Chapter 1 The young man lounged languidly against the high bar, one finger slowly stirring the alcohol in the glass before him. Sensually, he sucked the liquid from his fingertip, drawing appreciative glances from the patrons around him. He lowered his eyelids and let a small, seductive smile play about his lips, a smile calculated to raise blood pressures, but inwardly he sighed. Boring boring boring. Ever since Duke Maki left to defend the borders against the Northern invasion, taking a large tier of upper nobility with him, there hadn't been many good conversationalists among his clients. He was left playing courtier to the bored (and boring) wives of those absent nobles. Sometimes he regretted the high price The Silk Chamber put on his services, because it put him out of the price range of some of the more interesting denizens of Kanagawa. The young man swept a concealed glance around the opulent chamber, with is hushed atmosphere, delicate music, and well-dressed clientele, and suppressed a more audible sigh. The Silk Chamber was, despite its pretensions, a purveyor of the oldest profession in the world. Admittedly, it was an extremely high-class establishment, but it was still a brothel. He didn't have many choices, though - besides the fact that he had been sold to The Silk Chamber, which would be loathe to give up its star asset, he still remembered the desperate months on the streets, when futility and despair had robbed his mother of the will to live. Following her death, he had barely survived in a hand-to-mouth existence. He never wanted to return to that life, even if it meant selling himself nightly. "Akira." He turned at the sound of his name and smiled at the shorter youth. "Kenji." He nodded in acknowledgement. The slight waif in front of him was another of the Duke's favorites at The Chamber. His large eyes, framed by thick, long lashes, and delicate features made him appear younger than his twenty-two years. He glanced past Kenji's shoulder and smiled slightly, "He's here again? My, my, Kenji, he's certainly persistent." Kenji glanced back at the man seated at a corner table and nodded happily. The man in question was Baron Hanagata, a minor noble of the court, more scholar than warrior. His slightly myopic eyes lit up when he saw Kenji looking at him. Akira Sendoh rolled his eyes cynically. The Baron wasn't rich or powerful enough to break the financial bonds that tied Kenji to The Chamber. As it was, he could barely afford the price of Kenji's companionship, let alone any ... more intimate types of services. Watching Kenji hurry back to the table with two glasses of wine, Sendoh wondered if it would better to sever his hopes or let him learn on his own. The soft chime of silver bells drew Sendoh's attention to the doorway. The heavy drapes were drawn back by the bowing figure of The Chamber's majordomo. Sendoh frowned inwardly, but didn't let his feelings mar his perfectly composed features. The majordomo was rarely so obsequious, unless it was a major patron such as the Duke, and Sendoh didn't recognize the cloaked and hooded figure who appeared in the shadowed aperture. Admittedly, the figure was completely obscured by the heavy cloak, his or her features completely veiled, but Sendoh prided himself on being able to recognize any of The Chamber's major clients by the way they held themselves, their silhouettes, or by their movements. This wasn't anyone he recognized. From the height of the figure, Sendoh guessed that it was a man. Sendoh pretended to sip his wine, but kept his attention on the two standing in the doorway. The cloaked figure slowly scanned the room while the majordomo stood in hushed attention at his side. Sendoh felt an electric tingle shoot through him when he felt the man's glance pass over him, then focus on him. From the corner of his eye he could see the tall figure bend to speak to the majordomo, who nodded eagerly and practically scuttled to where Sendoh stood. "Akira, this gentleman comes with a complete carte blanche from the Duke. See that he gets special treatment." The excited whisper piqued Sendoh's interest even further. Carte blanche meant the stranger could have his pick of any entertainment The Chamber offered, for as long as he chose, and the Duke would pay for it all. Sendoh's mind boggled at the thought of the usually tight-fisted Duke giving carte blanche to _anyone_. Sendoh sauntered to the silent figure by the door, and smiled his best smile. He dropped his voice to a sexy, suggestive purr, "Welcome to The Chamber, my lord. My name's Akira and I'll be happy to serve you...however you like." ---------------------------- The soft susurration of skin against skin, breathy grunts, and the occasional sharper slaps of contact of naked flesh were the only sounds in the luxuriously appointed room. The sweat beading on Sendoh's skin gleamed in the golden lamplight. He studied the bare body of the youth stretched out beneath him, his muscles taut with tension. A low exclamation of pain was muffled in the rumpled linens. "So how does it feel?" Sendoh did not cease his movements. "It... ngh... hurts, dammit. Can't you be a little more... oof...gentle? I thought you were trained in this kind of thing!" "If it doesn't hurt, I'm not doing it right." "Do people really pay you for pain?" "It'll feel better in a minute; trust me." A sudden in-drawn breath drew a small smirk to Sendoh's lips. "Right here, hm? Am I hitting the right spot?" A low groan answered him. "I'll take that as a yes." The youth's back arched as Sendoh pushed forward. "Relax, relax. This doesn't work if you don't relax yourself and just enjoy it." "Mmmmh...." The sigh trailed off into a low exhalation. Sendoh's smirk widened to a grin as he slowed the rhythmic motion. The tight muscles were visibly relaxing, the tight tension that the youth held himself in finally fading. He mentally congratulated himself - the massage was definitely a good idea. Sendoh warmed some spiced oil in his hands and slid them slowly against the pale skin before him. He could finally try some of the more seductive strokes on the young man. The deep, bone-digging massage beforehand hadn't been entirely voluntary on his part-the youth had been too jumpy and tense for him to try anything more intimate. He still didn't know what the... child, really, was doing at The Chamber. His lips quirked as he recalled the way the youth had reacted to his first attempt at his job.... ---------------------- Sendoh glanced curiously at the hooded stranger as they walked along a torch-lit corridor. He hadn't responded to his flirtation, merely gesturing with gloved hands that Sendoh was to lead. Sendoh stopped at a large, ornate door of beautifully inlaid wood. He unlocked the door with a silver key tied about his neck and entered. The stranger paused warily before stepping in behind him. Sendoh watched with increasing incredulity and some amusement as his client prowled the circumference of the large chamber, as if inspecting for vermin. He had the sense of watching a wild animal that had wandered into unfamiliar - and hostile-territory. He smothered a grin as he noticed the way the stranger examined everything but the large four-poster that dominated the room. "You know," Sendoh drawled suggestively, leaning against the door, "You might be more comfortable if you... take off something." The stranger stiffened and, with an abrupt movement, tossed his hood back. Sendoh deflected the glare sent his way with a small smile, covering his surprise. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, really, but it certainly wasn't the beautiful young man before him - the beautiful, faintly apprehensive young man. He looked like a refugee from a high romance the bards were always singing about- the pale skin, dark, tousled locks of hair, aesthetic cheekbones, long-lashed, arrogant eyes, aristocratic brow.... Sendoh's curiosity was pricked a second time, what was he doing in a place like this... as a patron? He glared at Sendoh for a moment before turning and stalking to the large bed. He sat down at the edge of the bed with a thump and tilted his chin at Sendoh. "Well? Let's do it, then," he growled, his voice low and husky. Sendoh blinked. With an arched eyebrow and a mental shrug, he pushed himself from the door, and sauntered over to the lad. He leaned in close, reached out, and slid a finger along the clean line of his neck, stopping at his collarbone. The young man held himself still, tense and watchful. "Well, it's a lot easier to 'do it' if there isn't quite so much between us," he murmured. Sendoh hooked his finger through the tie that held the youth's cloak together and slowly pulled it apart. Another surprise: unlike the usual patrons of The Chamber, the youth wore only a simple linen tunic, belted with a plain leather belt, over rough cotton trousers. He wore no jewelry except for a piece of clear crystal tied with a leather thong about his neck. Sendoh concealed his confusion behind lowered eyelashes. There was nothing about this youth that suggested the kind of power and wealth a friend of the Duke would have. Sendoh knelt gracefully before him and unbuckled the belt, then unlaced the front of the white tunic. Glancing up, he saw the youth staring fixedly at a corner of the room, as if none of this was happening to him. Sendoh pursed his lips, slightly piqued by the inattention. With a wicked grin, he slid the tunic from the youth's shoulder and with his lips captured the rosy nipple exposed in front of him. The youth leapt up with a strangled yelp. "What are you doing?!" Satisfied with the reaction, Sendoh said innocently, "Why, undressing you, my lord." "I meant the... the...." His face flamed as he tried to find words. "Ah, foreplay, my lord. Prelude to intercourse." Sendoh maintained his innocent look with difficulty. "I thought you just... and I just...." His hands gestured vaguely, the blush creeping up to his ears. Sendoh suppressed the howl of laughter that threatened. "Nononono. A special guest of Duke Maki not getting the full treatment? Scandalous." He widened his eyes in an exaggerated parody of a scandalized goodwife (a goodwife who would no doubt have been scandalized if she knew half of what went on in The Chamber, but that's a different matter). Sendoh pushed him firmly to the bed, and had him down to his smallclothes within minutes. There were benefits to simplicity, Sendoh mused, reflecting that some of the more complicated court wear that certain patrons favored could take an hour or more to remove. The youth was quiet again, tension etching the lines of his slim figure. Shaking his head in exasperation, Sendoh slid out of his silk robe, but kept his flowing silk trousers on. He crawled to the center of the bed and patted the space beside him. The young man followed suit, slowly. "Come on, lie down." Sendoh coaxed. With a slightly suspicious glance, the youth lay on his stomach, arms stiff at his sides. Sendoh lay one palm against his bare back, and watched as all the muscles in his body tensed. "Relax, relax." With a sigh, he started kneading. ------------------- The muscles he slid his hands over were finally relaxed, Sendoh noted. He softened his strokes even more, starting to draw his hands over the more sensitive areas of the body... a long gentle stroke down the spinal cord to the base of the spine, a feather-light brush against the curve of his rear, flowing down to the soft flesh behind his knees, and a trailing touch along the tender inner thigh to the hidden area between his legs.... No reaction. Huh? Sendoh glanced up the long, slender body to where a tousled head was buried in soft pillows. Asleep. Sendoh flopped down onto the bed beside him and had to laugh at himself. He did too good a job of relaxing the young man. He shrugged. The lad had a carte blanche from the Duke himself. If he felt like using it to sleep, Sendoh certainly wouldn't object. Pulling a fur over them both, he tucked himself against the warm body and closed his eyes. Tomorrow, tomorrow he'd ask him his name....