Shadow Wolf (Shinobi Saga)

by Sessha Batto

  “You are very different from your father. I’m sure my stay with you will be pleasurable.” Yoshi practically purred the last word, watching with amusement as the Shuhan stiffened.

  “Don’t tease me, Yoshi-san, it isn’t nice,” Yuu protested, cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

  “I’m not teasing,” the elite husked in his ear, pressing himself flush against the younger man's back. “I thought this was what you wanted.”

  “I am not a nice man,” the Shuhan whispered. “You shouldn’t tempt me.”

  “Neither am I.” Yoshi's eyes softened and he continued in a smooth, even voice. “What do you know of pleasure, Yuu-sama? Let me teach you. It doesn’t have to hurt. I can make you feel so good, you’ll never want me to leave.”

  Turquoise eyes grew impossibly wide as a large hand buried itself in his tousled strands and the shadow wolf bent to capture soft pink lips with his own. “Oh,” the Shuhan exclaimed in shock, bringing his hand up and tentatively brushing it over his mouth.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “No. I’ve never been kissed before,” Yuu admitted. “I think I like it.”

  “Well then, we’ll have to do it again, won’t we?” The shadow wolf leaned back in to press his lips more firmly against the Shuhan's, smiling at the shiver it caused.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Is it not what you wanted? I thought it was part of our arrangement.”

  Yuu didn’t contradict him, merely studying the ground under his feet for a long moment before replying. “You don’t know me. How do you know I won’t do cruel things to you? I am my father's son, after all.”

  “You’re right, I don’t know you at all,” the shadow wolf agreed. “And it's true, I am taking a chance. I also know what I’m running from. I’m more than willing to take a risk on you. Besides,” he continued with a leer. “You’re very good looking, I will enjoy sharing pleasure with you.”

  “How can you be so casual about all this?” the Shuhan mumbled, red rising to his cheeks.

  “Yuu-sama, this has been my life for many years. Most of my liaisons have been... let's just say, less than pleasant. My time with Kazuki made me realize such arrangements can be quite enjoyable with the right person. I’m gambling that you are such a person.”

  “I want to be that person. I’m just not sure if I am.”

  “Let's hope for the best then.”

  “We should move on.” Yuu linked hands with a surprised Yoshi and gave a brief squeeze. “I find myself suddenly eager to get you home.”

  The pair continued on in silence, both men lost in thought. It's not like I haven't done this before, Yoshi fretted. He tried to convince himself it was no different than his arrangement with Kazuki, but his conscience was quick to point out that he wasn't under orders and he hadn't been kidnapped. Fine, he snarled at the pesky voice in his head, then I'm a whore. At least this time I'm getting something out of it.

  ****

  “You have got to be kidding me.” Makoto slammed both hands down on the Kobayashi no Shuhan's desk as he leaned in nose to nose with the Shuhan himself. “He and Yoshi aren’t exactly on good terms. Are you trying to mess this up?”

  “Genki is the best choice for a number of reasons,” Daisuke explained. “He's already acquainted with the Mochizuki no Shuhan, plus he commands respect as the Sage of Wolf Mountain. If that's not enough he's Takahashi-san's only living relative and old enough to stand in a parental relationship to him.”

  “I’m going with him,” the interrogator announced.

  “I don’t think that's—”

  “Non-negotiable. Otherwise I’ll snap his scrawny neck and go deal with the issue on my own.”

  Just then the doors opened and Genki entered under escort.

  “Genki-sama, I have a mission for you,” Daisuke declared. “Sasaki-san will be your partner in this endeavor. I trust you two will cooperate to achieve the objective?”

  The two men silently glared at each other. After a few minutes of sullen silence, Genki gave in, slumping slightly. “Fine, anything you want, just no more Jun, please.”

  “I need you to go negotiate with the Mochizuki no Shuhan. Apparently Kobayashi-sama sold Yoshi to him as a concubine. You are going to get him out of that contract, no strings attached, and Sasaki-san is going along to make sure that's what happens.”

  “And if I can’t?” Genki prodded.

  “Then I’ll kill both you and the Mochizuki no Shuhan, go rogue and get Yoshi back,” the interrogator offered.

  “Well then, times a wasting,” the sage declared. “Let's go get my nephew a divorce.”

  “I need to go pack a bag. I’ll meet you downstairs in an hour.” The interrogator thanked Daisuke for his help and headed home, only to be met at the door by an irate Mayu.

  “Where is Yoshi-san?” she demanded.

  “I can’t tell you.” Makoto pushed past her to head inside.

  “I’ve been looking for him all week.” The kunoichi followed him into the house without bothering to wait for an invitation. “Is he on assignment?”

  “No.” The interrogator rooted around for a bag and began to fill it.

  “Is he in the enclave?” Mayu persisted when she received no response. “Did you have a fight?”

  “No, we did not have a fight,” Makoto growled. “I found out he was married, that he planned to leave without even telling me, and, if that's not enough, our illustrious Shuhan's best plan for getting him back involves Genki, of all people.” He turned bleak eyes on the now concerned woman's face. “But no, we did not fight. I’m packing to go ensure Genki takes care of business.”

  “Who is he married to?” Mayu asked.

  “The Mochizuki no Shuhan. Since he was fifteen.”

  “The Mochizuki no Shuhan is almost eighty,” the kunoichi remarked with a shudder. “Poor Yoshi-san.”

  “He didn't go to Mochizuki shuudan,” Makoto revealed. “He's staying elsewhere until the matter is taken care of.”

  “But you know where he is?”

  “I know where he said he was headed. But whether he's still there, or even went there at all, is anyone's guess. 'Shi-san does as he feels is best for everyone but himself. I can only hope I’ll be able to track him down.” The interrogator finished filling his pack and shouldered it.

  “Is there something I can do to help?” Mayu offered. “We're fond of Yoshi. Tatsuya feels guilty about the things his father did. I know he’d want to help out if he could.”

  “Just keep an eye on the house for us until we get back.” The interrogator pressed a key into her hand. “I won’t return until I have Yoshi with me, so I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.”

  “I’ll be happy to take care of everything,” the kunoichi declared. “Good luck on your mission, Sasaki-san.”

  “Thank you, Mayu. I’m afraid I’m going to need it.”

  ****

  Yuu stopped outside a set of elaborately carved sandstone doors. “Welcome home, Yoshi-san. I hope you enjoy your time here.” He grasped the shadow wolf's hand firmly, pulling him forward as he pushed the doors open and strode inside, only to be met by the worried faces of his mother and older brother.

  “Yuu, where have you been?” his mother scolded. “Everyone's been worried sick.”

  The Shuhan merely rolled his eyes at her, tugging the elite forward to stand beside him. “This is Takahashi Yoshi. He’ll be staying with me from now on.”

  “Takahashi-san,” she acknowledged him with a brief nod. “What do you mean he’ll be staying here?”

  “He is my companion. He will be staying with me,” the Shuhan explained. “He has agreed to teach me about pleasure.”

  “Oh... OH!” Yuu's brother Takumi exclaimed when his meaning hit home. “I don’t know Yuu, I think we can find you someone more, appropriate. No offense, Takahashi-san.”

  “None taken,” Yoshi murmured, although his hand tightened on Yuu's.

  “Meaning what, Takumi?” the Shuhan ask
ed.

  “A woman,” his brother replied with a leer, hands tracing an hourglass shape in the air in front of him.

  “Women are disturbing,” Yuu decided. “Yoshi-san is more than qualified for the position. He was Kazuki-sama's companion and a bound concubine of the Mochizuki no Shuhan, not to mention spending time with our own father. He was even Shuhan of Nakamura shuudan for a short time.”

  The shadow wolf shifted uncomfortably as his history was revealed. This was the worst part about being a whore, the way people looked at him when they found out. He shifted his gaze to study Yuu's family from under his bangs. Takumi was a heavily muscled man with short spiky hair. Right now his face was twisted in open disgust. Yuu's mother, on the other hand, had an almost sympathetic expression, and it was she who mumbled well wishes before yanking her other son unceremoniously out of the room.

  “What were you thinking?” she hissed as soon as the doors shut behind them. “Do you want to get yourself killed?”

  “It isn’t right,” Takumi insisted. “Pretty young women are throwing themselves at his feet and instead he chooses some old man?” His voice rose as he continued his tirade. “He has white hair, for god's sake.”

  “I think he's very handsome,” his mother replied with a dreamy smile. “Besides, it should be Yuu's choice.”

  “He needs an heir.” Takumi turned and stormed off down the hall, leaving his mother to her own devices.

  “Did I do something wrong?” The Kai no Shuhan lifted the shadow wolf's chin to peer into his mesmerizing eyes.

  “Of course not,” Yoshi replied thickly, swallowing hard before continuing in a somewhat firmer voice. “How you explain our relationship is up to you.”

  “I hurt you.”

  “No,” the elite insisted. “But your brother will never approve of me now. He believes I am too old, and too used, to be an appropriate companion.”

  “It is none of his business.”

  “He has your best interests at heart. He's thinking of your responsibilities to the shuudan.”

  “I have made my choice,” Yuu declared. “Takumi will just have to learn to live with it.”

  “Thank you.” Yoshi turned to press a tender kiss on a pale cheek, smiling as red bloomed in its wake.

  “Why don’t I show you around?” the Shuhan suggested. He headed toward the back of the apartment, pointing out the kitchen and his office before opening another set of double doors. “And, of course, the bedroom.”

  “Just what I’ve been waiting for,” the shadow wolf murmured. “Shall we start our lessons?”

  He bent his head and captured soft lips, smiling widely as the tension melted from the lithe form. “That's better,” he proclaimed when he pulled back.

  Before Yuu realized what was happening he was naked, stretched out on the bed with an equally naked shadow wolf. He turned nearly panicked eyes on the older man, relaxing slightly when Yoshi smiled sweetly at him. “Now what?” the young Shuhan croaked.

  “Now I get to learn what you like.” Yoshi trailed his hand up the Shuhan's side until it reached his neck. Yuu's eyes slipped shut as the older man tightened his grip in inky locks and bent to nibble on the pale column of his throat.

  The Shuhan let out a loud moan as goose bumps marched across his flesh, morphing into a full body shudder. Sharp teeth gently worried a pebbled nipple as Yoshi's talented hand began to stroke Yuu's hardening flesh. “You’re very tense,” the elite muttered huskily. “Roll over and let me help you relax.”

  The nervous Shuhan obediently turned onto his stomach, head turned to the side to keep a wary eye on the shadow wolf. “What are you going to do to me?”

  “Nothing bad, beautiful one.” Yoshi showed him the bottle of scented oil he’d palmed from his pack during their whirlwind trip to the bed. “I’m just going to help loosen you up a bit.”

  Yuu gulped, but obediently put his head down as the shadow wolf poured some oil into his hands to warm. He smoothed them firmly up the Shuhan's spine to his neck, expertly rolling and kneading the flesh, infusing his hands with ki and pushing it into tense muscles to soften and warm them. Ever so slowly he moved down the long back, stopping at the creamy swell of firm buttocks and turning his attentions to long, slender arms, working his way to the fingertips before turning to surprisingly ticklish feet.

  By the time he reached muscular thighs, Yuu's eyes had fluttered shut and his entire body was limp and pliable. Yoshi smiled to himself as he silently observed the results of his handiwork. Time to move on. He spread tempting cheeks, occasionally rubbing a slick finger over the sensitive pucker, stimulating the nerve endings and drawing a loud gasp from the prone figure.

  “That feels nice, doesn’t it?” the shadow wolf whispered. “Relax while I make you feel good.” He bent his head and placed a kiss on a firm cheek. Yoshi licked a hot trail down the crease to the Shuhan's entrance, lapping hungrily at the tender flesh and reveling in the moans bubbling out of Yuu's throat. Eventually he tired of the teasing and thrust his tongue firmly inside, swirling and retreating, only to return, deeper than before. When a slick finger slid alongside, the Shuhan whined, spreading his legs wide and pushing back into the sensation.

  “Like that? Then you’ll love this.” A second finger joined the first to stroke firmly over Yuu's prostate and the normally reserved man shrieked, bucking back onto the intruding digits.

  “Oh Kami, more,” he mumbled.

  “As you wish.” The elite added a third finger and thrust them deep into the clutching heat, his own cock hardening at the sight of all that creamy flesh quivering at his touch. Finally he could stand it no longer and pulled his fingers out with a loud squelch. He flipped Yuu over and sucked his weeping cock deep in his throat.

  “No.” The Shuhan pulled Yoshi up for a desperate kiss. “Inside me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Now would be good,” he replied through gritted teeth.

  The shadow wolf lubed his dripping length, wrapping pale legs around his waist and locking eyes with Yuu's bottomless orbs before pushing into the heat of the younger man's body. “Are you alright?” he whispered once he was seated to the hilt, watching anxiously as the Shuhan struggled to adjust.

  “Kiss me.”

  Yoshi was quick to comply, capturing silky lips as he started a slow rhythm with his hips, gradually rocking deeper and deeper until they were both moaning wantonly. The shadow wolf reached between them, grasping Yuu's weeping erection and stroking it firmly, rubbing his thumb over the head as he delivered a punishing series of thrusts to the Shuhan's prostate.

  “Uh unh, you don’t want this to end so soon, do you?” Yoshi pulled out completely and repositioned the Shuhan on his knees, grasping his hips firmly before sliding deeper than ever with one explosive thrust.

  “Again,” Yuu demanded. He clutched the sheets in his hands and arched his back as the shadow wolf did just that, pulling out completely only to slam back inside. Yoshi continued his punishing thrusts, satisfaction coursing through him when the Shuhan let out a loud wail as his prostate was repeatedly struck.

  Time to move on, Yoshi decided when Yuu began to quiver uncontrollably. He wrapped a long-fingered hand around the Shuhan's bobbing member and stroked it firmly as he began to continuously assault the younger man's prostate.

  Yuu felt a huge rush of heat and his world went white as he shot his load into the sheets, the convulsions of his passage causing Yoshi to thrust raggedly a few more times before filling him with his seed. The elite collapsed to the side, pulling the lighter body with him to snuggle intimately together as their breathing calmed and sleep overtook them.

  ****

  Genki and Makoto were locked in battle with the Mochizuki no Shuhan. The elderly leader argued that the time to dispute the contract passed years earlier. Genki asserted with equal force that Yoshi was a child at the time and not old enough to make a lifetime commitment.

  “Your Shuhan approved the arrangement,” the Mochizuki no Shuhan reminded them. �
�Regardless of Takahashi's ability to agree, as a shinobi he is bound by Kobayashi-sama's decision.”

  “Kobayashi-sama was a pervert and a traitor,” Makoto declared. “The agreement will not be upheld.”

  “I don’t understand,” the Shuhan complained. “Why does one whore matter so much?”

  “He is not a whore,” the interrogator insisted. “He is a talented shinobi and a valued member of the shuudan. Takahashi-san embodies all that is best about us.”

  “Indeed, I have met many beauties, but never one like Yoshi. He is magnificent,” the Shuhan agreed.

  “He is mine,” Makoto hissed. “Touch him and die.”

  “Now, now,” Genki hastened to interrupt, “this hostility isn’t getting us anywhere. We’re willing to make reasonable recompense, but our Shuhan has made himself clear, he will not be sending Takahashi-san to you.”

  “Then we go to war,” the old man declared. “Go warn your people, they should prepare to be hunted wherever they surface.”

  The doors to the chamber flew open and a runner appeared, placing an envelope in the Shuhan's hands. The old man ripped it open and read the contents, face twisting in rage. “Apparently this discussion is moot. It appears my grievance lies elsewhere. Will you threaten the Kai no Shuhan as you’ve threatened me?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Makoto struggled to hide the confusion and unease rising inside him.

  “It seems the new leader of Kai shuudan has claimed Yoshi as his consort,” the ancient Shuhan replied. “He would have been better off with me. There won’t be much left of him when Yuu is done.”

  “What the hell is he doing in Hokkaido with the Kai? This is all your fault, you pompous shit.” Makoto grabbed the old man by his robes and yanked him over his desk in a fit of pique. “If not for you Yoshi would be home with me where he belongs.”

  “Stop it, Sasaki.” Genki pulled the interrogator off the Shuhan, planting himself between the two. “Even if that is the case, Shuhan-sama, we still need to come to some agreement in the event Takahashi-san returns to us. Could we please continue our negotiations so I can move on to more interesting matters than my nephew's love life.”