiiba would not be able to see Munechika again. Even Shiiba couldn’t be that heartless.
Why did one of them have to be a winner in this game?
“See you, Shiiba,” Munechika said. “It was fun.”
Munechika opened the door. Watching the retreating man, Shiiba just sat there quietly. He couldn’t. He couldn’t let Munechika go like this. He wasn’t finished with this man.
“Wait. Don’t go…don’t go Munechika!” he finally yelled.
Munechika stopped hearing the urgency in Shiiba’s voice.
“Come here. Come back…” Shiiba cried from the bed.
Munechika looked dubious. “What is it?”
Shiiba gazed unblinkingly at Munechika. His mind was resolute. “I want you. I want you more than anyone.”
Munechika looked fierce and then, as if he was exercising, he moved his head around. “I don’t get you.”
Shiiba simply answered, “Shut up and come here.”
Munechika, still glowering at him, approached the bed slowly. Shiiba, with the flexibility of a leopard stalking its prey, quickly jumped on him. Munechika was dumbfounded at the embrace.
“What is this?” he choked.
“I’ve caught you,” Shiiba whispered. “You’re mine now, Munechika.”
“Surely, that should be my line,” Munechika objected.
“No, I’m not yours. You’re mine,” Shiiba insisted.
Munechika was becoming more and more confused. He pulled away so he could see Shiiba’s face. “It’s the same thing. You want me?”
“I want you. I want you desperately,” Shiiba looked pleadingly up at Munechika.
“What you want is for me to be your S,” Munechika said.
For a moment, Shiiba was silent. He wanted Munechika to be his S, but he also wanted Munechika as a man. Thinking of what had happened before between the two of them, there had been high and low points. If he tried to explain it, he wouldn’t have been able to make Munechika understand his complicated feelings. He decided that he had to try his best.
“My S is an important partner,” he said slowly. “Whatever happens, I can’t betray my S. When my S is in danger, I have to protect him. I have to lay my life on the line for him. I have to give myself entirely to his welfare. That is what an S is to me.”
At the same time as he was making this vow to Munechika, he was also reminding himself that he hadn’t been able to protect Andou. The words that veteran detective Takehara had said to him floated to mind.
Takehara was right. You couldn’t enter into your relationship with your S halfheartedly. It had to be true devotion. Shiiba knew that now.
“I see. To hear you finally say that makes me happy,” Munechika said. He had understood Shiiba’s meaning. The desire to look inside Shiiba disappeared from his eyes. “Anyway, now that I’m yours, does that mean I get as many treats as I want?”
It was a line that only Munechika could say with a straight face. Shiiba’s lips curled up into a wide smile.
Chapter 9
Munechika pulled all his clothes off and lay down on top of Shiiba. Their skin touched. The warmth of another’s skin on his was more than Shiiba could take. At just the feeling of having nothing between them, Shiiba’s excitement increased all the more.
When they embraced, he realized something. He realized that he had always craved for Munechika. He wanted all of Munechika. The passion that he had held back inside him burst out like a geyser. It scared him. This wasn’t just the side effect of some drug.
“Is this really your first time with a man?” Munechika asked.
“Yes, how many times do I have to tell you?” Shiiba said with some force. But his lower half was quivering with lust for Munechika. He was eagerly awaiting Munechika’s passion.
Munechika ran a finger down Shiiba’s white chest. When he touched the marks left by the whip, Shiiba felt a sting of pain.
“That bastard,” Munechika growled. “There were some interesting toys on that bed. He was using them too?”
Shiiba nodded. “A vibrator. A ring that went around my penis. And then that thing he was going to use when you burst in.”
“What a pervert,” Munechika said in disgust. “Well, how were they? What do you think of the toys? Think you’d want to use them again?”
“Hmm. They did feel good, but I don’t think I’ll get to like them. I can do that myself.” Shiiba then grabbed Munechika’s hard penis that was in the space between them. “You want this.”
In retaliation, he grabbed Shiiba’s ass with his large hands. “You want it in here?”
“Yes. I want you. Don’t taunt me. Just do it.”
Munechika laughed at how compliant Shiiba was now. Shiiba laughed too and grabbed Munechika’s hips.
“I don’t know,” Munechika teased. “This is your first time, but you make it sound like you do this all the time. You better not say afterwards that you didn’t like it. Anyway, let’s give you a little something first.”
“No, I don’t…ah…mm…” In the middle of his protest, Shiiba’s words changed to sweet groans of pleasure because Munechika had buried his face between Shiiba’s legs. Being suddenly pulled so deep into Munechika’s mouth threw Shiiba into a violent whirlpool of pleasure. “Ngh…ah…”
Munechika’s tongue licked Shiiba’s penis from the base to tip. Hesitating for a moment at the tip with little kisses, Munechika then sucked on Shiiba. It felt so good now that Shiiba couldn’t even moan. He just gasped and pulled at Munechika’s hair. He had been hard for such a long time now, and under Munechika’s caresses, he felt himself coming to an orgasm straightaway.
“Ah…I’m…ngh….Munechika…” He arched his back and shook his head, issuing cries of pain. Shiiba couldn’t hold himself back. He shot off into Munechika’s mouth.
His breath was short and sharp. At the height of his pleasure, he had closed his eyes and kissed Munechika’s head lying on his chest.
“What a groan. Hearing you is enough to make me hard,” Munechika said.
“That’s…a…good thing…my voice…” Shiiba managed to gasp.
“Shh. That was only the lead up to the main course…my Magnum.”
“Before you fire it, put it in.” Shiiba laughed and turned over.
Munechika lay over him and Shiiba could feel Munechika’s cock brush against his buttocks. In front of Munechika, he opened his legs. His arousal and desire had now overcome any feeling of embarrassment he once had.
“Shall we use some lube?” Munechika said.
“No, there is still some drug left in there,” he answered.
“I’ll be gentle,” Munechika whispered.
He put his penis near Shiiba’s entrance hole. Slowly, he pushed it in. It was entirely different from a finger. Shiiba was in so much pain, he almost thought that he was going to be torn apart down there. He was still drugged though, so he didn’t care about the pain anymore. To the contrary, he was impatient for Munechika. Impatient at Munechika’s slow pace, Shiiba pushed his own hips back.
“Don’t rush things,” Munechika scolded. But Munechika was just as excited, and he soon started to thrust in with more force.
Shiiba felt enormous pleasure. Munechika’s large cock was filling him up inside. All the muscles in his body tensed with pleasure.
“Damn you,” Munechika grunted. “This is too good. I won’t be able to hold on…get up.” He lifted Shiiba’s body up and sat him on his knees.
Facing each other like this made Shiiba feel the shyness he had managed to overcome. He began to worry.
“Do what feels good,” Munechika advised.
Hesitantly, Shiiba started to move his hips, but with Munechika watching, he couldn’t focus on what he was doing.
“Sit up,” he said. “I can’t do this with you watching.”
Embracing him, Munechika lifted Shiiba up and then started licking Shiiba’s chest while he caressed Shiiba’s cock.
“This isn’t enough,” he groaned.
“You can’t just get by on one course,” Munechika said.
With Munechika still deep inside of him and pleasuring him in the front, Shiiba lost track of where he enjoyed being pleasured the most. He’d gone past simple arousal, Shiiba was almost lost in a dream, but his body kept moving.
“More, you want more?” Munechika gasped.
Shiiba shook his head furiously. Munechika was pounding up inside him over and over. And each time he did, a sweet moan issued from Shiiba’s mouth.
As if Munechika thought he might be able to taste those groans, he kissed Shiiba. His tongue also reached deep down inside Shiiba.
Shiiba couldn’t hold on much longer. He was feeling something else building inside him, much different from when he was going to shoot off. Shiiba got down from Munechika’s knees and asked Munechika to enter him while he was on all fours.
“Come here. I want you to take me from behind.” Turning around, he invited the man to take him. Munechika hesitated. “Please. Don’t leave me like this.”
Munechika grabbed Shiiba’s hips and pushed his cock in all at once.
Shiiba arched his back, pushing his ass higher up and accepting the man deeper. He was no longer bashful at what he was doing. The reason must be that, deep down, Shiiba loved Munechika in his heart.
The first night when Munechika had watched him masturbate, he had imagined what Munechika had been telling him. Now those images resurfaced, overlapping with his current situation. That night had been when all of this had started.
“Munechika…No…I can’t hold on….”
His heart and his body leapt at the same time. Reason had left him. This man who was now his; now, he wanted to be this man’s. He wanted all of it. He wanted to be consumed by this feeling. His body. His heart. He didn’t want to leave anything. He wanted to give it all to Munechika.
“I can keep up. Don’t get stressed. You’ll boil over.”
He felt it. Munechika’s body made him feel close to danger.
“Ahh. I’m coming….Mm…”
His body was reaching the climax. What goes up, must come down. The moment when your heart and body become one.
Munechika shot far up inside Shiiba. Shiiba in that moment, reached and fell from the pinnacle of pleasure.
Moving a single finger was a bother, but Shiiba needed a smoke.
“Do you have a cigarette?” he asked.
“Yeah, somewhere here,” Munechika replied and walked around the room looking. “Here they are.”
Taking the lighter and cigarettes that Munechika offered, Shiiba lay on his side as he took a leisurely puff. He felt worn out, heart and body. He wanted to take a shower, but he really couldn’t move.
“Stop smoking. It’s bad for you,” Munechika scolded.
Shiiba raised an eyebrow. “Are you my mother? I didn’t think a Yakuza would be saying that to me.”
“Health is first, even for a Yakuza,” Munechika replied and taking the cigarette from Shiiba’s mouth, stubbed it out in the ashtray.
“I’m cold,” Shiiba complained.
“Hm? Do you want me to turn the heating up?” Munechika asked.
“Idiot. I’m telling you to come here,” Shiiba said throwing off the covers.
Munechika snorted. “Want to go for another round?”
“No. I’m just cold.”
Munechika slipped his body next to Shiiba’s. The touch of his skin and his warmth was better than what any blanket could do.
“Anyway, how did you know to come to that hotel?” Shiiba asked.
“I just guessed that you would be in danger,” Munechika answered.
“Don’t lie to me,” Shiiba said. “Your timing was perfect. You were talking about being tailed in the car. Explain what happened.”
Munechika sighed and started explaining. “My timing was good because I had listening devices in the room.”
“Listening devices?”
“Shut up and listen,” Munechika grumbled. “I’d had my eye on Lin for a while. He’s been selling guns to Yakuza for a long time now, but his methods are dirty. My group was starting to grumble about him. We shared a lot of acquaintances through my legitimate business, so I was told to find out more about Lin. I was starting to discover how he was selling the guns. I told you that he was managing weapon exports in Japan, but that actually had nothing to do with his black market guns.”
“He’s a government employee,” Munechika explained further. “He was dealing with huge amounts of foreign currency, but only earning a small wage himself. So he would use his connections to import guns to Japan and use that to supplement his income. It was a side-business. However, when I had Kaname tail him, he noticed that someone else was watching him too. It seems like Lin has stretched his business too far and he is maybe being watched by his own country, probably the National Security Agency.”
The National Security Agency was one of China’s intelligence agencies. Shiiba didn’t know the details, but their main duties were to dispatch people to do surveillance work in various countries.
“However I looked at it, that guy was bad news. I didn’t want to get caught up in something big so I didn’t do anything. But then my unarmed princess started meeting with him, disregarding my kind advice.”
“Don’t say that. So when did you put the listening equipment in?”
“A while ago. Lin always used that room for his gun deals. So I set up a station in the next room, and when he stayed there I’d make sure that someone was there who would then give me a report.”
So Munechika had people within the hotel helping him. Shiiba was worried.
“Surely attacking Lin was a bad idea?” he asked, his face troubled.
“Couldn’t be helped,” Munechika answered, giving a laugh. “I’d have had to let him know at some point. I couldn’t be identified so I used men that he didn’t know. Now Kaname will be showing him exactly what the Japanese Yakuza are made of. They won’t kill him. Just break some bones. If he’s smart, he’ll stop. Or even better, he’ll leave Japan entirely.”
Shiiba was listening intently to Munechika’s words. If Lin went back to China then the case would be over.
“Shiiba, you can’t take this guy on. Leave it,” Munechika urged.
Shiiba couldn’t agree. Even though he knew that Lin would be difficult to arrest, he couldn’t let the man escape. There must be a way to catch Lin.
“Even though I can’t meet with him directly, I won’t give up on Lin,” he said. “I’m going to continue watching him.”
“You’re unbelievably stubborn,” Munechika said. “Well, that’s who you are. I know you will have another chance at him.”
“That’s what I think too,” Shiiba said.
“You need to stop feeling so responsible. It’ll only destroy you in the end,” Munechika seriously warned.
“I don’t need to hear that from you,” Shiiba retorted. But tonight, he couldn’t disregard Munechika too lightly. “I know it’s a shortfall of mine.”
Not wanting to waste the information that Andou had given him, he hadn’t done enough research and recklessly met with Lin. He’d failed because he hadn’t seen the danger. Therefore, he now wanted to prove himself, get results and prove that he hadn’t made a mistake.
Pushing him over, Munechika hugged Shiiba from behind.
“Sleep now. You must be tired. When Kaname comes, I’ll wake you up.”
Munechika smiled. “Why?”
“I like it.” Even now, the sweet smell was coming off of Munechika’s body. It had a sensual smell to it. It was sexy.
Guerlain? Shiiba muttered to himself and closed his eyes. Even Shiiba had heard that name and he wasn’t interested in such things usually.
“Linstand is French for moment,” Munechika explained. “The concept for the product is that you hope the moment that you fell in love will last for eternity.”
“You know a lot,” Shiiba murmured.
“The girl who gave it to me told me,” Munechika said, smiling. Shiiba knew that this man had been with women, but to think that she might have been special to Munechika hurt Shiiba a little. “Putting a moment and eternity together is a bit of a contradiction.”
I suppose, Shiiba thought to himself. Sleep was rapidly taking him. It was true that a moment and eternity were opposite in meaning, but if you thought about what time really was, then eternity was just a never-ending series of moments.
He was still awake, but he didn’t answer. Munechika pulled the covers up over Shiiba gently.
It was a quiet time. His eyes closed, he had to go, but right now, he wanted to forget everything and sleep. He held on to that moment of bliss when he had been naked, mind and body, with Munechika.
Feeling the warmth of Munechika behind him, Shiiba relaxed and drifted in to a deep sleep.
This was the time of the year that the streets were at their most gaudy. Christmas songs poured out from the open doors of shops, and the illuminations brightly lit the streets.
Another year was drawing to a close. Walking through the crowded December streets brought with it that end of the year feeling. Shiiba’s mind was vacant as he lost himself to time.
He hadn’t seen Ying Fa Lin since that night. It wasn’t because Shiiba had quit his investigation, but because Lin had returned to China. He had no way of knowing whether Lin had been ordered to return or had decided to do so himself.
Even now, he couldn’t put Lin behind him. He still met people on the streets from whom he gathered information. What he wanted was real information. Fresh information that would tell him where there were guns.
Walking near Shinjuku Station, his phone rang. He checked who it was first. Shinozuka’s name was flashing on the display. Shinozuka rarely called his cell phone. Shiiba answered it wondering why Shinozuka was calling him now.
“Masaki, it’s me. I’m behind you. I tried calling out to you, but you didn’t answer. Are you okay?” Shiiba was an undercover detective so Shinozuka’s concern was natural. The politeness in Shinozuka’s voice though made Shiiba feel more aware of the distance between them and it pained him. “Masaki? What’s the matter?”
“No, I’m fine. I would probably cause you trouble if I spoke to you as I am now.”
Shiiba honestly didn’t want to talk to Shinozuka, but he was genuinely concerned that being seen talking in public may not be the best of ideas. He was wearing sunglasses even though it was already dusk. He wore worn-out jeans and a showy coat. To be seen with him would draw attention and maybe invite bad opinions for Shinozuka.
“Don’t worry about that. Can we talk a little?”
Shiiba hung up and Shinozuka walked towards him. This had been the same place where he had seen Shinozuka with that mother and child. The pain of that night floated up fresh in his heart.
“Working?” Shinozuka immediately asked.
“Yes,” Shiiba replied after a pause. “Are you on your way home?”
“Yeah, I had some time so I was just walking around.”
They both walked towards the Southern Terrace. Countless numbers of lights had been fixed along the walkway. The illuminations shone almost like an illusion.
“How is work?” Shinozuka asked.
“It’s all right,” Shiiba replied.
After they had finished the pleasantries, Shiiba cut in. “Shinozuka, it’s something else.”
“Are you going to give me your answer?” Shinozuka asked.
“I’m sorry,” Shiiba said. “I can’t take the exam. I’ve been worrying about whether I should continue to be a detective, but, in the end, working on the field suits me.”
He had chosen his path and he couldn’t throw it away. Even when times got bad. Besides, now he had a new feeling to hold onto, something to keep him going. It was slightly different from hope. It was different from resignation. It was something that he couldn’t put his finger on. For the time being, he would stay where he was. He had decided.
“I see,” Shinozuka said. “You must choose for yourself. I can’t force my opinions on you. I’ll leave it now.”
As if he had anticipated what Shiiba’s reply was going to be, Shinozuka’s face was as passive as always.
“Thank you for being concerned about me,” Shiiba said. “Thank you so much.”
“They’re pretty aren’t they?” Shinozuka suddenly said, looking up at the lights. “When I married Yukari, I was so happy that both of you became my family. We both cared for her so much. I wanted to look out for you too. That feeling hasn’t changed. I’ve always thought of you as family. I never want you to forget that.”
Shiiba understood how Shinozuka was feeling. He understood so he didn’t say a thing. He just hung his head. He couldn’t offer anything back to this man. He wished that he could smile like he used to, like nothing had happened, but that was so difficult now.
“It’s pretty cold tonight. Shall we go back?” Shinozuka turned, then he looked back quizzically when Shiiba didn’t do the same. “Masaki? Is there something wrong?”
“I’m going to stay here a little longer,” Shiiba said.
Shinozuka nodded sadly. “Well, use this. Be careful not to catch a cold,” he said, wrapping a wine colored cashmere scarf around Shiiba’s neck. The scarf had retained a little of Shinozuka’s own body heat and felt warm against Shiiba’s cold neck.
Shinozuka smiled. “Let’s have dinner again sometime.”
Leaving him with that, Shinozuka started to walk off.
Shiiba, without thinking, called him back, “Brother…”
Shinozuka turned around. There was surprise written all over his face. Shiiba hadn’t called him that since Yukari’s death.
“Thanks for the scarf,” Shiiba stammered. “I’ll go over to your house soon with a delicious bottle of sake for us to enjoy together.”
Stunned, Shinozuka looked at Shiiba for a few moments. He closed his eyes and then, opening them again, he nodded. “I look forward to it. Come over any time. Thank you, Masaki.”
Thank you. The short phrase reached deep inside Shiiba. Tightening the scarf around his neck, Shiiba watched as Shinozuka made his way to the station.
Even if he still couldn’t accept all of it, tonight he knew that the ill feeling he used to have towards Shinozuka was gradually diminishing. The ill feeling had been a cold well in the back of his chest. It might still be cold, but with a little more time, it would be warmed up by the blood flowing in his body. His heart would finally be warm again.
He felt like something was finished. He felt like he’d finally solved a complicated mathematical problem.
The emotions that people share are of course not something that can be cleanly solved like a math equation. However much you struggle, you are always tightly bound. But that means you can start again. Your heart is the only problem.
He turned, hearing the familiar voice. Standing there was the man he was so very familiar with.
“Coincidence? Or are you stalking me? Why are you here?” Shiiba asked.
“That’s what I want to ask you,” Munechika said. “I just had dinner at the Southern Tower. I come out, and I see this cocky guy wrapping a scarf around your neck. You two were very intimate. Who is he? Found yourself a new S?”
Realizing that Munechika must have just witnessed what had happened, Shiiba felt a little embarrassed. Munechika was the only guy he didn’t want to have seen that.
“It’s not like that,” Shiiba said. “He’s my brother-in-law, my sister’s husband.”
“Oh. Flirting with your sister’s husband. The audacity,” Munechika said, walking away.
Shiiba chased after Munechika who was obviously put out.
“…treat,” Munechika muttered.
“Huh?”
“Give me a treat. I’m hungry,” Munechika said, swinging round and looking sullen.
“I thought you said you’d just eaten?” Shiiba said.
“No that,” Munechika insisted.
“Oh, that,” Shiiba said, realizing what Munechika wanted. “I can’t give a reward to a dog that hasn’t done any work.”
“I can’t work on an empty stomach,” Munechika retorted. “You have to look after your dog properly with lots of love. Didn’t anyone tell you that?”
This foolish kind of conversation had become routine between them. It was their own way of communicating.
“Come to my place,” Munechika said.
“No,” Shiiba answered.
“If you don’t, I’ll take a woman home,” Munechika threatened.
“Take who you like,” Shiiba snapped, walking in front of Munechika.
“Hey, wait,” Munechika said, chasing after him. “You think you can get away from me that easily?”
Munechika caught up with him. He was Shiiba’s new S.
Looking over at Keigo Munechika, Shiiba doted on him.
“Idiot,” he thought to himself, “there is no way I would run away from you. Whatever happens, I’m riding this through to the end now. You are mine. You’re all mine. My S…”
Beast's Pride
“Sir, can I have a minute?”
Kaname appeared in the president’s office. Munechika was absorbed in some documents. Raising his head, he replied, “What is it?”
Kaname quietly walked over to his desk. “A phone call from Mr. Motoaki.”
“Motoaki?”
Munechika would not usually be disturbed in the middle of his deskwork for a phone call, but if it was Motoaki then Kaname had probably made the decision that it needed to be answered. Still, he tried to get out of the task.
“Tell him I’m with a customer.”
“He insisted,” Kaname said.
Kaname reached for the phone on the desk and pushed the flashing button. Taking the receiver, Munechika answered his brother.
“Keigo, why didn’t you come today? I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I’m sorry. I had a lot to do today.”
The person on the phone was the third president of the Matsukura Group, Motoaki Matsukura. They had different mothers. He was younger than Munechika. This year, he would turn 26.
“You’ll come with me to the succession party of the Sumiya Association, won’t you?” Motoaki demanded. “Don’t cancel on me at such short notice.”
“I know,” Munechika said soothingly. “I’ll be there, don’t worry.”
No matter how many times he assured him, Motoaki would always push the point. He was always this distrusting, so Munechika tried to be patient. When he hung up, with perfect timing, Kaname brought him a cup of coffee.
“Now that the meeting with the Sumiya Association is approaching, Motoaki is getting anxious,” Kaname said.
The Matsukura Group was the regional gang of the Koujin Association umbrella organization. There were over 1,000 members in the organization. The gang boasted the largest number of followers. Munechika knew that there was immense pressure on Motoaki.
“I’m going to attend the party, too. Is my schedule free then?” Munechika said.
“I can adjust it…but is that what you want? I didn’t think that you had to attend?”
Kaname rarely expressed doubt over what Munechika did. He was clearly concerned about Munechika’s position. At such a large meeting of gangsters, there would doubtless be a media presence and police would be keeping surveillance too. Few knew that his business was just a front for other ventures, but for him to arrive publicly at such a place would be like announcing the truth to the world.
“Don’t worry,” Munechika assured him. “Now is the time.”
Kaname looked a little unhappy that Munechika had not heeded his warning. Kaname rarely expressed discontent, but when it came to the issue of Motoaki, he sometimes looked very concerned.
“Mr. Motoaki depends on you too much. He could pose a danger to you,” he warned.
If it had been anyone else, Munechika would have told him to mind his own business, but this was his best secretary and had been by his side for a long time now. He understood Munechika’s affairs better than anyone. He knew that Munechika and Motoaki’s relationship was complex, so advice was not going to work.
Munechika knew that he was too kind on Motoaki. However, they shared the love of blood relations, but also, he felt that a moral debt needed to be paid to Motoaki for a past crime.
He knew that he didn’t need to make up for the crime, but still, he had caused Motoaki a great deal of sorrow, and he couldn’t yet wipe that from his memory. When Motoaki was still young, he took away the most precious thing to him.
“Your brother is a burden, am I right?”
He remembered what Shiiba had said to him once. Maybe Motoaki was a burden. But everyone had them. A burden they couldn’t get away from and would just have to learn to endure its weight.
“I’m sorry for overstepping the mark.” Kaname bowed.
“No, it’s all right. I know what you’re trying to say, but it’s not been a year since Motoaki succeeded our father. We need to look at the long-term.” Munechika re-organized his papers and stood up. “It’s time to go home. Please get the car.”
The Benz left the company building in west Shinjuku, it exited Oume Street and entered Yasukuni Street. The roads were very busy at this time.
Munechika saw a familiar face near the Shinjuku ward office and ordered Kaname to stop the car. Pulling up to the sidewalk, Munechika opened the window and called out. Shiiba, who had been walking down the street swung round in surprise.
Shiiba pouted for a moment before opening the back door of the car and sliding in next to Munechika.
“Wanna get dinner?” Munechika asked.
“Okay. I’m not hungry though,” Shiiba said, still looking out the window.
Shiiba almost always looked a little annoyed, but Munechika sensed that something else was wrong today. Munechika grabbed his chin and pulled Shiiba to face him.
“What’s up with you today?” There was a blue mark on Shiiba’s right cheek. It looked like a bruise.
“I got caught up in a drunken fight last night.” Looking humiliated, he slapped Munechika’s hand away.
“Did you hit them back?” Munechika inquired.
“I’m a detective,” Shiiba pointed out. “I can’t go and beat up citizens.”
“Shame that you don’t carry your ID with you.”
“Leave it,” Shiiba said. He didn’t mean to be rude, but he wanted to change the subject.
“Come over to my place,” Munechika suggested.
“You want more treats?” Shiiba asked.
“You know me well.”
When Munechika went in for a kiss, Shiiba’s mood turned to rage and he pushed Munechika back.
“What are you doing?” he growled.
“Don’t be shy,” Munechika teased.
“I’m not shy,” Shiiba snapped. “Mr. Kaname, please stop the car.”
Kaname had pulled up before Munechika had a chance to tell him not to. Shiiba quickly opened the door and turned his back on Munechika.
“You don’t take me seriously sometimes,” he said tersely.
“I’m always serious,” Munechika corrected. “I look after you in bed, you know that.”
Shiiba opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything. He slammed the door and then disappeared into the crowd.
“Kaname, don’t just stop like that,” Munechika whined. “Now my princess has gotten away.”
“I’m very sorry,” Kaname said, obviously not sorry.
Munechika raised an eyebrow. “You like him too?”
“Yes, I think he’s very sweet,” Kaname answered in a very serious tone.
Munechika laughed. “Don’t say that in front of him.” He tapped Kaname on the shoulder. “He’d stamp his foot in rage.”
“I’ll be careful,” Kaname said. “Shall we go?”
Kaname once again started up the Benz. The car caught up with Shiiba. As they passed, Munechika got a glance of Shiiba’s profile. The man had a fierce expression on his face. He kept walking the streets with his bruises. He was like a wild animal in Munechika’s eyes. Not working in a pack, but searching out prey alone for that vital information. A beautiful aloof animal. He had his own shackles. He pulled along his own heavy, invisible chains, but he kept struggling forward. Despite things that would topple anyone else, he didn’t fear them. Sometimes, he was reckless, but he never faltered.
Munechika couldn’t help being attracted to him.
To end up cooperating with the police was humiliating, but there was no other way for him to obtain that man. He would have to carefully choose the information to relay. It was an enormous risk, but it would pay off.
If I want you, I’ll have you.
Afterword
Thank you for picking up my latest work. This is my second book with Shy Novels.
My supervisor asked me how I would feel about writing a book about a detective and the Yakuza. I love Yakuza stories so I replied straight away that I would love to, without thinking twice. I’ve written this book with continued enthusiasm.
When I was considering my writing strengths, I thought that writing a detective who was working on a special mission as the main character would be foolish, but I really enjoyed writing this. But I regret making Shiiba the virginal one and Munechika the confident one… (laughs)
It’s just a little anecdote but, when I made the basic plot, I didn’t include the character Shinozuka. My supervisor thought that it would be a good idea to add a superior or something like that for Shiiba. So I wondered about a husband who was in the higher divisions of the police. That was how the brother-in-law was created.
Shinozuka is the contrast to Munechika, but I think it really works in this story. I want to thank my supervisor for his excellent advice.
I also need to express my gratitude to Chiharu Nara who did the illustrations for the book. I had wanted to work with Chiharu before this, so to be working together was a real pleasure. The illustrations are so amazing. They took my breath away when I saw them.
Finally to all my readers. This book has quite a different feel from my last one, but I hope you still enjoy it.
Munechika, Shiiba and Shinozuka will be back for more, so I hope you look out for it.
Well, I look forward to seeing you all in the next volume!
