[Arashi] [Sakumiya] Flavour of Love

[radhaj]

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Those people are not mine. I only wish they were
Warnings: slavery, kinks all around yadda yadda
Summary: In a world where slavery is flourishing, two people are living their lives by exploiting the system. But are they truly as removed from its effects themselves as it seems at first glance?

Chapter 2

“This slave has finished cleaning the room, Sir. Is there anything else you would wish it to do?”

Sho stifled a sigh and glanced away from his laptop screen to the side where a petite boy was sitting back, gingerly, on his ankles, eyes respectfully fixed to the ground. No, there wasn't. There really wasn't anything that Sho needed to be done. He hadn't even needed the room cleaned, it had still been spotless from when the boy had cleaned it yesterday and the day before. And the one before that. Sho had simply set the task so the boy would have something to occupy himself with and wouldn't wait expectantly at his side all the damn time. And the boy had done it, with not a word of complaint at the uselessness of the chore, lifting every single book to clean the dust that didn't exist under them and polishing the floor to a point where Sho was afraid to walk on it anymore lest he slipped. He was already nursing his left foot that he had managed to somehow twist slightly during the PE class that he had signed up for at the University in hopes for solving his flexibility problems. He didn't need any more injuries.

The boy – Nino – had been a present for Sho on his nineteenth birthday from his father who then proceeded to talk for an abnormally long time about just how great a buy that was, gotten from one of the best trainers in the world. Someone who often specialized in less usual cases. And apparently this Nino had been one: getting sold for the first time at already sixteen years of age because of a fracture at the wrist (or a hand, or maybe an arm - Sho had been tuning his father out by that point) that refused to heal quickly, thus rendering the boy rather useless as a slave for a few years longer than was normal.

But apparently having been trained by someone so great made him one of the most desirable and expensive slaves in the country, which, in turn, meant more boasting power at the king's court for Sho's noble-ass of a father now that he got his hands on one. Or, well, Sho's hands.

Sho could admit that the boy was an amazing find – pretty, polite, skilful in a bigger variety of fields than any other run-of-the-mill slave, both because of who had trained him and the time he had been allowed for that. Even among slaves that were all trained in such things, he was exceptional.

But Sho had not wanted a slave in the first place.

It was more a bother to him than anything else at the moment. He didn't need the responsibility. Sure, the thought of readily available sex with such a desirable partner was tempting for everyone, but Sho had never had any problems with finding someone like that on his own. Any sort of housework that he cared about had always been taken care of by one of the family's servants and, although he could readily admit that Nino's cooking was more amazing than anything the household cook had ever made, it was not really enough to justify the slave coming into his life.

Because it was a hassle. A responsibility. Sho was busy with his spell-crafting studies and Nino required directions and work and there was also always the closely lingering expectation that Sho himself would finally... do something with the slave. Quite simply, Sho didn't have any idea about what he was supposed to do now as an owner. What if he'd have to give out punishment? He knew enough to understand that this would be unavoidable at some point, but it was something he had no idea how to actually execute. His father had never even let him watch when his own slaves misbehaved.

Sho looked at the boy more closely again, taking in the so-far unfamiliar sight. He looked so fragile and so dependent. Still slightly nervous and insecure, no doubt, since he was given to an actual Master for the first time in his life and was worried about not being pleasing enough for him - a fear that was most likely only exacerbated by the fact that Sho had yet to pay him much attention, although several days had already passed since Nino had come into his possession. Was he really Sho's now? This hopeful and innocent creature, all in Sho's hands?

Perhaps Sho had been slightly unfair, continuously postponing the time when he would properly deal with this. Keeping the boy... no, Nino, in the unknown for so long.... He should have been less naive than to hope the issue would eventually disappear if he just ignored it for long enough. Sho closed his laptop, pushing it slightly away from himself and turned to fully face the kneeling slave.

“Lift you face,” he ordered, and Nino of course did as told immediately, straightening out his back and raising his head respectfully. There was some barely concealed hopefulness in those slightly widened, brown eyes now that Sho was finally talking to him, and he truly looked so cute and pretty like that. Sho shifted closer to the boy on his wheeled chair and reached out to caress his smooth and flawless face with the back of his fingers, following the pattern of those tiny, dark moles on his pale skin which he found so weirdly fitting and adorable.

“Do you have to talk like that? Referring to yourself as a slave all the time?” he then asked his first question, one that had bothered him from the start. Nino seemed slightly confused at the inquiry, but fortunately was clever enough to soon understand what he had meant without further explanation.

“No, Sir,” he answered timidly, “This slave has simply been instructed to speak in the most deferential way it knows until its Master revealed his own personal preference to it.”

Ah, so Sho had been right. Here was something he had, apparently been supposed to address from the very start and yet he hadn't even known about it.

“Just speak normally then,” he allowed, feeling strange, as if he was choosing the settings on a new TV set. Only this was a living being, not a piece of technology, and the “Choose your language” option apparently had a completely different meaning.

“Yes, Master Sho,” Nino showed he understood, sounding quite grateful. He was looking up at him so earnestly that Sho couldn't help but smile down at him in return, despite still feeling confused.

“Are there more... things like that? That I should address from the start?” he asked awkwardly. Nino cutely scrunched up his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side a little as he tried to understand his question, but in the end shook his head.

“I don't think so, Sir,” he replied, “I am supposed to learn of your other preferences myself, as time goes by.”

Sho sighed in relief and leaned back in his chair, making it creak a little in the quiet room.

“Well then, Nino,” he said, rolling the name on his tongue for the first time thoughtfully, as if trying out how it felt to say it, “No, there is nothing else I would like you to do. Or rather,” he added, since the honest and open approach so far had paid off, “I honestly don't know what I even could ask you to do,” he revealed, actually slightly curious about how Nino would react to that.

The boy blinked in surprise at the confession but didn't say anything to it immediately. Instead, he seemed to become thoughtful for a while, making his own conclusions about the things he wasn't allowed to just ask about as a mere slave. But Sho was sure that he probably was coming very close to the truth, whatever it was he was thinking. With eyes as sharp as his, Nino struck him as a fairly clever slave.

“If I may make a suggestion then, Sir?” the boy spoke up eventually and Sho gave a small nod for him to continue, “You could order me to give you a foot massage,” the slave finished finally, looking almost pleased with himself (at least as much as he could through his still apparent nervousness), and Sho didn't even bother getting surprised that Nino noticed him favouring his right leg. Nor did he wonder how Nino had figured out it was the foot that was the exact problem. What interested him the most was...

“You're good at massages?” he asked, maybe a little too eagerly to sound as properly reserved and aloof as he should have.

“I've been trained in giving them, yes,” was Nino's answer, “However, I would not be so bold as to judge my skill in them myself to answer that question, Sir,” he finished as humbly as it fit a slave to, but Sho was convinced.

“I'll take that suggestion then.”

A few minutes later, when Sho was lying on the bed and trying not to moan out loud while Nino worked on his feet (because that would be embarrassing and unbecoming of him) he couldn't help but ask himself why had he waited so long to figure things out. Nino was godly with his hands, and this was only just a foot massage. And the look of concentration on the boy's face while he continuously rubbed his feet was also doing something to Sho that it probably shouldn't have, this easily.

“You should go higher... Not just the feet,” Sho croaked out ineloquently, causing Nino to startle and look up at him a little surprised. But it didn't take long for the realization to come to him once he saw his owner's flushed cheeks and the growing tent at the crotch of Sho's pants. Sho could see a mix of happiness and relief flickering in those bright, brown eyes.

“As you wish, Sir,” Nino answered, already sliding his hands up the lying man's calves, kneading them as well and as pleasurably as he had his feet, “If I may make another suggestion though, Master,” he added, still, “I would be able to.... massage you better if I was allowed to remove your pants,” he said, a smile now dancing on his lips that Sho might have accused of being a smirk if there had been even a tiny bit more self-satisfaction in it.

The “smart-mouth” option was switched on as high on Nino as it could be for a slave. And Sho wasn't planning on turning it off.

~~~~~~-*-~~~~~~

The hot noon sun shining through the branches of the trees that surrounded the road they were driving on made it hard to read the map Nino was holding in his hands. The light flickered and changed on the reflective paper as they sped forward, making the petite man squint and scrunch up his face as he tried to make out the tiny lines that marked the area they were in right now.

“There should be an exit from the highway towards it in twenty or so kilometres,” he finally answered the question that had made him take out the map in the first place, “...I think...” he added in a whisper, blinking his eyes rapidly as they started to hurt a bit from the bright flashes of light. But he still didn't put the map away and inspected it further instead, “I don't get it though, the town looks tiny. Can't have more than what? A couple of thousand people?”

“Three and a half,” Sho supplied from the driver's seat beside him, frowning as he tried to adjust the radio without letting his eyes leave the road to look at it. The damned station kept getting static as they drove through the country, “Approximately.”

“See? Why would a tiny town like that even have a Slave Market?” Nino latched onto the fact, finally putting the map away into the glove compartment and getting the DS Sho had bought for him back into his hands, but not yet starting his game up, “I hope you're sure about this place, we've been driving to it for two days now.”

“Are you actually doubting my choice for a destination?” Sho asked incredulously, making Nino startle and draw back. The older man didn't sound angry, but wasn't entirely just amused either. Although it might have been because of his lack of success with the radio more than because of Nino's “misconduct” as a trusting slave.

“No, of course not,” Nino hurried to reply defensively, afraid of Sho misunderstanding him, “I just find it weird, that's all.”

The last few days, after the mishap in their plan in the last city and Nino's following vocal eruption had felt a bit tense between them. Well, at least to Nino they had. He wasn't truly sure that Sho even cared enough to notice it, because he had obviously dismissed Nino's words easily enough that day. That possibility felt horrible in a different way and was supported by the fact that Sho not only had yet to give him the punishment he had asked for (which still weighed on Nino's mind constantly), but didn't even question how Nino slipped right back into more casual speaking patterns with him after his failed attempt to go back to being a “normal” slave.

But even if Sho had most likely forgotten all about that incident by now, Nino was not about to tempt his patience by doing something like questioning his Master's decision. Things just seemed volatile, still, and he wanted them to calm down between them again so he could figure out what to do about all those feelings bubbling inside of him since then.

“They don't usually have one,” Sho continued speaking after a few moments of silence and giving up on getting a better quality sound from the radio, “It's just organized there twice a year, and one of those times is this week. Which is why we're going there now.”

“Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through just to supply a few people with slaves,” Nino commented, still confused. Wouldn't anyone who wanted a slave from a tiny town like that just go and buy one elsewhere? There couldn't be many of such people in a town as small as that anyway. And so removed from the rest of the civilization.

“Apparently a lot of famous, rich people live there,” Sho revealed next, “At some point it got popular between artists, inventors and the like as a quiet place to live in and continue with their craft. So a much bigger percentage of this town's residents can afford a slave, meaning the business there is as good for slave trainers as in another, regular city that is a hundred times as big.”

Nino snorted.

“That's bizarre. How can the town stay a calm place? Doesn't it get overrun by their fans and stalkers if so many famous people live there?” he asked, but the older man shook his head.

“It's not general knowledge that this place exists as a haven for celebrities. It's also remote enough that noone can really just stumble upon it on accident. Besides, once it turned out that the productivity of these people improved greatly if they could live in such an environment and got left otherwise alone, the government actually took an interest in ensuring they wouldn't be bothered. The entire police force of the town is supposedly pretty much only there to make sure there are no unwanted guests to disturb the... “creative process”.”

“That's still bizarre,” Nino intoned, but was finally satisfied with the explanation so he started his game up, “How do you know about this if it's not general knowledge though? If you don't mind me asking, ” he added one more question anyway, a little distractedly as he started playing already.

“I used to go to a not so general University with some not so general people and got some not so general friends,” Sho answered, his voice suddenly sounding distant as he seemed to think back to the times wistfully, “They told me about it. In fact before we... before I first decided to run away, I used to often dream of moving there after graduation and hopefully invent a nifty spell or two without my family around to constantly nag at me about doing something more “noble” with my life.”

Nino suppressed a sigh at that and let the conversation die out, the unclear signal of the radio becoming the only source of sound in the car aside from the thrum of the engine. Lately, those days seemed like a lifetime ago to him. And yet he remembered each day from that past like it had only been yesterday.

~~~~~~-*-~~~~~~

A big drop of sweat rolled down the middle of Sho's forehead, then the bridge of his nose, to hang for half a second off the tip of it before dropping down on Nino's equally sweaty back. The two of them were locked together, Sho thrusting into his slave from behind, perhaps a bit more roughly than usual. But the younger boy was still doing his best to add up to it, thrusting his ass back as much as he could in the same rhythm, only letting out tiny moans and silent mewls of pain every once in a while as he served for his Master, quite obviously, simply as a convenient way of letting out anger and frustration. His short, stubby fingers were clutching tightly at the headboard for support, his knees planted firmly on the bed, spread slightly apart for better balance, his rock-hard cock swinging between his legs, leaking precum already – he could already come from this, without needing to be touched himself, as long as he had Sho's cock fucking his hole like this, hard and fast. As long as he was given permission, as long as Sho wanted him to...

But that wasn't really the purpose of this, for neither of them. Not this time.

Nino had taken this very position pretty much the second that Sho had come back, completely willingly. It had only taken the dedicated slave a moment after the older man had entered the room to correctly read his mood and guess his needs, so he had stripped without needing as much as a word from his Master and had gotten onto the bed on his knees, bending forward until he could brace himself against the headboard. That alone had made Sho's heart overflow with fondness and appreciation for this boy who, as he had promised to in the very beginning, now knew his preferences and needs so well. But it still hadn't been enough to erase the bad mood the meeting with his father had put him in, and so he had stepped forward and taken advantage of Nino's obvious offer without any hesitation.

“More...” he suddenly heard the younger man utter a plea which was almost difficult to believe, given how the boy seemed to already be just barely coping with the intensity of the sex as it was. But, Sho realized, Nino was not actually pleading this for himself. He only asked for this because he wished so badly to give his owner what he needed, “Please, Master.... harder, screw my ass harde- ah... ngh...”

Sho could easily admit that he had long since lost the ability to deny his one and only slave anything that he asked of him. Nor was he able to withstand the temptation of Nino's perfect body and husky, begging voice. Before the boy could even finish what he was saying, Sho had already sped up even more, now completely abandoning himself into the steady but wild rhythm, in and out, deeper, harder, more... Neither of them could let out even the smallest sound at this point, only their harsh breathing and the slaps of skin against skin echoing in the room until Sho finally thrust in for one last time and came with a guttural grunt, filling Nino with his seed.

It wasn't really an orgasm of pleasure even. It was more one of solely relief, all the frustration bursting out of his body, leaving him spent and exhausted. Which was already definitely a vast improvement from his earlier mood.

He collapsed on the side afterwards, bringing Nino down onto the bed with him. The boy hadn't come, not when Sho hadn't told him to. But for now, knowing he had given this relief to his Master was satisfying enough, so he just turned around, making Sho's slowly softening cock withdraw from inside his ass with an audible wet squelch, and snuggled up to his Master's chest, waiting for him to recover.

They stayed like that for a good minute, Nino just lying still while his owner tried to control his breathing, his hand rubbing over the boy's slender, sweaty back. Once his lungs were no longer screaming for air though, Sho immediately made Nino look up so he could shower his face with butterfly kisses of gratitude, making the small slave smile in utter content.

“May I ask... what happened?” Nino couldn't help but inquire carefully after a while, however, and Sho immediately let out a long sigh, falling backwards to lie flat on his back as the reason for his foul mood got brought back to the front of his mind again. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his dark, long and curly hair that he had grown out in direct defiance to his father's wishes that he would keep his appearance proper and reserved, and as an attempt to be more like his favourite professor in his University. The one that managed to pursue his own path despite his noble-blood parents being against it. The one that had managed to prove them wrong. The one that Sho looked up to the most and wished he could be more like not only with his outside appearance, but inner strength and rebelliousness as well.

“I merely realized something that I should have guessed ages ago,” he muttered resignedly. Nino, of course, didn't ask again and only waited quietly for him to continue, “My dad never once considered letting me work in Spell Research once I've graduated. It was all about him getting bragging rights about his son being so extraordinarily gifted with magic and getting into such a prestigious University. But once I get the degree, I am supposed to accompany him to the court and play all those sickly sweet political mind games with the other nobles, letting my knowledge gather dust,” he ground out the final bit through his teeth and, in his anger, grabbed the first moveable object that he found (which was the alarm clock on the night-stand beside the bed) and threw it at the opposite wall. The item shattered into pieces with a loud crash, making Nino jump slightly in surprise and Sho reflexively tightened his hold of the tiny man, “Sorry,” he whispered comfortingly, the sudden outburst of anger leaving him spent again, “I'm just really disappointed.”

Nino didn't answer at first. He looked thoughtful and Sho could, after knowing him for almost three years now, guess what was on his mind. Nino was trying to grasp the concept of being so disappointed over not getting something you've dreamt about all your life. He was trying to understand his Master's pain, which was difficult for him. As a slave, he didn't even actually know what it was like to have dreams and aspirations of his own. So in the end, he just gave up on truly understanding it, like he always did whenever Sho's plans for his future came up, and just accepted his owner's pain as a plain fact.

“I'm sorry,” he said with as much sympathy as he could, “I guess there's no way to make him change his mind about it?”

Sho snorted.

“Fat chance,” he sighed, feeling tired all of a sudden, “He wouldn't even pretend to listen.”

That was right. His father never listened, nor looked, nor paid any sort of attention at all to Sho's (or Sho's siblings', for that matter) own wishes. He had had their lives planned out for them since before they had even been born. He just proverbially covered his ears whenever Sho begged him to not drag him out to yet another gala just so he could show off his prodigy child, and shut his eyes and pretended to not see when Sho ended up sneaking out of these parties not even halfway-through anyway. He had started doing it when he had still been only a child, trying to find the quietest and most remote room in whichever manor they were in that day, even if it meant figuring out how to get past a few locked doors. Just so he could escape all the noise and fake smiles and ugly posh outfits which always smelled of far too much perfume. That was how much Sho hadn't wanted to take part in them, and yet now he had to face the fact that all that avoidance had been in vain and he himself would end up as one of those very people he hated.

“I wish I could just run away,” he blurted out miserably, “Just tell them all to fuck themselves and leave this whole life behind. But that's impossible,” he rubbed over his still-sweaty face with his palm, “I would never be able to get a job and get any sort of income without my family finding me within a second, what with their connections. Not if I use my real name, and I can't fake an identity for a long term job...”

“If the money is the problem,” Nino spoke up quietly and hesitantly, “Then... then maybe Master could sell me,” he suggested fearfully, as always, putting his owner's happiness far above his own, “I know I'm older now, but with my papers and with who my first trainer was I would probably still be worth more than an average-”

“No!” Sho interrupted fiercely and hugged the boy tightly to himself, no longer able to bear listening to a suggestion like that. Nino was far too precious to him by now to consider letting him go. Even for the sake of his life-long dreams. He wanted his cherished slave to stay with him as long as possible. And that was actually a reason that made his father's plans for him even worse. Because Nino couldn't know, he couldn't guess and Sho didn't have a heart to tell him yet so he could stay happy and ignorant for a little longer. But if Sho was going to enter the “high society”, then in time, he would be forced to get a different slave. Because keeping one and the same for over three years was unheard of, in those circles, “I would never willingly sell you. Not for any money in world, Nino,” he whispered heartedly, pressing a kiss to the boy's forehead and not letting go for a long minute But then, suddenly, a completely insane idea started forming in his head, “Unless...” he drew out thoughtfully, making Nino look up at him with his honey-brown eyes filled with curiosity.

“Sir?” the tiny, so utterly dependent on him creature asked innocently, and Sho just pushed his idea away for later consideration, just smiling reassuringly down at his petite slave for now.

“Nothing, little one,” he said, gently manoeuvring the boy to lie back on the bed to distract him, “Forget about it,” he muttered lovingly, now reaching down between Nino's legs to wrap his fingers around the younger man's still half-hard length, “I've made you wait for your turn far too long already,” he whispered, making Nino blush but accept his touches and intentions unconditionally, like he always did.

Within a few seconds, the slave was already writhing and moaning unrestrainedly under him and Sho's earlier idea had been moved to the very back of his mind. But not forgotten.

~~~~~~-*-~~~~~~

It was the first time that someone asked to see their documents just to drive into a city, but it didn't worry either of them. Sho's forgeries were always perfect. In fact, despite the security, the quaint little town seemed like it would be an easier place to get away with their crime in than normal – far from the rest of the world, secretive... noone would probably even risk letting the news of a runaway-slave get far enough from it and would rather simply give up on it pretty soon. Especially if they were all as rich as they were rumoured to be and as it seemed when looking at the rows of incredibly fancy houses lining the roads – an escaped slave would probably not even be that big of a monetary loss for these people. In fact, to Nino, considering the plans that were starting to form in his mind, this place seemed absolutely perfect right now.

The fact that the Market was only organized here twice a year also meant that there were a lot of newcomers in the town at the moment of their arrival, so the pair of them didn't stand out from the crowd at all. Although that did also mean that getting a hotel room was more expensive than usual. But it was a very nice room that they got for their money, Nino thought as he lay on the bed, Sho right on top of him, kissing him languidly. It was definitely better than what they usually allowed themselves, considering they knew that the money they were now earning from these runs was supposed to last them even after Nino got older and they'd have to stop.

But the extra-soft beds and an expensive set of wine glasses were not enough to make Nino truly feel any better. It had been a while since Nino had merely let himself be kissed like this, after all.

But he couldn't help it. He couldn't respond to the kiss as eagerly as he usually would have, not when there were still so many conflicted feelings inside him. So much dissatisfaction, so much need that Sho still didn't even acknowledge... So much desire to do something to change this situation that was slowly leading them towards some sort of collapse, he was sure. Or at least to Nino alone having a complete nervous breakdown.

“Are you actually worried about this for once or something?” Sho asked after breaking off the kiss, noticing that Nino didn't seem to be into it at all. The younger man shook his head.

“No I just...” he trailed off, but then continued, thinking that he might as well try and give Sho another chance, “I was just thinking that maybe... maybe if you don't mind, Sir, you could now give me that punishment for before? Since we have some time?” he asked, hopeful, because leaving that business unfinished was still bothering him incredibly, gnawing at him from inside more and more as time passed without it getting resolved. But Sho just blinked in confusion for a bit before he finally even remembered what Nino meant.

“Oh, that?” he asked, lifting himself off the smaller man as he seemed to lose the mood to continue making out, “I told you, Nino, that was fine. Really,” he said in what he must have thought was a reassuring manner and smiled, “No need to be so tense anymore, I really won't be punishing you for it. It's old stuff by now anyway. Besides, it wouldn't be nice if you had punishment marks on you in the market tomorrow. It would give the wrong message about your obedience to potential buyers,” he added distractedly as he stood up. And even though Nino had pretty much expected such an answer by now, he still had to close his eyes for a second to collect himself and not start sobbing or do something equally as uncharacteristic of him. But to Sho, ironically, the action probably actually looked like an expression of relief over being “let go easily”.

“I'll just go take a shower then. If you don't mind,” Nino intoned, adding the last part as his usual request for permission lately. Sho nodded automatically and Nino quickly got up and went into the bathroom. He didn't lock the door behind him, nor closed it completely, just like a good slave would always do. But he still allowed a grimace to appear on his face and leaned against a wall beside the door, closing his eyes, his hand instinctively lifting to his neck but finding it, as always, bare. His chest twinged in pain again, stupidly, as there hadn't been anything there for years now.

“I am only like this because you made me be this way, so why....” he muttered quietly under his breath, despair welling up inside him. It seemed things really were completely screwed up by now and there was truly no denying it.

And thus, because Sho had made him like this, Nino was able to come up with his own plan and now finalize it – something that would have been impossible for a regular slave to do in secret from his owner. He could only hope it would really work out and bring some understanding between him and his Master again.

~~~~~~-*-~~~~~~

The moment Sho limped into his room, Nino was already at his side, supporting him with his tiny body and helping him get to the bed and sit down. The taller man hissed in slight pain as he did so, careful not to put any weight on his left ankle.

“What happened, Sir?” the slave asked in a whisper, trying to keep his voice down at this late hour of the night. He knelt down in front of his owner, carefully and respectfully lifting the injured foot to take off the sock from it and inspect it once Sho gestured for him that it was okay to do so.

“Just my dumb luck and clumsiness. All went fine until the very end, but I guess I somehow sprained my ankle when I jumped off the balcony to get back home,” the older man explained with a sigh. Nino didn't really answer that, instead leaving the room to get some ice for the swelling and then getting the appendage lifted up on some pillows when he returned so that Sho could rest it comfortably. All of it in submissive silence that, to Sho, spoke heaps.

Sho knew that Nino was worried each time he went out on one of these “adventures” to test his lock-picking and alarm-disarming skills in one of the very estates that Sho's father usually took him to for the most boring of parties. The devoted slave probably didn't really approve of him putting himself at risk like that, not that he would ever voice such an opinion as it was not his place. Thus he always kept any words to himself.

But Sho knew that he needed to get as much experience in such activities as possible now, when he was still the heir of the well-respected Sakurai family and could probably talk his way out of trouble even if he did get caught. Because these skills would be crucial if they really did go through with his plan. And his kid-like ability of unlocking a simple door with a hair-pin he had “borrowed” from his sister would not be sufficient anymore. He had to get to a completely different level before he graduated. And the graduation was already getting very close.

“Would it be all right if I massaged it, Master?” Nino drew his owner from his thoughts timidly, as he carefully held a bag of ice-cubes wrapped in a towel to Sho's ankle. The older man nodded, of course, a small smile appearing on his face, unbidden, as he was reminded of the time when Nino had first been given to him and their bond had started forging with a very similar massage. He could still remember the uncertainty he had felt at that time about Nino's usefulness and about his own capabilities as a slave owner. How silly and weird that seemed now, three years later, when he could no longer imagine his life without the incredibly adorable and adoring slave in it. This petite man with a sometimes very cheeky smile, bright eyes and yet a completely deferential attitude towards his Master.

If his father only knew just exactly how much Sho had come to care for a mere lowly slave, he would probably explode in anger and regret ever having given the boy to his son. As it was, he already sometimes commented disapprovingly on how close Sho kept the boy to himself at all times, and how much he allowed him.

And now Sho was planning a completely crazy scheme of running away from home and starting a life as an outlaw. Because he didn't want the life his father had chosen for him, yes, but also in big part because he didn't want to be separated from the slave that, three years ago, he hadn't even wanted, but who now meant more to him than anything else, including the security his family could offer.

Nino was now using his hands in that magical way which made Sho's sore muscles relax completely and his entire body vibrate in pleasure. But as tempting as it was, Sho didn't allow himself to get lulled in by it and let it progress into different activities.

“I graduate next week,” he said, although it was no revelation to either of them. Nino was perfectly aware of the fact. The smaller man nodded and smiled.

“And at the top of your class,” he said, sounding incredibly proud of his Master, “With the highest grades possible, the first to do so in almost a decade.”

Sho could admit that it stroked his ego when the tiny man listed his accomplishments in such a way, but this was not about him right now.

“Nino,” he spoke up, his voice serious, “You know what I'm thinking of doing,” he brought up, meaningfully, and saw Nino bite his lower lip as he continued looking down at the flesh that his hands were massaging so skilfully.

“Yes, Sir. And I will support your every choice in any way that I can,” he pledged.

“Of course you will,” Sho replied fondly, reaching out to cup the boy's cheek, brushing his thumb lovingly over it, “You always do. But I just want to hear your own thoughts for once. I won't go through it unless I have your honest agreement. Especially with what I would be asking you to do then.”

Nino's hands stilled on his leg for a second then, but then resumed their work again

“I want my Master to do whatever makes him the happiest,” he answered, but Sho frowned.

“Nino,” he spoke up a little reproachingly, “I said I want to know your honest thoughts. Whatever misgivings you might have, please voice them now. Don't make me punish you for trying to keep something away from me. You obviously have some worries,” he finished softly and Nino lowered his head even more, ashamed, stopping the massage temporarily and putting his hands in his own lap.

“I'm sorry, Sir,” he apologized, “I am only afraid of things going wrong and Sho-sama getting in trouble. And I still don't know...” he trailed off, seemingly searching for words. His left hand shot up in a habit to run his fingers over the dark red collar adorning his neck – a search for reassurance that the object signifying Sho's claim over him always gave him, “I will certainly give my best to do what you asked of me, and I really hope I will succeed. But I still don't know how I'd manage to go against anyone I would be sold to and run away. As a slave, disobeying a Master, even if a temporary one, is something I've never had to do before and find hard to imagine doing,” he revealed his biggest fear and for a second Sho felt stumped. When he had first told Nino of his plan, the slave had looked troubled, but he hadn't mentioned anything about this and Sho had thought the boy had been simply worried in general. And he certainly hadn't thought of this problem himself.

“Wouldn't it be... You would still be obeying your real Master, so isn't that all that matters?” he asked, a little confused, but Nino just looked more troubled and ashamed at his inability to see it this simply.

“My mind just demands I obey whoever it is that I am sold to, and it can't really differentiate between a fake sale and a real one, because there was no possibility of a fake sale during my training. It wasn't an option I got prepared for. I am sorry. It's just how I work, how every slave works, Master,” Nino explained apologetically, leaving Sho's head whirring. This was certainly not a hitch he had expected to run into. But... They could solve this, he was sure. Slowly, his thoughts formed another work-around for it.

“We would no longer be what is considered a conventional understanding of “Master and his slave” if we ran away anyway,” he spoke slowly, “Things will change, there is no other possibility. Of course, you will always stay mine. But we'd be removed from society enough to be able to tweak certain things. I wouldn't mind, for example, if, for this, you were to start acting more out of your own will to get us what we need instead of just doing what either me or whoever I'd sell you to wants.”

“Own... will?” Nino asked, sounding absolutely baffled by the concept.

“Yes,” Sho latched on to the idea, “It's okay to remember it, Nino. From before you ever got sold, before your training. When you still had free will and weren't taught how to only care for what you're told to do.”

“Free... will...” Nino repeated after him, frowning a bit, “But I was born into this. It was what I always wanted?” he asked, still sounding befuddled.

“Yes,” Sho continued passionately, “But you wanted it yourself, didn't you? That's what I mean. That free will, where you still wanted things, not because of someone else, but because of yourself. Just get that back, Nino. From now on, even as my slave, it's okay to think for yourself again.”