My brother was sitting on his throne as usual, his eyes flinty as he scrolled through his phone.  Two girls were sitting with Ashley a little ways away, crooning over him as he groped their private areas.  However, once Ashley noticed me, he shoved the girls off and invested himself in whatever was about to happen.  Lance took up his position at Sharqiq’s side and stood quietly.  I stood in front of my brother, my head obediently bowed, until he spoke.

“Welcome back, my pet.  Kneel for me.”

I sank onto my knees, bending my back forward and spreading my hands on the floor before me, carefully avoiding his gaze.  The heel of his boot was tapping ominously close to my fingers.  He was so calm.  I felt a shiver go up my spine as he tilted my chin up.  I fixated my gaze on his nose, giving the illusion that I was looking into his eyes.  “You seemed to have a nice time out in the park.  That Sasuke boy’s a real looker, wouldn’t you say?  You certainly seem sweet on him.”

Fear chilled my blood as Sharqiq turned his phone around.  On its screen was a photo of Sasuke and I, taken at the exact moment I kissed his cheek.  He swiped his finger across the screen, showing another photo.  Now we were almost kissing, our lips the closest they’d gotten.  My mind was void of everything except unbridled terror.  He continued to scroll through, showing me photo after photo:  a close-up of Sasuke’s handsome face in incredible detail; me smiling; us holding hands; our faces close; me leaning on his arm; an unsettling number of Sasuke, from close-ups of his face to full-body shots.

“Come Monday, I’ll know everything there is to know about this new beau of yours.  Since you two are so close, I say we officially add him to our little pact.  We wouldn’t want to leave such an important person out, now, would we?”

“No, we wouldn’t.”

I fought a grunt of pain as he kicked me across the face.  My teeth met in my tongue and a familiar iron tang filled my mouth.

“Oh, my most precious possession, I don’t remember giving you permission to speak.”

I bowed my head in apology.  Blood dribbled from between my lips and onto the floor.

“Tell you what.  Lance said that you kept your part of the pact.  Because of that, you will receive no extreme punishment.  After your appointment, you’re free to go for the whole weekend, but you will be watched.  Your observers will keep their distance, provided you obey the rules.  You may thank me.”

“Thank you, master, for your generosity.”

“But of course.  It’s the least I can do for such a good boy.”

“Sharqiq, the customer is here.”

“Oh, yes, she said she’d come by earlier than expected.  Escort her in.”  Sharqiq turned to face me, his eyes dark and amused.  “Mirai, my pet, there is someone new for you to meet.  The usual rules apply.”

I bowed my head and closed my eyes, listening with complete stillness as two sets of footsteps descended the stairs:  the heavy thumps of Lance’s feet and the clicking taps of a pair of high-heels.

“My goodness, he’s lovely,” a woman whispered as she came to stand in front of me.  “I want to see those famous eyes.”

“Of course, mademoiselle.  Lance?”

Lance jerked my head back and picked out my colored-contacts, his nails pressing painfully into the whites of my eyes as he dug them out.  He flicked them onto the ground and shoved me towards the woman.

“Oh!” she squeaked.  “Oh, they’re really red…”

“Mirai?  Are you okay?”

He looked utterly aghast.  His beautiful eyes were rounded with horror, their usual glimmer dulled to nothingness, and his hand was quivering in mine.  The tranquility that had softened his elegant features was completely gone.

“Mirai!”  Chann skidded to a halt beside us, a similar terror marring his usually humorous face.  “Sorry to interrupt, but we gotta go.  Blondie, come on, no time to waste!”

My heart skipped a beat.  What could have scared them so badly and so quickly?  I noticed they were both looking over my shoulder, and when I shot a quick glance over it, I saw a tall, dark-haired man standing in the shelter of the trees not ten meters from us.  His eyes seemed to cut through the thick foliage with a bone-chilling yet blood-boiling intensity.

“Blondie, c’mon, stay close!”

“What is happening?!”

“I’ll explain later – hurry!  Fuck.”  Chann swore, his panic growing by the second and spiking my own anxiety.  “You two go to my place.  Mirai, give him my address.  I’ll head him off.  Don’t stop for anything.  If you’re followed, get into the nearest building and hide in the loo.”

I stared, shocked silent, as Chann strode towards the man with his shoulders set.  No more than a shadow against the green, the man betrayed no reaction.  I urged Mirai forward, trying to get him to run, but he was too far gone.  He tripped over a tree root, nearly falling, and I grabbed onto him to keep him upright.  His gait grew slower and slower until it stopped altogether.  With one despairing glance at me, he turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.  I choked on my breath as he overtook Chann and skidded to a halt beside the man.  Chann had frozen in place, his eyes wide and staring.  I stumbled to Chann’s side, shaking from the speed of it all.  One moment, I was nearly kissing Mirai’s finely-shaped lips; the next, he was willingly approaching a man that seemed to terrify him.  My heart seemed to crack a little in my chest as the man took Mirai by the shoulder and steered him away from us.

He didn’t look back.

“Chann?” I rasped.  “Who was that?”

“I don’t know his name, but I’ve seen him before.  He’s one of the fucks who comes after Mirai.”

Anger roared in my ears.  “Why did you not go after him?!”

“Because I’m not stupid!  Going after him with Mirai so close is a shitty idea.  You bet your arse I would’ve taken him on if Mirai had left when I told him to!”  Chann’s green eyes snapped with frustration and fear.  “Fuck, I feel so helpless!  I can’t do anything but put him back together when he gets himself torn apart!”  His voice trembled as he slumped to his knees.  “I hate this.  He was supposed to have the whole bloody weekend off!”

“What do you mean…?”

“Mirai said he could take the weekend off.  He was going to stay at my place after he took care of something toni–  Oh, God, please let that be it!  Please let him come back to me tonight, please don’t let him be too hurt, fuck, God, please…”

I wasn’t sure if Chann was actually praying or just rambling; it certainly wasn’t anything like the prayer Mama instructed me in.  She had always told me that only proper posture and prose would make a prayer heard but, right now, Chann’s raw grief and fear seemed like it’d get God’s attention much faster than any calm reciting in a church pew or at a bedside.

“Sh-Should we stay here?”

“No.  I should get home, to make sure things are ready for Mirai next time I see him, and you should come with.  Probably not a good idea to let your folks see how shaken up you are.”

“That would be great.”

“Right then.”