Eastern Promise (Closed)

[ericrodman101]

Gaku closed his eyes. He could smell the salty sea air, the fresh earth, blossoms. Time slowed down like it always did. He could hear Shinji busying himself and imagined his friend's preparation, applying the aloe, stroking the inkei, eyeing Gaku's ass. He felt Shinji's fingers on his buttocks, light and sensual, outlining the curve of the cheek, and then tracing the line of his crease from his waist down until the aloe-smeared fingers alighted on the rim of the puckered orifice to perform a brief massage.

Gaku had never seen his own anus, of course, but he'd seen others. Not just Shinji's, but the other apprentices with whom he'd been paired in the man love ritual. Given the role of the anus, Gaku was always amazed at how intriguing and erotic a body part it was, how he enjoyed cleaning it, tending it even, making sure that it was purified for the ritual and assisting his peers to do the same.

Here in the forest would be different, of course. He and Shinji weren't practising the ritual. They were just fucking for the sheer pleasure of it. Gaku was pleased to have spotted the aloe. Shinji was big, and unlubricated, taking his inkei was as much pain as pleasure. But it had to be endured. That was the pact, the deal which came before Gaku's enjoyment.

Gaku waited for the final act before penetration. Shinji was a creature of habit. Once he was hard, Shinji would grasp his friend by the hips and pull him up into a kneeling position, and without further ado, crouch over Gaku on his haunches, align the inkei and insert it, before leaning down across Gaku's back, but without letting his weight fall, the thrust long and deep from the start. Shinji was not one for much foreplay once he'd massaged the anus, and even less for working his way in gently. Nor did it take long for Shinji to be satisfied. Gaku knew that once penetrated, Shinji would thrust for a minute or two, grunting and snorting like a pig. And at the point of cumming, Shinji would tense, thrust in once more as deep as he could, before discharging his seed, the two young men locked together, the older one's cock pulsing four, five, six times, and then resting, at which point Shinji would finally relax, dropping himself onto Gaku's back as they both subsided to the ground.

And then, after maybe four or five minutes of afterglow, Shinji's cock would lose its hardness and he would roll aside, indicating Gaku's time had come.

Lost in thoughts of what lay ahead, Gaku nearly missed the completion of Shinji's massage. His friend pulled him up onto his knees, the inkei was engaged, and a jolt of pain coursed through Gaku's body. He bit his lip and submitted.

 

[AmandaAce]

The sun beat on Lysbeth’s brow. She had started to sweat, little beads of perspiration developing at her hair line and running down her neck. She could smell the salt of the sea, stronger now. A sluggish breeze blew, but it made no difference.

She looked around. They had been gone for some time, with no sign of returning. Lysbeth supposed the one had convinced the other to leave her here, that they had returned to their business. She pulled at the capes the smaller one had fastened around her. The top one chafed the sweaty skin of her neck, the bottom one itched around her waist.

The stream burbled in front of her. She dipped a hand in it, tipping the water over her head. It was crisp and cool, and Lysbeth shivered as it ran down between her shoulder blades.

She had envied the larger one, before, swimming in the ocean so freely. Could she not then take comfort in this small stream? She could see the rocks that lined the bottom. It was not so deep. And the water was so inviting.

She glanced back into the trees again, and, seeing no sign of her rescuers, stood up and yanked at the closures of the two capes. They fell away, and with one hand, Lysbeth grasped the hem of her destroyed chemise, pulled it over her head, and flung it to the ground.

Her naked skin was sweaty, almost feverish, and the heavy breeze did nothing to cool her. Carefully, she dipped a small foot into the stream. She gasped at the coldness of it, then, with a deep breath, she plunged in.

The water closed over her head and for a moment she panicked, but her feet touched the rocks and she stood up, her head breaking the surface. The water only reached to the bottom of her breasts, but her whole body broke out in goose flesh. The hot breeze now chilled her. She leaned back against the rocks, looked up at the sun, the water lapping quietly against her body.

 

[ericrodman101]

Gaku felt pleasure knowing that Shinji was behind him, and inside him. Shinji, the guy the other apprentices coveted. Gaku and Shinji weren't always assigned to each other. The masters told them it was important not become too attached to the same person, and for each apprentice to experience man love with a range of their peers. But they also knew the course of human attachment ran in one direction. You could fuck every trainee in the monastery, Gaku knew, and find who you preferred and who you didn't, so that subsequently you looked for the ones you enjoyed, and who enjoyed you.

Thinking about man love and what it meant for his training allowed Gaku to distract himself from the pain of Shinji's cock deep inside him. Shinji was big and blunt, an energetic lover rather than a skilled one. It wasn't being fucked by Shinji which fulfilled him, but what he received in return. It had always surprised Gaku that Shinji was willing to reciprocate the way he did. Most of their fellow apprentices would have happily let Shinji rape them without so much as a kiss in return, if only to be seen as Shinji's preferred partner.

And maybe Gaku might have felt that way too at first. But for all his quiet masculinity, Shinji had shown his appreciation for Gaku's intelligence and insight by letting Gaku do what he liked, once Shinji was satisfied.

Gaku could feel Shinji approaching the climax. The bigger youth was deep inside Gaku now, pressing his friend to the limit, straining to find that extra penetration, that extra stimulation before discharging his seed. Shinji's fingers dug into Gaku's shoulders as he pounded his friend. Gaku's cries of pain rang out in the forest, even as Shinji called out in ecstasy as he came, three, four, five strong pulses, then declining into a couple more minor jolts, before he relaxed, falling across Gaku so that both young men lay on the soft leaf litter.

The forest was quiet except for Shinji's rapid breathing and the sound of the sea far away. Gaku wondered if the josei had heard him calling, heard him cry out in pain as he surrendered to Shinji, and what she thought. Would she even recognise that sound as one of sexual passion or was she a woman like the local josei whom Shinji said never cried out, but took violation quietly and deferentially? Maybe white woman and yellow women were the same everywhere. And white men and yellow men. Maybe, despite the josei being the first gaijin he'd ever laid eyes on, skin colour was as superficial as the colours of the pigs in the pen, brown and white, black and brindle, but the bacon always the same pink underneath when you cut them with the knife.

Gaku thought these things on the forest floor pinned beneath Shinji as his friend's cock deflated and his breathing slowed. It would be time soon, Gaku thought, to roll Shinji away, stand, and for his friend to offer his mouth in return for Gaku's ass. It made the pain and indignity worthwhile, the gift of Shinji's mouth and what he did with it to bring Gaku pleasure.

 

[AmandaAce]

Lysbeth lay embraced in the cool waters of the stream. Her hair floated around her, the golden strands pulled this way and that by the flowing stream. Her ears were submerged - all she could hear was the water and her own beating heart.

She supposed that eventually she would have to leave this place, to go find help, especially since she’d been left alone. But for now, she was content to lie naked in the bosom of the stream, borne up by the water.

She opened her eyes to the sky, as clear and blue as Andries’ eyes had been, as her own were. There were no blue eyes in this place, she thought, only inscrutable black. But blue eyes, brown, green or black, it didn’t matter. She had seen the same look in Andries’ eyes as she had seen in the eyes of the two men that rescued her. It was always the same.

At home, Andries would stand in the door to the kitchen and look at her like that, his eyes on her as she and the servant girl, Annieke, worked. His blue eyes glittering in the sun that shone through the windows, following her every movement, until, finally, he would speak to her.

“Come with me, liefje,” he would say, quietly, and she would wipe her hands on a towel and follow him from the kitchen, her eyes on the floor.

They would climb the spiral stairs in silence, Lysbeth in front, Andries behind, and when they reached the bedroom at the top of the stairs he would bolt the door behind him.

“Let me see you, liefje,” he would say to her, and she would go to the center of the room and slip off her dress, and her chemise and undergarments, and stand there as he looked at her. “You are so beautiful.”

He would touch her face, her hair, her breasts, then lean down to kiss her as his hands traced the curve of her waist. He would pull her to him, his fingers digging into her slender hips, then his hands would find her shoulders and push her firmly down, until she was kneeling on the floor in front of him.

He always left his clothes on when he did this. It was not the same as when they lay in bed, when they would laugh together, when he allowed her to remove his clothes, to touch him, to kiss him back. This was different. This was about something else.

He would undo his breeches impatiently and take out his cock. It was large, and already hard by this time, and as soon as he had freed it from his clothing he would grab Lysbeth’s head and force it into her mouth and down her throat, groaning as her lips reached the base of it, holding her head firmly against his hips so that she couldn’t move.

He would begin to thrust into her mouth, hard, still holding her head. She wouldn’t resist, even though she struggled for air. Sometimes her eyes would well up, tears spilling down her cheeks, and this would spur him to fuck her mouth even harder, both of his hands twined deeply in her hair, until he came, with a grunt, down her throat, choking her with his seed.

As soon as it was over, he would change. The flat gleam in his eyes would be gone, he would button his breeches, help her up, and as soon as she had her dress back over her head, he would kiss her on the cheek and go back to the voorhuis.

The last time this had happened, had been a few days before the ship. She’d followed him back downstairs, watching the sun turn his hair into gold.

Lysbeth was startled out of her memory by what sounded like a chorus of calling birds. She could barely hear them in the water, but when she sat up she heard the echo of their calls through the trees. She waited, but she didn’t hear it again, only the soft sounds of the ocean and the rustling of the trees.

 

[ericrodman101]

And so, as he always did, Shinji rolled away, signalling Gaku's time had arrived. Without speaking, Shinji positioned himself on his knees, making himself comfortable on the soft earth, and opened his mouth.

Gaku was hard from his ass fucking. Being taken anally had always made him hard at first, but after a few times the pain had overwhelmed the pleasure of sexual experimentation and he'd not always achieved an erection. But now, with Shinji in particular, Gaku fund himself erect during whatever sexual interaction he had. And often erect just being in Shinji's company . The masters encouraged the apprentices to show their sexual feelings. There was no shame in displaying an erect inkei whatever activity they were engaged in. Gaku had overcome any shyness he'd had at first, and usually found himself erect during physical lessons. Swordplay, exercise, ritual wrestling, bathing.

It helped that most of these activities were done naked and the masters told them to worship their bodies. And it also helped to initiate the new apprentices when they arrived at the monastery. The new minarai would be marched into the square, fresh and wide-eyed in their loin cloths, and be greeted by the older apprentices, naked and ready for the initiation.

Gaku was remembering his initiation today as he held his erect cock out to Shinji. Their eyes met. Shinji had that look of anticipation, closing his mouth and swallowing, before opening again and gently nodding for Gaku to proceed.

It always amazed Gaku that his taller, older, stronger friend submitted to having his mouth fucked. Even though he'd never been with a josei, Gaku knew that they were the weaker sex, they were the ones who submitted, who pleasured the dansei, who received the cock and whatever consequences followed. And josei needed the cock to make children, Gaku knew. One day he would find a josei to have his children. That was the way. It was odd to think about it now, but it was inevitable.

Shinji seemed slightly perturbed at Gaku's tarrying. Gaku could see it in his eyes, and in the way his friend sat back on his haunches so that his open mouth seemed to beg for the inkei, like a baby bird. Gaku stepped up to Shinji and touched his cock to his friend's face, running the red swollen head around his lips. Shinji extended his tongue, touching the tip, then folding it round the end as if drawing the inkei inside him. Gaku accepted the invitation as he always did, and dropped his cock into Shinji's gaping mouth, waiting for the lips to close and the pleasuring to begin in earnest.

 

[AmandaAce]

Lysbeth listened closely for the call of the birds but heard only the ebb and flow, the solemn salty boom of the sea.

She’d heard it, or thought she had, while she was remembering - or had she been dreaming? She didn’t know. The sound of the birds was all mixed up in her head somehow with the sound of the men’s voices, with Andries’ voice, with the throb of the waves and the smell of the tide. Droplets of water rolled down her face, and she wiped them away impatiently.

She had not been dreaming. The memory was just that strong, so strong she could smell the sappy new wood on the spiraling stairs, so strong she could see the rays of sun on the bright blond crown of her husband’s hair.

Women back home told her she was lucky - to be so beautiful, to have such a handsome husband, so successful in his profession at such a young age. Lysbeth supposed they had been right. Andries had been handsome, tall and strong, with clear blue eyes and white teeth. He had been successful, she had wanted for nothing.

But her comfortable life had conditions. She wondered how many of the women that had envied her would have been able to fulfill them. She was beautiful, yes, but she was also obedient, and shrewd. How many of those women would have let Andries choke them with his cock, to look down at them with that flat, uncaring lust in his eyes, to pull their hair until they cried? Not many, she supposed. How many would like it the way she did? Not any, she thought.

She looked up at the sky and blinked, shook her head to pull herself out of Amsterdam, out of memories of a life that no longer existed. The sea air surrounded her, and she bent her knees and ducked under the water of the stream.

 

[ericrodman101]

At the touch of Gaku's cock head, Shinji sucked and licked enthusiastically. That was how it was. Fast. Like Shinji fucking his ass. Some of the other apprentices went slow, which Gaku liked, but they didn't have Shinji's enthusiasm, or, Gaku realised, capacity to swallow the inkei deep. Gaku knew his inkei was big. Not as big as Shinji, but still on the bigger side. And swallowing Shinji he knew was an effort. But Shinji liked to fuck his ass, so it wasn't usually an issue.

Gaku, on the other hand, was what the masters called osuhitsuji, a ram. In his village, calling someone a sheep, even a male one, meant they were passive, a follower. But at the monastery, osuhitsuji meant a leader, someone to be followed, strong and vigorous.

And when the masters watched him subordinate the other apprentices he was teamed with, as they inspected how big his cock was and how he used it, they would proclaim 'osuhitsuji' and clap and smile.

But osuhitsuji or not, Shinji always made Gaku finish more quickly than he hoped. He looked down at his lover's face, eyes closed, mouth and tongue working hard, devouring him, drawing the inkei down to where it showed in the throat each time Gaku thrust and Shinji responded. Gaku couldn't explain in words, but watching the inkei, especially his inkei, rising and falling in the neck of another apprentice, thrilled him, deliciously, like a stream of hot water in his veins.

And so it was now. Even as he wanted to stay hard, but not finish, Shinji's mouth work brought forth the flood. The hot water coursed through Gaku's body, pulsing into his inkei and releasing his milk, his seieki, deep inside his friend. Sometimes they liked to milk themselves onto each other's faces, then play withe seieki, spread it round their faces and into their hair. But for Gaku the greatest release came when the inkei was deep inside, Shinji's lips against his torso, the seieki pulsing and spraying in a dark hidden place.

And when he was done, Shinji opened his eyes and looked up, not releasing or disengaging until the osuhitsuji decided. Gaku smiled and saw Shinji's lips break open even while they stretched to accommodate him.

"It is time," he said, running his fingers through Shinji's hair. "And we have left the josei for too long."

"The josei!" Shinji spat the words and the seieki at the same time, a glob of milk landing on the earth at Gaku's feet. "You are obsessed with the josei."

"Not obsessed," Gaku said. "Concerned."

The two youths stood and gathered their clothes, then walked naked out of the trees towards the small stream where they had left the josei to rest.

"You are obsessed," Shinji said. "Maybe you are tired of me and want the josei."

Gaku looked across at his friend, ready to take his hand to comfort him. But Shinji frowned and strode ahead.

"Well maybe I want the josei too," he said.

 

[AmandaAce]

Lysbeth opened her eyes underwater. It was cold, and as clear as air. The rocks that lined the bed of the stream were grey and brown, but the sunlight streaming through the water changed them to blue and gold. Spiky green plants reached out of the spaces between them. She held her hand out into the light, turned it, watched the sunlight dapple her slender arm.

It was the same, the sun above, as the sun that spun gold from Andries’ hair on the stairs, that spilled onto the stone floor of the kitchen where he stared at her, that shone brightly through the front of the voorhuis.

“You are like a mouse,” Andries had once said to her at a party, before they were married. He spoke into her ear as he held her tightly by the hips, “taunting a cat.” She had remained silent and his fingers bit deeper into her skin, hard enough to leave a mark.

“You’re going to be caught, little mouse,” he said tightly, his breath on her neck, his fingers bruising her. “What will you do then?”

She shook her head, and he leaned in closer, but a group of guests spilled out into the hallway, and they were no longer alone.

He had been right, of course. She had been caught. There was something about Lysbeth that had fascinated Andries. Not a weakness, necessarily, but a sort of breathless pliability she had in the face of his forcefulness. She had invited him to be like that with her, even then. She had wanted him to and he could feel it radiating from her in the set of her shoulders and her shaking hands and downcast eyes. She wondered if all men could feel it, if that was why they looked at her the way they did. Perhaps they were not all taken with her blonde hair and fine features, as much as the idea of how easy it would be to make her do what they wanted.

She put her feet down among the green and gold rocks and stood up, her head and torso breaking the surface of the water. She could hear the birds again, and rustling sounds in the trees, and she turned in a circle, looking around her, but she saw no one.

 

[ericrodman101]

Gaku watched the josei break the water, her golden hair emerging from the pool, the sun catching the droplets as she rose, swinging her hair. She was beautiful and he entranced. He slid behind a tree and watched her in the vee of the branches.

Shinji had slipped away. Gaku expected him to run back to the josei. He didn't understand his friend. First the menace, then the apologetic retractions, the anal fucking, then oral, and now menacing again. Shinji was troubled, but Gaku didn't know if it was the josei or if it was he. Yesterday everything was perfect. They spent the night in the shelter, enjoying the exploration of the other's body, revelling in the familiarity of man love, looking forward to the day together.

But finding the josei on the beach had somehow pushed them off course. Already they had missed the morning's program, prayers and ablutions, breakfasting and swordplay. The sun was high and they would by now be long missed.

The josei looked about. Gaku knew she was listening to the birds and the waves, feeling the sun on her head and the cool of the stream beneath her feet. After all, that's all there was here at the end of the beach under the hill where the stream gurgled out of the forest.

But maybe she was thinking about where she had been yesterday. And the day before. And how she came to be in this place with Gaku. With Shinji, wherever he'd got to. That's what I'd would be thinking about, Gaku thought. If only he could ask the josei what she was thinking. Just to know for sure they were the same.

With a crude shout Shinji leaped from a rock and landed in the stream. The josei squealed, frightened by Shinji's sudden appearance, and his nakedness. She was almost naked herself, but doing her best to be modest, whereas Shinji towered over her, leering, flexing his arms, his inkei swinging.

Gaku sprinted up to the pool, calling to his friend. The josei turned and Gaku felt her eyes take in his own nakedness. He wasn't as well endowed as Shinji, but something in her look made him feel noticed, examined, even assessed. The way her gaze lingered on his lower body even as he spoke harshly to Shinji and looked for a way to stand between them without pushing the josei over, or having to use force to push Shinji aside.

 

[AmandaAce]

Lysbeth turned and let out a small scream as the larger one came running out of the trees and, with a shout and a splash, leapt into the stream in front of her. They had been near the entire time, she realized, somewhere in the forest, doing - what? Discussing what they were going to do with her, most likely. She had thought them long gone.

He loomed over her, naked, his cock swinging, and she crossed her arms over her breasts and cast her eyes down, to look at the water. She was shaking, her heart fluttering. Little mouse, she heard Andries say in the back of her mind, and in an effort to defy that voice, she wrenched her eyes up, past his big cock and impressive musculature, to meet his gaze. He grinned at her and her face flushed deeply.

There was another shout, and Lysbeth turned to see the smaller one running towards them. He sprinted fleetly across the sand, shouting at his friend. He was also naked now, smaller than the other, leaner, but still muscular. His cock was big as well, and she couldn’t help but look as he came to a stop at the edge of the water. Her breath was coming faster, her heart hammering. She was a mouse, she thought, in between two cats.

He spoke to his friend in a harsh tone, and Lysbeth watched the way the larger one seemed to defer to him when he spoke. She looked at him again, speculatively, and this time he saw her looking. She dropped her eyes and took a step back, away from the larger one, but there was nowhere to go. Her back pressed against the rocks and she stumbled. Her hands flew out to catch herself, exposing her breasts. As soon as she had her balance she crossed her arms over her chest again, keeping her eyes on the water.

What will you do now you’re caught, little mouse? Andries’ voice asked, and she shook her head. She didn’t know.

 

[ericrodman101]

The josei was frightened. She stepped back in the pool, stumbling and throwing her arms up to catch herself, as Shinji landed beside her with a splash. There was no room to stand between them, Gaku realised. And he didn't want to frighten her further. He felt an overwhelming urge to protect her, hold her in his arms, stop her being harmed if that was Shinji's intention.

"Imbecile," Gaku yelled. He didn't think harm was on Shinji's mind. Just trouble-making. Seeing how far he could go. Josei were easy pickings. For Shinji. For Gaku even. They were destined to be passive, to serve, to submit to men. Gaku knew that. It was the natural order. Even if there were no josei on Kuromatsu, it didn't change the truth.

But maybe where the josei came from it was different, if that was possible. No one ate dog in Nihon. That was unthinkable. Yet the dog eaters of Kankoku did. They were savages. Everyone knew that. But it didn't stop them. Maybe where the josei was from they ate dogs too. And did other strange, savage things.

Shinji stood over the josei, his inkei visible swinging at the water line as she cowered. Gaku was concerned how his friend didn't relent, didn't pull back or give her room. It was warm. The water was pleasing. But she must be tired and hungry. They had made so little progress towards the monastery, where she might eat and rest.

"Please Shinji," Gaku said. "You are frightening her. She has been in the sea, without food. Her clothes are torn. She is in our care. We are responsible."

Shinji paused to digest Gaku's words. The smaller young man took advantage and slipped in between his friend and the josei. The space was tight and their naked bodies touched. He smiled at her, their faces close. He willed her to smile back. Something about the closeness made smiling feel right. And where she sat was shallow, so that her breasts floated on the water, like the small white paper lanterns they made to celebrate the harvest.

"You are safe," he said reaching out to touch her face.

 

[AmandaAce]

The larger one paused as his friend spoke to him, giving the smaller one time to slip in between them. Lysbeth tried to shrink back, but the rocks of the shallows pressed into her back and she was forced to stay where she was. The rocks, then Lysbeth, the smaller one, then the larger one all pressed together with no room in between. There was nowhere to move. He stood in front of her, so close that her crossed arms touched his chest.

She looked up at him tentatively through the screen of her eyelashes. The sun was nearly at the top of the sky now, and she squinted against the brightness. He smiled at her, and again she could see the kindness in his dark eyes, so different from the greedy way his friend grinned at her over his shoulder. She smiled back, hesitantly, and he smiled even wider, a bright and genuine smile.

The cool water burbled and flowed around them, and he reached out and gently touched her cheek. Her face got hot, her heart beat faster.

She lifted her hand to touch his face in turn. The skin of his cheek was smooth. “You are kind,” she said to him.

The larger one looked at her, leaned forward, and spoke into his friend’s ear. Lysbeth dropped her hand. Up against the bank of the stream, she was still penned in, unable to get away from them, barely able to move her hands without touching their naked bodies.

She was still caught. Still a mouse. What did it matter if only one of the cats was kind?

 

[ericrodman101]

Gaku had no idea what the josei said, but as they touched each other's faces, she returned his smile. She was pretty in a strange kind of way. He had nothing to compare her with. Her bone structure, her eyes, her complexion, even the way her hair emerged from her skin and fell across her face, were unlike every josei he'd ever seen before.

And the way her breasts, the cloth still clinging to them, rose and fell with the water as he and Shinji and the josei too, disturbed it as they moved about. Gaku wanted to let his hand drop from her face to her breasts, but something he didn't understand said 'no'. Still, she made no attempt to cover herself or slide into the water. He didn't understand why she made his inkei stir the way Shinji did, the way he could make it stir just thinking abut what he and Shinji did to each other. But stir it did, under the water. He looked down, but the rippled surface disguised the inkei's strange behaviour.

And then, as time seemed to stand still, Shinji was in his ear. "Yap, yap, yap. She sounds like a dog," his friend said.

Gaku turned to admonish him. Shinji stepped back onto a rock, drawing himself up to his full height in the pool. The young samurai was beautiful, smooth and tanned, the clear water streaking his muscled body, his torso, his thighs, like some unworldly war paint at once silver like armour and transparent like glass. Shinji looked so remarkable that Gaku drew breath. And to add to the shock of being confronted with such manly perfection, Shinji's inkei was proudly erect, the long, thick, heavily-veined shaft within Gaku's reach and pointing at the josei.

Gaku looked back, expecting horror and alarm. The josei's gaze fixed on Shinji's appendage, although what she was feeling or thinking Gaku couldn't really tell. Perhaps she was as enthralled by Shinji's raw beauty as he was. But with that thought, just as his inkei had stirred at his instinct for the josei's beauty, he felt something else. Loss? Jealousy? If Shinji also thought the josei desirable, would he still desire Gaku? He knew it made no sense, but that made the feeling no less real.

"Do you think the josei would like to touch my inkei?" Shinji asked.

 

[AmandaAce]

Lysbeth followed the smaller one’s gaze as he turned, and they both let out the softest of gasps at the sight of the other standing, wet and naked in front of them.

She had seen naked peasants and she had seen statues, and she had seen her own tall, powerful husband nude just as this man was, but somehow this was not like any of those things.

The smaller one stood so close to her their thighs were nearly touching. Lysbeth looked up at him, saw the awe in his eyes as he took in the sight before them. Both men were beautiful, in a different way than she had ever seen before, but his companion was magnificent, lean muscled and tanned and more perfect than any statue she had ever seen.

His cock was huge, and hard as iron, and she could not help but stare at it. Her cheeks grew hot as she wondered what it would feel like to have him thrust itdown her throat like Andries had done, if it would make her eyes tear and spill over.

She could feel the thumping of her heart in her ears, so loud she felt they must hear it too. She took a deep breath.

He asked the smaller one a question, and Lysbeth strained for meaning in the rippling sounds of his words. She didn’t know what he said, but they both looked at her, two sets of dark eyes on her, so close she could reach out and touch them both at the same time.

 

[ericrodman101]

"Shut up!" Gaku spoke to Shinji as harshly as he could while looking into the josei's eyes. His hand stroked her face. She wasn't as soft as he thought she would be. But then she'd been in the water and outside for some time. Not that her voyage to Kuromatsu can have been so long and arduous or she would be in much worse shape. It was a ship, he thought, a wreck. It must be very close. And the josei is the only survivor.

Her hand was on his face. Gaku realised he was purring, staring straight into her eyes. He wanted with all his heart to drop his hand to her lips, her neck. And then...

"She is not for you." Shinji spoke softly, right behind Gaku's ear. He felt a pang of fear, then guilt. Shinji was strong and wildly jealous. Gaku had seen it before when the masters paired him with new partners. Gaku felt jealousy too, but for the stronger young man, the more virile and beautiful, it was Shinji who was the less certain, the vulnerable one. He fucked with gusto, Gaku knew, and the other apprentices competed for Shinji's affections. But the popular apprentice was indifferent to their attention, always finding Gaku and taking up again, even with his cock still slick from penetrating another apprentice, as if they'd never been apart.

Gaku knew he loved Shinji. It was the right word. More than fondness, more than suki. They were favourites to each other. Okiniiri. Yet feeling the skin of the josei under his palm, and the unstinting soft gaze of her eyes, Gaku wondered for the first time in his life if there might be more than one okiniiri for him.

 

[AmandaAce]

Lysbeth looked from one to the other. She had thought them so alike at first, but they were as different to each other as they were to her. The larger one, as physically impressive as he was, had an uncertainty about him as he looked at her, at both of them, standing so close together. The smaller one had no such uncertainty. He held her face gently in his hand, never breaking eye contact with her even as he spoke harshly to the other. She could hear the syllables now in the way they spoke. It still made no sense to her, but it no longer sounded the same as the gulls that flew cawing overhead.

She brought her hand to his face again, tentatively, and felt a thrill run through her as she touched his soft, sun warm cheek. He pressed his face into her hand and his eyes lit up. His eyelashes were long and dark and cast small shadows on his cheeks. The sun was nearly directly over their heads now, sending sparkling flashes of light across the waters of the pool where they stood, and Lysbeth almost - almost brought her lips to his.

She was so entranced that she was startled when the larger one leaned down to speak softly to his friend. She realized that she was not so much pinned as she was wedged between them. In more than one way she was wedged fully in between them, had stopped their forward progression like a stick through a wheel. The two of them had been one thing, before, and now, because she was here, they were something different.

She did not move her hand from the smaller one’s cheek, but instead raised her other hand, and carefully touched his friend’s face as well.

“You are both kind,” she said. “For helping me.”

She dropped her hands away from their faces, back into the water.

 

[ericrodman101]

Gaku held the josei's eyes. He felt himself falling into them, captivated, despite her unusual beauty. Or because of it. And all the while she held her hand against his cheek. He felt her shiver, not as if from the cold, but nervous maybe. And why not? They couldn't speak with each other, she was far from home, and Shinji was misbehaving.

He wanted to say 'you are safe, little bird'. And he did. But she could only smile back. Or frown, but she elected to smile.

And then, almost as if they were on their own, she moved her face towards his. Gaku dropped his eyes to her lips. He wanted her to keep coming. He wanted to connect. He wanted to kiss her. The way he kissed Shinji? Maybe. Was that the way a man kissed a woman, all mouth and tongue, poking and probing with fierce determination?

In all the thinking he missed the josei do the strangest thing. She lifted her other hand. Shinji had slid down into the water beside him. The josei placed her free hand against his friend's cheek. They sat, the three naked people in the pool where the stream chattered across the beach.

Gaku knew she must be showing affection, and thanks, and a gentle softness. And doing it despite the trials she'd been through and how tired she must be. And her natural fear of Shinji.

He wanted to smile, to return what she was giving. And he wanted desperately to turn his head and see Shinji's reaction. If his friend was being menacing, she didn't show it. But Gaku couldn't turn his head, couldn't lift his eyes from her lips, her mouth, her eyes.

And he couldn't smile. No. Why was she touching Shinji? Why did he deserve her kindness? Gaku didn't understand, even when she spoke, softly, almost lyrically, then dropped her hands into the water.

Did she want him? The way he wanted Shinji? Did she want Shinji? Was she telling them both they were equal in her sight and she had no special feelings for either. No special feelings for Gaku.

It made no sense. Gaku knew that. But nothing about today had been normal. He almost wished he and Shinji had fucked in front of her. Shown her what they meant to each other. Shown the josei that man love was special. Did she understand man love where she came from?

Too many questions. Gaku sighed, managed a half smile, and stood, naked. The water coursed off his torso, his cock, his thighs, into the pool, the tiny ripples he made lapping against her breasts. He turned to step out of the pool. Beside him, Shinji made no such move, but stay put. Gaku watched him put a hand out towards the josei, but not to her face. Slowly and deliberately Shinji reached his open palm out to her breasts, then traced his fingers across her pale flesh to the nipple.

 

[AmandaAce]

The smaller one stood up, out of the pool. Lysbeth watched the water run off his lean, muscled body. She looked up at his open, handsome face, his half-smile as he looked down at the both of them, and she wished she had kissed him, before.

She wondered what he thought of her, if he thought she was beautiful, if he was as entranced by her as she was by him. Certainly he had responded to her touch, had spoken to her gently with a smile on his face, but how could she know, without being able to speak to him? How could she know what the two of them were saying about her?

She wanted to reach up to take his hand, to pull him back down into the water with her, to press her body and her mouth against his, but before she could do so, the larger one reached out, his dark eyes narrowed, and touched her.

His hand slipped across her breast to her nipple, barely touching her skin, and she shivered. He watched her, waiting for her reaction. He wanted her to be embarrassed, or frightened, to scream or cry, but she didn’t. She took his hand in hers and smiled. His eyes flicked over to look at his friend’s face, and Lysbeth brought his palm briefly to her cheek, then dropped it.

She reached up, took the smaller one’s hand, and stood up. The sun was warm, but the water left goosebumps in its wake as it coursed over her skin.

She held his hand up, looked into his eyes, and placed his hand on her chest, at her sternum.

“Lysbeth,” she said. “Lysbeth.” Then she took her hand and placed it on his chest. He must understand what she meant, she thought.

 

[ericrodman101]

Gaku watched as the josei let Shinji touch her breasts for a moment, then take his friend's hand, touch her face, and drop it into the water. Gaku didn't understand Shinji's motives. If he wanted the josei in the way Gaku thought, then take her and see what happens. Gaku was unsure how she'd react. Positive, happy, smiling, laughing, and Gaku resolved to turn his back and walk away until he was out of earshot, and Shinji could find pleasure with the josei undisturbed.

But if Shinji's attention proved unwanted, Gaku knew he would have to pull Shinji away from her and pacify him. He knew he had the upper hand with Shinji mentally. But physically? If Shinji was determined in anything, Gaku knew he was the stronger. He hoped against hope it wouldn't come to a fight.

Shinji just stood, his inkei swinging in the josei's face. Gaku looked down to where his friend's body shadowed her. She only had to reach out and touch him, touch them both. Gaku felt his body stir, his inkei send its customary messages to his brain. He felt as if his body must be signalling arousal, even if his inkei hung down. Shinji would know he was ready. Would she?

And then she reached for his hand. For a moment he wanted her to touch the inkei, feel the electricity of her fingers on his most sensitive skin. But it was his hand she took, looking up at him as she placed his palm flat on her chest just above her breasts.

"Rizbed," she said. "Rizbed."

What did it mean? "Gaku," he said, holding his other hand up to his face and pointing. "Gaku." He smiled, then pointed at his friend. "Shinji, Shinji." Then down at the josei. "Rizbed, Rizbed." He nodded and smiled.

 

[AmandaAce]

He repeated her name. His accent changed the sound of it, took away all the soft syllables and turned it into the sharp, fluting sounds of his language. Her name coming out of his mouth was as strange as it was beautiful to her, just like he was. Different to anything she had ever seen or heard, and fascinating because of it. He was like nothing she had ever seen or heard before.

He pointed to himself and broke into a wide grin. The sun sparkled in his eyes. “Gaku,” he said, and then, pointing to his friend, “Shinji.”

He pointed at her and said her name again so that she would know he understood. “Rizbed.”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes! Shinji, Gaku,” she said, pointing at them in turn. Their names were like their language, short and tightly wound. She wondered if their names had meanings, and if they did, what they meant. She wondered if they would ever be able to speak, to really communicate, or if they were too different, their languages too far apart.

“Gaku,” she said to him again. He nodded and smiled at her.

They had made one step. They had communicated their names, at least, but what was to come next, Lysbeth couldn’t tell. The menace seemed to have gone out of Shinji and she was fascinated with Gaku, but past that, she knew nothing.

She felt dizzy. The sun was hot, she was exhausted, the light dazzled her eyes. Was the sky always this clear and blue here? And the gulls so loud?

 

[ericrodman101]

The sun was straight overhead now, but Gaku felt time was standing still. How long before the master sent some of the apprentices to look for them? And where would they look?

The josei shielded her eyes from the sun. He wanted her hand to touch him again, not shadow her face. So Gaku moved until he could provide the shadow, standing close, his inkei level with her eyes. Shinji stood beside him, looking down at the josei as well. Was it odd that they stood naked before her, confronting her with their manhood? Was this how dansei and josei related to each other where Rizbed came from?

Rizbed, Gaku said to himself. Then out loud. "Rizbed."

"Rizbed," Shinji said. "I want Rizbed to touch me. Touch my inkei."

"She doesn't know what inkei means," Gaku said. "She says Gaku and Shinji like she understands, but maybe we are just dreaming that she is communicating. And do you really want the josei to touch you? Like I touch you? Like we touch each other?"

Gaku stared into the shadow, mostly at the top of the josei's head, or into her eyes when she lifted them up. She looked tired. She must be hungry. The feelings Gaku had were just like he had with Shinji. They felt normal and exciting at the same time. He could feel his inkei harden, slowly but surely. And when he looked down Shinji was fully erect, the smooth, taut, pink head of his inkei inches from her face.

"I want her to suck me," Shinji said, "the way I suck you."

Gaku thought for a moment. He should do this for his friend. "Maybe if I suck you," he said, "she will understand that sucking the inkei is fine."

Shinji tried to answer, but only coughed out something affirmative. Gaku sat down in the water beside the josei, smiling as he made himself comfortable. When he had eye contact he pointed at Shinji's hard cock. "Inkei," he said, nodding and smiling. "Inkei." And then as she watched, he first put a finger into his mouth and sucked, moving the finger in and out, and pulling in his cheeks, before extracting the finger and nodding again. "Inkei," he said, pointing again, first at Shinji and then at her mouth. "Suu," he said, putting his fingers up to her mouth. "Inkei. Suu." He smiled and nodded, hoping she might suck his fingers, and then Shinji's inkei, or maybe forego his fingers altogether.

And maybe, when his friend had been satisfied by the josei, maybe she would suck Gaku.