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Cages	By : Ryoko21 Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 14164 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Wufei 177

I stayed close to Zechs the next day, trying to distract him and keep his spirits up. The other might not have seen it, but I could tell that Trowa’s setback had really damped Zechs’ spirits. It was his unending optimism and belief that was truly a help to the other slaves, but even Zechs couldn’t keep his morale high in the face of such setbacks. So I took it upon myself to keep him busy and entertained, and not to give him a spare moment to worry that he might have failed us. It was a ridiculous notion anyway, but one I knew would prey on his mind for the next several days.

We bathed together that morning, among other things, and breakfasted with Master Vincent in the main dining hall. Trowa gave a commanding singing performance, significantly better than the one the night before, and showed a renewed confidence and strength that made the worry lines on Zechs’ face fade ever so slightly.

After breakfast, Zechs and I went to retrieve his two newest slaves. Zechs had earlier arranged for them to be taken to the house instead of accompanying us on the trip, so we merely had to escort them from Vincent’s harem to the limo that would deliver them to the house. Zechs had been certain to stock the house with fresh food in case of just such an occurrence, so the two would just have to occupy themselves until we returned.

I didn’t expect much from the slaves, seeing as Vincent was willing to part with them so easily. So I wasn’t terribly surprised when Vincent approached with the pair. One, a tall man with a willowy build and a good bit of grace, was far too old to be considered a strong Collar slave. His face still held an aristocratic beauty, the fair skin and high cheekbones revealing little of his age, but his shoulder-length hair, which still showed signs of being light blonde, was streaked with white, and I guess that he was in his mid to late forties.

The second slave was much younger, probably about the same age as the rest of us. He was fairly pretty, being small and slim with reddish hair and pretty green eyes, but he had a thin, white scar running from just blow his right eye nearly to his chin. A scar like that in such a prominent place would almost entirely eliminate his value, despite the fact that he was still rather pretty.

The two wore simple, white clothes as they approached us, and I could tell from the way the larger one herded and shepherded the younger that he had served more as a servant than a bed slave. The smaller one, on the other hand, kept his head down as he fidgeted with his hands, a sure sign that he had served as a low-level bed slave before, and was well aware of his scar.

Vincent motioned for the two to go and they both moved forward and knelt in front of Zechs, placing their heads on the ground. Zechs frowned for a moment and I wondered if he’d ever received slaves in such a formal manner before, but after only a moment he seemed to pick up on what was happening and asked the two to rise and approach.

The two came forward slowly; the younger one more hesitant, while the older one seemed more accepting of his fate. Perhaps this purchase had saved him from an almost certain death. Zechs, meanwhile, stepped forward to look them over, causing the younger one to flinch as Zechs tilted his chin to look at his scar. Zechs smiled at him, though, and it was the kind of smile that was so unthreatening and warm that it could make anyone relax and smile back, as the boy did. I couldn’t blame him; I’d been on the receiving end of that smile a few times, and it was just as disarming as it was unexpected from so intimidating a figure. And, while Zechs didn’t smile at the older slave as he did the younger, and I could tell by the way they looked at each other that they had come to some sort of silent agreement, and I saw the older slave relax as well.

“Not really the cream of the crop, I’ll admit,” Vincent said as he sauntered up, “but both perfectly serviceable. It’s a shame about Waif. He was fairly pretty before his… accident.”

“On the contrary,” Zechs said, never taking his eyes off of the smaller boy. “I like a slave with… character. I’d never have managed to handle Shinigami if I didn’t like more… interesting slaves.”

“Ah… of course,” Vincent hedged, uncertain whether to be insulted or not. Considering the insult he was giving Zechs by handing him castoff slaves, however, he decided against it. “The other slave, Demos, has served me faithfully for… well, for long enough, I suppose. I’m sure he will be of great use to you.”

“Delightful,” Zechs replied, laying a hand on Demos’ shoulder. “Experienced slaves seem hard to come by in this competition. I was hoping I could find something other than youngsters. Not,” he said, giving a playful wink to Waif, “that youth doesn’t have its advantages, but I’ve found that prior experience can be a great benefit as well.”

It was, of course, the kind of tactical maneuvering, so subtle and genuine, that Zechs had made a name for himself with. Vincent was backed into a corner now by his own movements. He couldn’t very well get angry with Zechs for being pleased with the slaves, and yet it was obviously that not upsetting Master Zechs with this obvious disrespect made his blood boil. It was like a well-played game of chess, and like the sore loser he was, Vincent groused and stormed away.

But Zechs was too occupied to notice, because as much as his movements were political in nature, I could also tell that he was genuinely pleased with his new acquisitions. He was currently asking Waif about his age and previous employments.

“I’m only 18, sir, and I’ve been trained to do al sorts of house duties and chores as well as… as well as being a…”

“Companion?” Zechs asked gently, his eyes conveying that he understood what Waif had done. Waif nodded gratefully and blushed. I had to wonder how old he’d been when he’d been captured, for him to still be so timid about the subject of sex. Or perhaps Vincent was simply as unskilled of a trainer as he was a master.

“And you?” Zechs asked Demos.

“I am nearly 40 years of age, Master, as you can find in my records. I have served this household and two others and was occupied with cleaning the house, overseeing day-to-day operations, caring for and training slaves, and as a… companion, in my earlier years, Master.”

“Excellent,” Zechs said without a moment’s hesitation. “I am in great need of someone to care for my house and help watch over my slaves. They have a terrible habit of overworking themselves when I’m not watching, and I don’t need my slaves exhausted before Collar. As a trial run, I’m going to send you to my residence, placing Waif in your care. I want you to look after him and the house until I and the other slaves return. If you do a satisfactory job of caring for the boy, we will give you a trial period as my steward.”

“Master,” I prompted, “we’ll be late if we don’t hurry.”

My eyes met with Demos’ then, and a silent agreement passed between myself and the older man. I had no problems with him being placed in charge of the household, and to some extent even the other slaves. A good steward would help Zechs immensely, and I was far too busy with teaching and my own training to take on such a thorough and difficult job. However, Zechs had placed his trust in me, and I had no intention of giving it up. The care and well-being of the household could be placed in Demos’ hands, but the care and well-being of the Master would still remain in mine. Demos cast his eyes down after a moment, and I knew he understood our arrangement.

“Ah. Well, then, I’m going to send you over there,” Zechs said, directing Waif and Demos toward the awaiting plane. Zechs saw the two settled into their seats and the capable hands of his pilot, who would take them from the airport all the way to the house and see them settled in. From there, we quickly jumped into our own jet, for a quick flight to a local train station.

The island of Dr. Darus, as we had been informed in the invitation, could only be reached by train. It was puzzling how a train could reach an island, let alone be the only thing that could reach and island, and Zechs and I spent the first part of the trip debating whether an underground tunnel or a long, narrow bridge would reach the island. Quatre and Trowa, who seemed to be doing considerably better since this morning’s talk, were playing chess, while Duo had managed to convince Heero to play poker. They seemed, amazingly enough, fairly evenly matched, considering Heero’s stoic abilities and Duo’s mastery of diversion.

The island of Dr. Darus, which I had never personally seen, was no so much an island as a fortress, it turned out. Hidden in a small inlet cove surrounded by high, sheer cliffs, the island had less than 200 feet of water surrounding it on any given side, and looked more than anything like a castle surrounded by a large moat. The only place that did open into the ocean was a small opening where the cliffs surrounding it stopped and the ocean water could flow in. The building itself looked ancient, made of large, gray stones that had a very gothic appeal. If an imitation, it was an exemplary replica of ancient European architecture. If an original, it was worth a fortune.

“Hey, Zechs? Is this dude a vampire? Because… you know… I totally like my blood. All of it. Is that cool?”

“Firstly, Duo, you have to use ‘Master’ now, remember? I don’t want you to forget at this party and make me spank you again,” Zechs said, referring to an earlier slip-up before Trowa’s singing event, where Duo had accidentally called Zechs by his name. To punish him, Zechs had bared his bottom, turned him over his knee, and spanked him in front of all the other Master, which honestly didn’t invoke that much interest, until Duo started moaning and squirming, obviously turned on. The “punishment” only ended when Duo begged for forgiveness, and was handed off to Heero to be relieved. It was actually something of a lucky occurrence, given that Zechs had been somewhat known for his prudishness. That act, combined with his treatment of Trowa, had managed to begin removing that label.

“I remember,” Duo mumbled, blushing all the way to his braid.

“Secondly, I’m sure Master Darus is not a vampire. And, even if he is, I’m sure he’s not going to eat you. He’d get a toothache anyway, with all the sugar you eat,” Zechs said with a wink.

“It is impressive, though,” Quatre put in, staring out the window at the intimidating castle. “I haven’t seen anything like this since my vacation to Ireland with my family. Is that where we are?”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea,” Zechs admitted. “The invitation didn’t include directions, simply a note that the train would be sent. And, with the speeds we were traveling it’s impossible to tell exactly where we were going. So… it’s possible, I suppose.”

“Who’d wanna build a house that close to the ocean with no place to fish or swim or anything?” Duo wondered.

“Look at it logically, Duo,” I put in. “This is probably one of the hardest places to get to in the world. The sheer cliffs coming off the island and the high waves around it make it impenetrable from the sea. The sheer cliffs surrounding and the sharp updrafts from the wind coming into the canyon make it impossible to get there from air or land. And the only entrance is over that small length of bridge, which I’m sure could fall away with a moment’s notice. It’s a fortress.”

“You’d have to drop a bomb from a low-flying helicopter to make any kind of impact. The detonation of any high-level explosive should be able to decimate the castle, assuming the updrafts don’t knock it into the ocean,” Heero said neutrally, calmly staring out the window.

Everyone stared at him for several seconds, until he noticed.

“…What?”

“Ro-man,” Duo said, slinging an arm over his shoulder, “Remind me never to make you really mad, okay?”

“Likewise,” I put in as the two returned to their game. Behind me, Zechs chuckled. “This amuses you?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Just?”

“It’s just nice seeing the family getting along so well. We’ve all been so busy lately… I suppose I’ve missed this.”

“Hm,” I agreed, giving him a half smile as I resumed my seat beside him. He smiled back at me, taking my hand in his and kissing my knuckles. I let my eyes slip closed, leaning my weight against Zechs’ shoulder. Times like these were so rare in life at Collar, and I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to savor every moment.

A few minutes later, Zechs rose to go speak with the captain about the how much longer the trip would be. I decided to meditate for a few moments, only to be disturbed by an outburst from a rather distressed Trowa.

“Ack!” I heard, the then the sound of someone slamming their hands on the table. My eyes came open and I saw that every other person on the train was also staring at Trowa, who’s uncharacteristic outburst had caused everyone to freeze. “I’m not playing this anymore! I know I’m not very good, but this is ridiculous! You beat me six times already, and it would probably be more than that if you hadn’t been playing around the last three times. I saw at least twice where you had a check and just didn’t call it. Probably more than that. I’m playing poker; apparently I’m no match for you at this game.”

“I’m sorry. I just… I haven’t gotten to play chess in a long time… I really should have been easier on you, I know you’re just a beginner. I’m sorry,” Quatre said, looking embarrassed and worried. It didn’t seem like Trowa was actually angry, just frustrated, but Quatre’s reaction reminded me that the two had only recently made amends, and their relationship was still a little off. Apparantly, it reminded Trowa as well, who instantly looked sheepish and contrite.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped like that, I just don’t like being easy prey. It’s not your fault, and I’m glad you showed me how to play.”

“But he’d much rather play strip poker with us!” Duo called with his usual enthusiasm. “Come on, Trow-babe, we promise not to grope after we get you out of those skivvies!”

Trowa rose with a somewhat predatory gleam to his eyes that told me poker, at least, was something he was familiar with. Quatre began putting the pieces of the chess board away with such a disappointed look in his eyes that I rose and sat across from him.

“I hope you don’t think I’ll be as easy to defeat as Trowa, but there should be time for one game before we reach the castle.”

“More than that,” Zechs said, returning from the front as Quatre gleefully began to set up pieces. “The captain says that a bad storm is coming through, and they can’t dare the bridge for another hour or so, until the wind lets up.”

“I suppose the bridge is as precarious as it seems then?” I asked Quatre made the first move.

“So it appears.”

“I wonder… why all the extra security? Isn’t this a bit… extreme?”

“He must have something to fear, I suppose. Perhaps he’s hiding from enemies.”

“Masters at Collar are too rich and too proud to hide from anyone. Perhaps he’s hiding his secrets from the other competitors? They say Master Darus has perfected to many surgery and medical techniques that his slaves are almost superhuman. Perhaps he’s simply hiding his techniques?”

“Maybe. Or maybe he’s preparing for Collar to one day be discovered.”

Quatre and I chuckled.

“What’s so funny about that?” Zechs wondered, looking more surprised than I had expected. I’d honestly thought he was joking.

“Come on, Master,” Quatre said, “You know how old money is. Even when I was back with my family, we were under strict discipline from my father, but we knew if something really big happened we’d be able to get out of it. That’s just the way it works,” he said, his voice taking on a sad tone at the end.

“Collar has been around for decades, even before the current Owner took over and made it what it is today. It will never totally go away. Even the slaves know this. The only freedom we can find is in a kind master or death,” I said, perhaps more harshly that I wanted to, because Zechs began looking slightly ill. “It’s not so bad, really.”

“Not now that we have you,” Quatre added, looking adoringly at Zechs.

“I suppose… I suppose I just never thought of you all as staying in this until death. Of not having anything else to look forward to,” Zechs said, his tone resigned and decisive at the same time.

“There is nothing to look forward to, because we are content with what we have,” I told him seriously. “We are happy here, and ask for nothing more than to remain here as long as possible.”

At this, Zechs looked troubled, but I reached up and pulled him down into a kiss, which seemed to steady him.

“Don’t worry so much,” I chided. “We are happy. Nowhere else could we have found happiness like this. Our only wish is to remain together, and with you.”

“I understand,” Zechs said, but his smile was still too reserved for my taste. “Shouldn’t you be paying attention to your game?”

“Ah, but a skilled chess master is never distracted from his goal, even by the most…”

“Checkmate.”

“…surprising circumstances.”

“Hehe.”

“…Beginner’s luck.”

But we both knew it wasn’t.

In the next hour, we played three games of chess, and Quatre beat me easily in all but one. And I’ve never been quite convinced that Quatre didn’t let me win that game, because he was afraid of upsetting me. I have to admit, it was a bit… humbling. I had held top scores in chess since I began competing, and now a slave who had never even competed was showing me moves? My ego took a hit, if nothing else.

But the ego boost Quatre got was far more important than any embarrassment I was suffering. Quatre, who had always had such a hard time realizing his own worth, had finally found something that he excelled at naturally more than anyone else. And I felt obligated to take it one step further.

“You should take the chess tournament at Collar.”

“W-what?” Quartre asked, confused and upset. “Wufei, I didn’t mean… I don’t want to take that away from you.”

“It’s not you taking it away from me. It’s me giving it to you, because you are better than I am. With a few lessons, I won’t be able to beat you, and neither will anyone else.”

“Wufei,” Master chimed in, “aren’t you being a little petty? Quatre might have won a few games over you, but he’s nowhere near ready for a competition, and there are only a few weeks before Collar.”

“I’m not being petty. Quatre is ready to compete now. We can squeeze practice until the last two weeks before Collar, and he’ll be ready.”

“That’s too much pressure.”

“No!” Quatre put in excitedly. “Master, if Wufei thinks he can do this… I promise, I’ll work really, really hard!”

“Quatre, love,” Zechs consoled, “It’s not about how hard you work. I just don’t think you’re going to be ready in time. Wufei is already a strong player…”

“Yes, I am, but no one is going to accredit that to you,” I explained calmly. “The Owner is the one who has credit for training me in chess. Do you understand what this will do to your reputation if you manage to make an untrained slave into a winner in such a serious event as chess?”

“That’s not the issue here. I can’t risk losing this event on a gamble like this.”

“There is no risk. Somehow, he’s already better than the best.”

“That’s different than being under the pressure of the competition. I don’t want Quatre getting overwhelmed with the stress of it.”

“He’s not going to get overwhelmed any more than he would in any of the other competitions. If you don’t think he can withstand this, then he probably couldn’t withstand any of those, either. I think you’re underestimating him.”

“I’m not underestimating him, but there’s not sense in adding stress to him if I already have a good player.”

“I told you, that won’t get you any reputation. It’s going to look like you’re mooching off of the Owner’s accomplishments. Quatre is a much better choice, because he’ll show how skilled you are in training your own slaves.”

“I don’t want to risk the win by putting in someone with less experience.”

“The win isn’t the most important thing in this competition. You need a good reputation so you can trade tips with the other masters. What if you don’t win this year? The other masters will destroy your chances for next year if you get anywhere near the top and you don’t have a strong reputation. If they don’t want your training secrets, they’ll just eliminate you as competition. We might not win this year, and…”

“We will win this year!” Zechs snapped, banging his fist on the table hard enough to make the chess pieces fall over. I think it was the first time I’d ever seen him truly so frustrated that he was angry. The train fell silent as all eyes went to our master.

“Master?” Quatre put in hesitantly. “I… I can’t read minds, so I can’t guarantee that I’ll win every time, but… but I can read people really well. I know how people are going to behave, so I know how to trap them.”

“So that’s how you do it, you little imp,” I said, smiling as some of the tension left the air. “That would give you the advantage over any other competitor, as long you can control it.”

“I can! I really can! I mean, I think I can.”

“Zechs? If he learns to control his power, he’ll easily be better than me in this competition.”

“I don’t know… There really isn’t any reason too…” Zechs trailed, rubbing his eyes, a sure sign that we’d given him a headache. Still, when Quatre got that disappointed, heartbroken look on his face that rarely fails to get him what he wants, Zechs caved. “We’ll… see. Train him until Collar… and we’ll see,” Zechs said, sounding reserved, but I winked at Quatre. It seemed we’d worn him down.

Still, I had to wonder why it had taken so much to get him to change his mind? Zechs wasn’t usually so stubborn, but I supposed it could just be concern for Quatre that kept him so reserved about the idea. It wasn’t such a great risk, after all, and the probability of us not being able to win Collar the first year was pretty high. After all, it had never been done before.

But… there was almost a fevered look in Zechs’ eyes as he snapped, and something told me that he would do almost anything to ensure we won Collar.

But why?
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Cages