Archive of Our Own

For the longest time, nothing about Japan had seemed worth the move her family made all those years ago. Back when Maria had been only ten years old, still eagerly learning every inch of the surrounding woods, discovering each possible hiding spot.

Some of which still had the dried, old stains of metallic blood streaked across pale stone. Hidden beneath moss and bark to protect it from the clear rainwater from above, preventing it from washing away the pain and the fear still lingering within the small holes that had been cramped into.

Preserving it.

Maria had already had her first kill by then too, and she had been so very proud of it as well. Ecstatically pleased, to have earned her first kill so early in life all by herself. Which came far earlier than her brother had managed, who only killed his first person all by himself without assistance when he was about to turn thirteen.

Even if his first time had been far more gruesome, that didn't change the fact Maria managed to take someone out when she was just shy of her tenth birthday. So technically, she had been only nine.

Wandering those same woods while humming a soft lullaby to herself, skipping along like any happy child does while she takes in the scenery she knew like the back of her tiny palm.

Until she spotted a young lady wandering the same woods as well, a camera in her hands as she snapped pictures of the wildlife and trees. A serene smile on her face as she marveled at the way a pair of deer stood together only a short distance away, lining her shot up to capture them perfectly.

Alone, it had seemed.

Minutes go by while Maria watches the woman from behind some trees and bushes, moving silent as a predator on the prowl. Each step being naturally quiet, avoiding branches and crunchy leaves without so much as needing to glance down.

No.

Those sky blue eyes were locked in, pupils dilated to focus better, to take in every single piece of environmental information she could. From the surroundings, to the young woman's most minuscule movements.

That was when Maria struck.

In an instant, Maria had allowed her face to twist into a twisted expression of distress. One of misery and pain, as she cried out and screamed for ‘help’. Startling the woman enough to make her nearly jump back at first, with that delectable look of terror on her face.

Although it disappeared just as quickly as it came. Melting down into relief upon seeing it was only a little girl, then concern when she saw that said girl was clearly upset. Scared and wailing for help.

The kindness of strangers could be so sweet, so giving and pure in intentions.

Yet so foolish and predictable. 

Explaining through fake hitches and sobs that her brother had fallen down while they were playing and hit his head on a rock, Maria kept piling on the waterworks. Hysterical as she whimpered that there was blood, sniffling about how he wouldn't move.

Begging the woman for help as she did so.

It was so easy it almost made Maria want to apologize to her for what was about to happen, because clearly the lady had never heard of calling for professional help first. A thing Maria's mother had warned her was a possibility, so to be careful where and when to pick targets, unless they happened to wander close to their home.

Then it was free game.

Leading the woman with her by the hand as her legs carried her along, Maria had gradually gone quieter, and quieter. Cries easing up, sniffles tapering off slowly, as her hitching eventually comes to an abrupt end.

The woman had begun to look around, almost uneasy. Yet Maria kept telling her it was just over there, right around the corner, just a little more.

Until they got far enough away for Maria to stop. Silent as she raised an arm and pointed ahead, where there was a small dip in the forest. Making an almost pit like spot. One that you could get out of with some climbing, sure. 

But one you needed to bend down to look into.

“Over there.”

“Are you… sure?”

“Yes. I'm sure.”

Such a straightforward, simple reply. As sky blue eyes stared up at the woman, still glossy from the wetness that had been present prior. Yet with no new tears gathering across them. Only anticipation, only expectation.

She had come that far, so what was the harm in making sure?

The woman knelt down and leaned over, trying to see if she could see any injured boy lying down there. Squinting her eyes a bit to get a better look at the ground from beneath the cover of leaves still falling from the trees overhead.

Maria watched her kneel.

Maria dug her hand into her pocket.

And Maria pulled out her small pocket knife, gifted to her by her mother on one of her most memorable birthdays.

Short fingers wrap around the handle as tightly as she could, heart hammering against her ribs rapidly—not from fear, and not from hesitation.

Only excitement.

Rushing in and plunging the blade into the side of the woman's neck once—twice—thrice. Maria rammed it inside of her up to the hilt over, and over again. Relishing in hitting just the right spot to slash and sever the carotid artery, break the jugular vein apart despite Maria's still youthful age.

Blood gushed out of the woman in an instant, splattering across the grass and land just as it soaked itself into Maria's clothing. Turning her white shirt crimson red, sticking to her skin in its pleasant heat. Like the perfect syrup upon tender meat.

Choked noises and strangled cries elicited out from the woman as her hands rushed up to clamp themselves over her own throat. Instinctively trying to slow down the bleeding as her own fresh liquids drenched her pale hands, trickled down her wrists. 

And would not cease their endless streams no matter how hard she pressed down.

Which wasn't very hard. At least not for long.

Her entire body slumped forward very quickly after that, falling down into the shallow pit below with a thud when her body collided with the ground below. One hand still holding her bleeding neck as her other weakly reached forwards for anything to help, yet finding she could not grasp at a single thing.

Those sounds of her gurgling as she drowned in her own blood lasted only for a couple of seconds, at most.

Yet Maria still remembers it fondly, like it was yesterday. Able to close her eyes with a small smile when she needs some cozy nostalgia, and recall the exact image of it all. Each noise like it was happening right before her, in that very moment.

You never forget your first, after all.

Unfortunately it was only soon after that, a couple of months at best, perhaps—that her mother had suddenly been very hasty on them moving away. Claiming they needed to run, before they'd be taken away from their lifestyle.

Of course, both Maria and Sondre had complained. Neither sibling particularly wanting to leave the home they had grown up in, yet their mother was stern, like she always had been. 

Initially, Maria suspected Sweden would be the place to go, as it would be an easier adjustment and not very far. Their neighboring country wouldn't take too long to assimilate into, nor would it be all that difficult to fit in either, should they happen to not find a remote place right away.

However, it seemed that her mother was not wanting an easy transition. 

Because the woman had taken them all the way across the globe, to not only a different country; but a different continent all together. Such a radical change it almost melted her brain at the time, no matter how aesthetically pleasing it could be to the eye.

Japan had been a difficult place for her to settle into, for a while.

The language was completely new, meaning she spent a good few years perfecting it to fluency. Even longer to hammer in being able to read it decently well, at least enough to be confident—and she hated doing things by halves, so her confidence in it took time.

So were the customs and social expectations. Yet that was easier to pin down, and less important as she wasn't very interested in making friends, she never had been. Most of the locals would stare at her occasionally, seemingly unused to a white woman.

Particularly when she opened her mouth and could actually converse with them properly.

The worst part of the move, however, was the rules mother had imposed. Ones that practically made Maria want to tear her hair out by the roots in frustration.

No killing unless she gives permission.

Which she didn't. For the longest time.

At least, it hadn't been granted before years had passed. Meaning no human flesh to eat for what felt like an eternity of having to do with animal meat only, instead.

It wasn't as if Maria only liked humans, rather, it was a bit of a treat. Yet she missed it regardless, during the time she had to go without. That sort of meal was what gave her strength and vitality, that which kept her body strong and healthy.

But even still, Maria endured.

Eventually her mother opened a butcher shop, allowing Maria and Sondre to help her run it in hopes that their violent urges would be quelled by being allowed to carve up meat regardless. Curbing the desire with a lighter, more moral version of it until they were settled enough to know their way around better.

And it had helped a little bit.

Yet Japan remained stale, boring, and uneventful.

Hardly worth it, even when her and her brother eventually began to go on hunts together. Chasing and torturing random men or women until they bled out. Delighting in their screams of horror and agony as they abused and used them, cut their fingers off and sliced their Achilles heels, beginning to scalp them until they hoarsely begged for mercy. 

Taunting them to run if they could, laughing when they couldn't. Finding joy in their sibling bond growing at someone else's expense. All while sloppily sharing affection amongst one another, lathered in the flavor of metal and delectable misery.

Then dragging their bodies back home alive or dead to chop them up, share the spoils of their prey and loving the delicious meal that came from their hunt—it wasn't exactly the same.

Killing was a thrill, but that thrill could have been found at home too. So it was just more of the same, simply in a new place. A place that felt more unfamiliar and less practiced.

So it wasn't worth it, even if she supposed she understood the reasoning behind it.

At least in Maria's eyes.

That was, until she heard him.

While walking home one day after going out shopping for some new clothes, that was when her ears had picked up on something melodic. Something so ethereal and beautiful that it cut through her innermost thoughts, stood stark against any other sound surrounding her, and pierced her heart in an instant.

The voice of an angel.

Almost like it was forbidden to do so, Maria had slowly turned her head to find the source of the noise, the one which sounded out not far from behind her—

Then she saw him.

Truly an angel made flesh, that was all Maria could think of when her eyes landed upon the boy she felt her eyes draw themselves to. Locking in on him as he said something else to the person he was speaking to, something she couldn't quite discern through the rosy haze of her world shrinking down to nothing but him.

He looked younger than her, much younger. Skin appearing soft as silk even from a mild distance, with the most beautiful color of golden brown painting his flesh. Like the most exquisite of bronze statues displayed for all to take awe in, to stare and admire as it shone like a God's armor beneath the sun.

With such a thick head of hair, falling past his shoulders in small waves like the ocean in its gentle calm. Yet dyed in the colors of midnight black. Black like elegance, black like death. Every spool of his hair possessed that beauty, as it framed his beautiful face when it caught the rays from up above, softening it into a pleasant shade of deep brown.

Yet it was those eyes of his, those striking, beautiful red eyes of his that caught Maria's attention the most.

Both of them were drowned in the color of red, her favorite shade. Like crimson pools of blood had soaked itself into his eyesight, painting his gaze in the most wonderful of swirls bathed around his perfectly round pupils. Glistening like ruby gemstones when the light hit them just right—she could tell, even from a distance.

And to top it all off, even as young as he was; the boy had a perfectly adorable little grumpy expression plastered onto his face. Looking perpetual in the way his thick, dark eyebrows furrowed down above those perfect gems. How his little nose was crinkled by the bridge ever so slightly. All with a small scowl on his lips, as the corners tugged downwards just a tad.

God, his face reminded Maria of her deceased cat. How perfect that little girl had been to have as a feline companion, how skilled she'd been at hunting down rodents herself, just as her human family were at hunting their own game.

Even as a kitten, Siri had proudly gone for the kill of smaller prey. Even if her first had been only a slow snail, she had been visibly prideful and presented her slaughter.

Well, her name had been Siri. But everyone simply called her Pusen.

This boy, he reminded Maria so much of her, only human. Only better. Prettier. More heartstopping in ways an animal never could elicit from anyone, even if they loved their pet very much.

Could this be love?

It had to be love. 

It could be nothing else—nothing and no one else had ever made Maria's chest beat the way it did when she looked upon him, how it tore itself apart and ached with the desire to touch and hold him. How it bled a thousand gallons in only a minute to know his name, to keep him close, to make him hers.

Never had her stomach twisted itself into painful knots the way it did when she heard his voice, how her abdomen constricted in the most pleasant of pains. Not unwanted, not unwelcome—but pleasant. Joyful, even.

Everything else seemed to fade as her eyes only locked in on him, mind focusing solely on him. On watching him, knowing him, owning him.

And so, that was the moment Japan went from not worth it; to the most destined and worthwhile decision of her eighteen years of life, at that point.

Every single day, Maria would return to that same place and wait to see him again. Which wasn't very difficult, as it had been close to a Junior High School. On top of the fact that he had worn a uniform the first time she laid eyes on his angelic form, it was no stretch to think he was attending.

Which he was.

Even knowing that he was anywhere from twelve to fifteen years old did nothing to put Maria off, if anything it almost excited her more. Knowing that the chances of him being untouched rose up much higher the younger he was, it simply caused her heart to nearly skip a beat at the thought.

The thought of his virginity being hers to own made her giddy with adoration and further infatuation. To have such an intimate part of him all to herself seemed like heaven, it was all she would need to die happy.

No, no.

She needed him to be hers to ever think about being properly happy. No way she could hope to find proper joy again without it, now that she had discovered the true meaning of the word.

For a while, simply trailing him and watching from afar was enough. Staying back as Maria walked casually behind him when he'd walk home with what could only be a twin brother, based on their similar appearance—although her Pusen, he was much more perfect.

It was listening in on their conversations that quickly allowed her to learn his real name, however. One that sounded so strong, so fierce. Perfect for someone with an adorably grumpy face like he had, such a good fit for someone so strikingly gorgeous and perfect.

Sekido.

Sekido… Sekido. Sekido.

Sekido.

Sekido was such a perfect name, a wonderful name. Maria would whisper it on repeat during the night when she was in bed, shivering in ecstatic joy as her cheeks went warm at the thought of it being Sekido in her arms instead of the pillow she would grip.

Wondering how he'd smell against her, how his lithe body would feel so fragile and amazing pressing into her stronger form.

How he'd react to her grinding on him, just as she was with the pillow at night. 

Moans spill from her parted lips in soft intervals as her sky blue eyes go hazy with love and desire alike, biting down on the top of the soft fabric to growl down into it as her hips roll against the muted friction. Both silencing herself, while also imagining it being the tender flesh of Sekido's neck.

Of her Pusen's neck.

When she comes at the thought of him, it's more intense than any orgasm she has had before. Even when she would fuck one of the men she and her brother were torturing. Even when she'd fuck her brother himself.

Nothing compared.

Nothing ever could compare.

Because love transcends all, it truly does.

Days turn to weeks as Maria watches Sekido closely. Memorizing his schedule, his quirks, and his habits. Learning his address came with ease, his favorite spots to spend time following shortly after. 

All of which seemed slightly juvenile at times, despite the fact that Sekido seemed quite mature for his age—twelve, as she came to learn. Having a later birthday just as Maria herself did, he was still a little shy of being a proper teenager yet.

But she didn't mind. It was cute, if anything. How innocent and pure he was despite his near constant scowl and snappy little comments. How his face would soften when given something he liked, or flush when his siblings included him despite his half hearted protests.

Sekido was simply adorable.

Perfect.

Beautiful.

Handsome.

Gorgeous.

So she remembered all of that and more, including the small number of friends he had too. The ones outside his familial circle, that is.

All of whom made Maria see red.

Especially when a few of them happened to be girls. Filthy sluts, all of them. Trying to get closer to what was hers, looking at her man like he was some romantic option when he was clearly already spoken for.

Sekido just didn't quite know it yet.

But he would, soon enough.

Soon couldn't come too early, however. And Maria was not known for her endless patience either, not really. Not now, not when it came to the only thing she could think of, day and night. Not when it was her Pusen she agonized over, practically withering away from a lack of closeness.

So she didn't wait.

How could she?

It was an October night, the thirteenth, in fact. One day before her own birthday, only hours until it would be nineteen years on the dot that Maria Fagerlik had been brought into this world.

The perfect time to give herself the most amazing of gifts, one which she longed for. One which she needed to breathe easier, to live better.

Sky blue eyes watch from the shadows as her darling Pusen walks across the sidewalk, all alone. Having finished up his basketball practice, something he clearly enjoyed to do, at that.

Something she'd occasionally come in to watch when she could, claiming that her own younger brother was thinking of joining, when asked about why she was there. Because clearly, she stood out just a little. Not that Maria cared what others thought, but still, she needed an excuse.

And oh, how wonderful it was to watch his perfect self move. Part of Maria couldn't help but narrow her gaze whenever Sekido moved, as young as he was. Picturing him as a proper part of the family, one who could move like a predator on prey, with a blade in his hand instead of a ball.

To see him covered in the blood of fresh game, coming home to her after hunting and kissing her deeply, passionately—then presenting Maria with the body of their dinner?

She could swoon on the spot.

Even if she would much prefer to join in on the fun, there was no denying how absolutely ravishing her dear Pusen would be drenched in crimson. Liquid colors to match his striking eyes splattered across the golden brown of his skin, soaking into the soft locks of his hair and turning them damp and flavorful with copper.

That would take so much time, if it ever happened at all. Maria would be willing to be the provider—always, forever. So she wouldn't mind should the thought of actually taking a life make her love a little squeamish, she was understanding towards him. Empathetic to what he might not enjoy doing.

Not everyone was cut out to be a hunter, but he could surely enjoy the rewards of her labor nonetheless.

Pushing those thoughts aside for the time being, Maria keeps her gaze firmly locked and focused on Sekido's moving form. Stalking him in the shadows as he moves past streetlight, after streetlight. 

Up until a short while ago, the usual would have been her plan. To lure him somewhere secluded under the guise of requiring help, putting on a sad act to garner sympathy and lower his guard as she had done many times in the past. 

But Sekido was different.

Even as a young boy, from what Maria had gathered; he was smarter than that.

The type to be skeptical, unsure of someone else's intentions right off the bat. Particularly now that Maria was basically a nineteen year old, while he was still one to two months away from his thirteenth birthday. An age gap so great would send off alarm bells in his mind as to why Maria would rush towards him for assistance, instead of knocking on doors to find someone older.

Maria could practically already picture it within her mind, that little furrow of his brows. How his nose would surely crinkle up like a cat eating kibble—with his eyes narrowing at her, even if his heart would possibly twinge in a smidgen of sympathy.

Because he seemed like a good kid, he really did.

So cute.

So sharp.

So perfect.

None of that would do, and so Maria went for the plan she had thought of the moment she stepped foot outside the house that night. 

And she sprung into action.

Within only a couple of seconds—she had closed the distance between them, rushing out from the shadows across the streets as she pulled her hood over her head. Grabbing a hold of Sekido's waist from behind as she presses a sharp knife against his throat with her other.

Whatever protest or scream Sekido had begun to shout out the moment he felt an arm yank him back by his abdomen seemed to die in an instant, the moment he felt the cold steel press into his sensitive, vulnerable throat.

“Don't scream.” Maria whispers against him, ensuring she spoke in Japanese so he'd understand for sure. Even if she typically preferred English when not talking in Norwegian. “If you do, I'll slit your throat.”

Sekido pales beneath her, going eerily still as his body freezes up completely. Barely even able to breathe as his throat erratically convulses with strained swallows of panic and terror beneath the cool metal.

Yet he says nothing.

He's far too scared to say a single thing.

The obedience delights Maria instantaneously, like a hit of heroin was injected into her veins it flowed through her. An ocean of cold delight, standing stark against the volcanic heat building against her rippling abdomen.

A shuddering breath escapes her, puffing out past parted lips. Warm breath turns to visible mist in the cool air as she leans down closer against him, wrapping her hold tighter so he could never hope to escape—before she inhales deeply.

Nose flaring as she sniffs Sekido until her lungs expand to their fullest, flooding her senses with nothing but him. Blessing her body in the wonderful scent of her beloved Sekido, her sweet, adorable little Pusen.

He smells earthy, almost like the ground after rainfall. He smelled faintly of cinnamon and secondhand tobacco. With the smallest hint of something burnt, like a fireplace in its stages of a dying ember.

Maria could sniff him all day. Part of her wanted to, she really did. To simply stand there, perhaps push him down immediately onto the pavement and cage him in below her like a needy animal and just inhale him constantly—that would be amazing. Her body would be vitalized in nothing but his smell, his scent.

But she held back from that.

She could do so soon enough.

Just not right now.

First, Maria had to secure her little kitten in his new home. Then, and only then, could she begin to train him into accepting the bond they shared. She knew it might not be the easiest, as she had heard stories from how her grandfather had to imprison her grandmother months until she came around—but Maria was more than willing to go months.

She was willing to go years, even.

Lost in her own mind however, it was difficult to ground herself properly. As his youthful, perfectly slender body's backside was so wonderfully pressed up against by her front. His shorter stature reaching only her shoulders, allowing for her to press down upon him so perfectly. Breasts squishing up into his spine—it all was exactly as she imagined.

So when Sekido's voice suddenly cut through the haze, it nearly made Maria freeze a little.

“P-Please… Don't hurt m-me…” Smaller, far more weakly hoarse through fear and frozen horror to sound exactly like the Sekido she had watched and learned. The one Maria knew. The one she adored.

Yet it was still him.

And it was equally as beautiful to listen to, now so close to her open ears. Ones eager to take in each and every vibration from his vocal cords, expelled from his soft, perfect lips. Listen to all he had to say, delighting in the sound of his voice so youthful, yet deep for his age.

A masculine mix between the young innocence of his body. A face so soft, with sharp edges aching to blossom into a handsome and fiercely stark look—Maria could see it all, she could taste it all in the air as her tongue dragged across the wind.

Sekido would grow into the perfect husband, even if he was as perfect as could be already.

Simply the most amazing of men. 

The most rare of gems.

But her sweet Pusen was afraid, worried he would harmed and hurt. Not yet understanding that he meant more to Maria than life itself already, that he was her world, and she would be his moon. Forever orbiting, forever close to him.

Of course the knife was frightening, however it was an unfortunate necessity she couldn't forgo unless she wanted a screaming twelve year old alerting the close by residents as she clamped over his mouth. Potentially risking a bite or two that would allow him to shriek out for help loud enough to alert the ones awake and alert.

While Maria was confident she could drag him all the way by force, considering her stamina and strength were quite formidable—it was the resistance that would be a problem. 

Something she refused to risk with her sweet, beautiful Pusen.

To be heard and potentially seen was to be risking being caught.

And that was not acceptable. Not at all.

Exhaling shakily—not because of nerves, but because of unbridled need and desire—Maria clutches Sekido closer against her. Pressing her knife closer to the side of his throat, as her arm squeezes his abdomen harder.

Her face buries itself so deeply against his neck, it was as if she was drowning in a black sea of softness. Senses overwhelmed in the best way as the scent of nervous sweat hits her olfactory, clammy skin pressing against her needy skin.

A moan slips free without her conscious permission, yet Maria feels no guilt over it. Nor does she hide the way it feels so good when the perfect person against her gasped and shuddered when he felt it, becoming almost smaller as he shrank in terror and fear. Understanding even with his young mind just what she wanted.

Yet he said nothing about it, like a good boy.

“I won't. Just be good for me, and I won't.” Maria promised sweetly. Aching to brush his thick, perfect strands of hair away from his neck onto one side. So she could latch on right then and there and leave her mark upon him.

Curiosity flashes through her mind like lighting at the thought, striking her deep between the legs as it settles like molten lava within her abdomen.

The thought of her Pusen marked up in bruises all across his perfect, golden brown neck. Littered in colors of purple, blue, and yellow. Indents of teeth left behind that stretches across his shoulders, dipping down to his upper arms as well like he was well and truly ravished.

Like he was claimed.

Pulling back only slightly, so that Maria could be heard properly when she spoke—she stared down at Sekido. Taking in his pallid face, his wide eyes and trembling lips like they were signs of good progression. Smiling wider, so wide her teeth displayed below her pink gums as she continued on. “You think you can do that for me?”

With the threat of a knife never leaving his throat, there wasn't much Sekido felt he could do except agree. Seeing the intense look in those sky blue eyes staring down at him, paired with the most unnerving of smiles made him shiver.

Against his will or wishes, something sharp began to sting against his vision. Prickling his waterline as his initial shock wore off, stinging his eyes like needles while his sight became blurry and unfocused. Unwilling to properly see what lay right before him.

Perhaps it was for the best.

This woman was scary, anyway. Especially when she smiled.

Swallowing down his own horror and fear, Sekido tries to nod out of instinct. Yet feels only the deadly sharp blade grind against his vulnerable throat, practically aching to slice into skin and cut across bone. 

Like a warning, it pressed down. Causing him to still once again as he gripped onto his own clothing for any form of support, any sort of comfort or care.

Yet there was none.

Sniffling wetly, too wetly—Sekido hitched and whimpered. Like some frightened child. Scared for his life, terrified of the repercussions of denial, dreading the possibility of retaliation.

Because he was.

He was a frightened child.

“Y-Yeah… Okay…” Sekido finally managed to choke out. Gasped between small little whimpers as Maria's fingers dug into his waist and back, while her other arm never stopped threatening his throat.

Every breath she took felt like it was deeper than needed as well, closer than what was required.

Smelling him, constantly.

“Good, good…” With another deep exhale—Maria suddenly eases up her grip upon the young boy. On her Sekido.

Her Pusen.

She knew he'd be too scared to immediately make a run for it, as young as he was. Especially after what he just endured, all while seeing the weapon still held in one of her hands as well.

It was a no brainer. Do not run. Do not fight.

Or bad things would happen.

Maria smiled happily, extending her non offending arm forward. Holding her calloused palm upwards to the skies above as she grinned so widely, smiled at him like this was the most normal interaction in the world.

No.

Smiling too big. Too wide.

Unnatural.

“Hold my hand. No screaming. No sudden running.” She commanded, fingers curling and uncurling repeatedly by the utmost joint. Like a call to come closer. A command to approach.

Sekido stood frozen beside her, terrified of what would happen if he did not obey. If he did not listen to the strange woman against him, holding out her hand like some sort of sick invitation after threatening him so severely.

However, Maria answered the alternative rather quickly.

With a voice so sharp, it nearly made Sekido flinch backwards—Maria hissed at him. Practically grabbing his hand on her own as if she owned it, gripping it tightly as she stared. All while holding the sharp knife in her other hand, ready to strike.

“Or it'll end badly for you.” A promise from her, one which sounded real and solidified. Like she had already planned the outcome if he refused her.

Considering everything—Sekido couldn't imagine it being anything good.

And so he obeyed her wishes, even while terrified beyond belief. Despite feeling sick to his stomach as it churned and twisted with it all; Sekido held her hand back. Gripping her palm in his smaller grasp like it was his only lifeline. Ignoring the way his heart beat like a drum against his ribs.

Screamed like a banshee within his mind to ‘not go’. To ‘not do this’.

What other choice did he have?

And so Sekido held Maria's hand in his own, looking up at her ecstatic face with unease. Giving her the most false smile he could muster, which still appeared more as a scowl—and nodded.

He nodded to protect himself, not realizing that screaming for help may have been much more helpful in the moment.

How could he have known?

All he knew was to survive.

So Sekido nodded, helplessly sniffling a small little reply. One that made Maria's stomach flutter with anticipation, ache with need and desire. Widening her eyes as her smile spread so wide it looked painful against her cheeks, as her shoulders trembled forwards. Twitching as she giggled.

That was creepy.

But Sekido had no choice.

“... Okay.” He nodded along with her demands, being obedient and good so she would be kind to him. Spare him of the slit throat she had promised would come if he screamed, if he cried out loud.

Even if that was all his body ached for him to do.

Her smile stretched further across her face, cutting into her flushed cheeks as she stared down at the beautiful little boy beside her. Trembling so sweetly within her hold, tightening her grasp upon his hand hard enough to cause him to flinch.

Possessive enough to make another set of saline pearls gather across his already soaked waterline, joining the rest in their sorrow as he stared upon his future wife.

Exhaling through her nose, Maria leant down just a tad. Placing her hand with the knife against her knee as she bent, tilting her head downwards—chin closer to her chest as her cheeks strained to smile as pleasantly as possible.

Then she released that hand. Still holding his own with one, never letting go of it.

But patting his cheek with the one which still held the handle of a knife within its grasp. Slapping gently, familiarity. 

Lovingly.

“Good boy. I knew you were going to be good, Pusen min.”

Sekido didn't dare question the strange name given, even if he hardly understood what it meant. Ignoring the way Maria said it, dripping with soaking saccharine and sickly affection. How it spilled past her lips more like a curse, compared to a promised blessing.

All he could do was listen and obey, because Sekido wanted to live.

And with that; Maria led Sekido home.

Home.

The right home.

Their home.

Ignoring the way he trembled within her grasp as they walked further away, his soft, hesitant questions that would be ignored with a simple ‘later’. How he looked around until she sharply tugged him closer, ensuring he wouldn't see too much.

Once they were somewhat off the main streets—Maria wrapped a blindfold over Sekido's eyes, and picked him up like a sack of potatoes.

Carrying his sports bag over her elbow with one hand, while the other held him over her shoulder felt right. It was like he belonged against her, and was meant to be there. Despite his whimpering and wiggling, Maria would only remind him of what would happen should he fight back too hard.

Always enough to make him fall limp for a while, terrified and pliant as he trembled and twitched upon her.

It helped that his perky ass was so easy to grab in that position as well. As Maria frequently allowed her wrist to wander, until her fingers clamped down around a perfect cheek. Squeezing anywhere between hard and gentle, enough to make Pusen yelp a little and squirm.

Like the perfect little kitten he was.

Continuing on to remind him not to peek in a single song tone, meant to comfort and put him at ease—did nothing but sow further unease inside of Sekido's body. As even his mind screamed at him to shift enough to lift the blindfold, to take in anything he could and store it within his mind for future escape—his heart simply couldn't handle it.

Too terrified.

Too scared.

Maria was humming a sweet tune as they walked. One her Pusen was sure to not recognize as she waltzed through the rural area after a long while of making her way back home again, a pep in her step as they inched closer and closer to her humble abode with her man in tow, slung across her shoulder. Connected to her form.

Just as he should be.

“Who can sail without wind? Who can row without oars? Who can be separated from their friend? Without shedding tears. I can sail without wind. I can row without oars. But not be separated from my friend. Without shedding tears.”

Sekido listens in to the foreign language being sung beneath his abductor's breath, yet he couldn't discern what she was saying, or what language she spoke. 

Although in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but feel as if a part of her tune was meant to be for him. The way she gripped him tighter around the last line, each and every single time.

Maria doesn't speak to anyone when she arrived home, simply beelining for the basement as she descends with ease. Taking her perfect Sekido down alongside her, until she dropped him ass first onto the mattress she had prepared for him prior.

There wasn't much to be found in the basement yet, as it was relatively simple and barren. Yet Maria had taken the time to get him the essentials, thought of him so graciously considering the circumstances he was about to be put into.

A mattress. Paired with a blanket and a pillow to make it more warm, more comforting.

Bottles of water, so that he may remain hydrated and well through the night.

An empty bucket. For the less pleasant things, one might say. But things that Maria didn't mind, not in the slightest. She'd empty it and place it back with a smile no problem—because Sekido was the love of her life, he was hers.

She'd do anything for him.

As her Pusen grunts upon being unceremoniously thrown down onto the mattress, Maria quickly moves in to grab his slender wrists, yanking them down and holding them with one hand. 

Then she grabbed the large chain which was attached to the middle of the ground, taking the heavy metal and clasping it around his slender neck with ease. Releasing his wrists to lock it in place, despite the fact it was slightly large on him.

It would hold.

Maria could tell.

Immediately upon feeling the cold metal hit his skin, Sekido tore off his blindfold at long last. No longer caring about the threats once he realized he was being chained down somewhere, held captive in a place he never wanted to be in.

Beautiful, perfect ruby red eyes scanned around. Looking all across the barren environment surrounding him, taking in each crack and crumble in a flurry of flickering eyes and rapid breaths.

Until they landed upon her.

The woman who took him.

Pale faced and blue eyed, just like the Oni's his grandfather would yammer on about. Wail to the skies were the devil incarnate, to steer clear of any foreigner, lest they wished for their souls to be consumed and devoured on the spot.

All Sekido could do was stumble backwards, scramble like a frightened animal until he fell off the mattress and collided with the cold concrete. Chain rattling as his limbs pushed and pushed in terror, shoving him back until his spine hit a cold, hard surface.

A wall.

And it wasn't very far away from the woman standing still before him. Smiling down at him so widely, so happily. 

Lips splitting her face apart by the seams, cracking her shell into pieces as pearly whites stand proudly on display beneath pink gums. Both edges of lips stretched to their limits, so tightly wound that it looked painful. Unnatural. Uncanny.

Unnerving.

All of it while her eyes never left Sekido's shaking form. Hardly even blinking, as those pupils of hers remained dilated into wide saucers. Nearly drowning out the sky blue color of her irises as she stared at him.

Flushed cheeks. 

Heavy, ragged breathing. Matching his own, almost.

Only that Sekido's sounded panicked, scared and afraid. Rapid in every breath because he was terrified and frightened, in an unfamiliar place, next to an unfamiliar face.

While Maria's was laced with lust and desire. In need dripping heavily with arousal. Her chest rose and fell in ragged expulsions of desperation and carnality, as her body twitched in the barely suppressed instinct of a predator upon bleeding prey.

With only silence beside it.

For several moments, there was nothing but the silence and their breaths filling the air. Ragged, heavy, carnal.

Animalistic at their cores.

From both of them.

In different ways, different instincts kicking in.

Prey.

Predator.

Prey.

Predator.

Prey, looking so pretty. So vulnerable. All alone, cornered with nowhere to run…

… Predator closing in towards it, salivating at the sharp teeth lining its hungry maw. Aching for flesh to be devoured into its hungry stomach, its empty stomach. Hollow for too long.

Maria takes a step closer towards her Pusen, eyes so wide, practically blown open like dinner plates. Not wanting to miss a single part of him when he moves—not even the rise and fall of his chest as it beats up and down, erratic and fast. Rapid in his every breath as he curls against himself, pulling his knees closer towards that beating surface.

Chains rattle when he moves, gasps sound out when she takes step after step towards him. 

Ruby red eyes become wet with pearls of saline when Maria stops in front of her beautiful, perfect Pusen. Flooding his waterline as they drench thick, dark lashes when they fall down. Soaking his skin, leaving trails from the salted water across his perfect, bronze surface.

They overflow, they merge against one another until they become too large to exist upon his rapidly blinking eyes. 

All of them fall.

They come like a downpour.

And they would taste so perfect, so salted and heavenly. As if Sekido's eyes were the clouds above heaven, blessing the earth with his rain as they fall. Dripping past his perfect jaw, falling down heavy onto the concrete ground where no reasonable plant could ever hope to bloom. Not in this environment.

Yet from him, Maria almost believes it could be so.

Kneeling down before him, she ignores the sharp intake of air elicited as Sekido turns his head away. Frightened by her presence as the collar around his neck jingles and clangs against its own metal.

It was only the initial resistance.

That was normal.

It would pass.

Maria reached her hand out slowly, placing her palm against Sekido's cheek like a reverent devotee touching a holy relic would. Gentle and almost hesitant in the way her fingers danced across his cheek, in the way her palm brushed over his jaw.

When she pressed down upon his face it felt like a hot iron marking his skin, causing Sekido to hitch as he flinched away—only to be grasped by the scorching flames of her metal hold harder, as Maria gripped his face and turned it towards her.

Leaning in closer, Maria ignores the way Sekido reels back so hard the back of his skull collides with the hard, concrete wall behind him. She ignores the way he shakes his head when she places her second palm against his other cheek, locking his face in place.

And she ignores his whimpers when she presses her forehead against his own. Closing her eyes as she exhales as if this was her final destination, her nirvana at long last.

To be so intimate with her Pusen was basically the closest she could get, anyway. So it wasn't exactly wrong to think so, either.

“Please—let me—!” Sekido began to cry out, wanting to plead with her to allow him freedom. Wishing to implore onto the woman who abducted him that he was only a child, that he wanted to go home.

Yet his words were swallowed whole by Maria. As if she were nothing but a hungry shark in waters where he bled too freely, swimming in for the kill as soon as he opened his mouth—opened his vulnerabilities.

Her mouth dove against his own. Capturing his lips in a hungry, ravenous kiss like no other. With her wet, needy opening invading his own as if she owned it, without hesitation.

Without a moment of thinking on how wrong it all was.

Screams of horror were swallowed and eaten with glee against her, as Maria cradled Sekido's struggling face against her own. Moving her lips over his soft skin, moaning in ecstasy with every lap of her tongue inside his perfect, wet, cavernous mouth. 

Adoring every part of him. Savoring each molecule of flavor she could get. 

Having her eyes practically roll back into her skull from the overwhelming desire she felt upon tasting her Pusen, when her mouth locked with his own. As her wet appendage rolled around inside his cavernous, fleshy insides. All while her hips pressed needily up against him.

Rutting, grinding.

Rubbing up against Sekido in slow strokes, matching the way Maria allowed her tongue to roll around Sekido's gaping throat. 

Now open and gasping, as he stilled and shook with horror. Not knowing what to do—nor what to say. 

Only able to shake beneath his captor as she kissed him grossly. Lapped away across his saliva like it was delicious ice cream—all while she rolled her uncomfortable hips against his own. Pressed open his legs while moaning obscenely inside of him, like some weird performative whore.

Except it didn't feel performative.

It felt real.

Too real.

Sekido whined and struggled. Feeling uncomfortable and filthy already. Gagging against the invasive appendage like it was a slimy tentacle, instead of a simple tongue.

Because he didn't want it.

He never had.

Writhing against her proved futile though, as Maria only giggled against him and pinned his wrists against the wall as she deepened the kiss. Breathing through her nose so heavily it felt as if he was being placed beneath a blow dryer.

Except this woman wasn't clean and pure, not without smell the way a dryer was. 

Maria smelled of death.

Of something rotten.

Of cheap perfume doused upon the corpse of another. As if trying to hide the nasty scent hidden below. To mask it. To hide it.

Yet she tasted worse.

Metal.

Copper.

Blood.

Something unnatural, not meant for humans to taste. Not for a person to feel, not for them to experience nor digest.

Moans were moved against his neck as Maria shifted her focus. Placing her lips against his neck right below his ear as she brushed his hair away, having to kiss and bite over the thick metal chain as she did so.

“No!” Sekido wailed, now able to speak once again. Writhing against Maria like he was resisting her. Genuinely.

But she refused to hear it. Or feel it.

Easily using her strength and age—she held Sekido down.

Forcing his wrists to be pinned, while ripping his pants down his thighs as she did so.

Fighting against her was more helpless than Sekido thought it would be. More pathetic than he envisioned it, if he was being honest.

In his mind, he thought he would beat Maria because he's male and then run away. Be free and escape her like she mattered less than dirt. 

Yet the reality was worse.

Because he wasn't stronger.

She was.

Grabbing him by the legs and yanking him downwards, Maria smiled happily. 

She was getting what she wanted, no matter what he thought of it. No matter what he wanted or not—that was no matter to her. Not even secondary thoughts.

Not even a thought.

As Maria ripped off Sekido's clothes, tearing them and snarling when he protested. Holding him down with one hand as the other undressed him. Pulled his pants down, slung his boxers off with ease, like they were simply in the way—all she could do was smile.

All while Sekido wailed.

He wailed and fought as Maria straddled him.

Stop.

Screamed out that he didn't want this, sobbed and begged as she undressed herself below the waist. Rolling her hips across his flaccid penis like it belonged to her. 

Slick and soaked.

Wetness dragged over his body, again and again. Grinding itself across his most intimate area like a snail which would never relent. Warmer, more molten at its core as it pushes down, as it caresses him so harshly.

Stop.

Sekido shakes his head and cries out. Hands shaking as he violently shakes, fighting against her hold with all he could. Limbs trembling as both of Maria's hands grips his wrists like a vice, pinning them down to the hard, aching concrete floor.

Fingers dig themselves into his palm, so hard that skin nearly gives out beneath the nails of his hand. Pearls of crimson aching to blossom free under his grip as his limbs shake in their horror, as Sekido turns his head side to side relentlessly in terror.

“P-Please! Don't do this!” His shrieks become louder, more desperate. Legs kicking up to try and dislodge the scary woman from up above, she who had him pinned down and chained. She who held him with such ease, and she who would not let up.

But Maria only shakes her head and smiles.

Fluttering eyes paired with a softening smile, all she did was keen out loud when she ground back down onto his traitorous body. Giggling with manic joy as she felt something give in.

“If you wanted me to get off, you wouldn't get so hard for me.” Maria purred, almost like a cat. As if she was communicating to another of the same species.

Her Pusen.

Her kitten.

Stop.

Sekido's breathing picks up as he feels it himself. That ache between his legs he'd ignored up until that point, now throbbing and pulsating after who knows how long of her rubbing against him.

He wants to scream.

He wants to cry harder.

This couldn't be his first time—it couldn't be.

It shouldn't be.

Tears pour from his eyes as Sekido whimpers pathetically, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Feeling so small and unimportant in that moment, so unlike himself as he sniffled and whined for it to end. Not like himself, who growled at Karaku when he stole a hoodie.

Or smacked Aizetsu when he made a stupid comment.

Not the Sekido he knew himself as, who kept Urogi's hyperactive self in line. Who watched Zohakuten when their father wouldn't.

Just a little boy who couldn't even save himself.

Make it stop!

Saline burns Sekido's vision when he feels his erection go inside of something warm. Warmer than he's ever felt. So slick as well, like the wetness coated every single part of what wrapped around him.

Gasps escape him as ruby red eyes snap open, staring ahead to see what was happening—wanting to understand exactly what was happening to him, to his body.

Only to see what he feared being done in real time.

This woman was taking him inside of her.

And she looked so happy.

While Sekido was being shattered.

STOP!

Screams of horror and protest elicit from down below her, but Maria only shushed them as her hold around her Pusen's wrists tightened. Pushing them down against the floor harder when she sinks onto him.

Hitching on a pleasured breath as she feels his cock push deeper, and deeper—until she's at the hilt. With her soaked lips kissing the tense pelvis of his body, all while his hardness stretches her slick walls from the inside.

It was perfect.

A whimpery moan escapes her as Maria nearly toppled over just from sheer emotional weight. Bending her back as brunette hair fell in front of her vision, hips stuttering against her soulmate. 

Both from desperate need and incredible relief.

Finally—finally, she had him.

And her Pusen felt better than she could imagine.

Nearly matching Sekido in his cries, Maria sobs once. One fat glob of salted water forms against her inner corner, stinging her vision for but a second before it falls down.

Hitting Sekido's cheek.

Joining his own steady stream.

Molding together.

Just as their bodies were.

Maria couldn't remember the last time something felt as perfect—as good as it did now. When she started to properly move it was near heaven on earth. The way she could feel him inside of her whenever she lifted her hips before descending down was like no other.

No one could compare.

No one.

Sobs echo off the walls as Sekido begs her to stop, screams at her not to do this. But Maria knows he's only confused for now. Knows that it was just a little scary of an adjustment, one he'd learn to come around to with time and care. Something he had to overcome if he wanted to be happy—something he would overcome, because he was destined to be with her.

She knew that he was.

So she kept on going.

Sometimes forced sex was required. It built bonds, it strengthened them. 

Especially when one wanted to have a new family member enter the mix unwillingly.

“No, no, no, NO!” Sekido wails from down below, wetness coating his heated cheeks as he squirms and gasps in helpless desperation. 

Ruby red eyes are drowning beneath the Neverending pond of his tears, ones which flow endlessly out past his thick lashes. Trickling down in painful rivers as he hitches and trashes from beneath Maria's hold.

But she doesn't let up.

If anything; she increases her pace.

With the desperation lacing her Pusens voice, it was clear to Maria that he was close. She could tell by the way his face twisted, by how his muscles tensed. How his abdomen rippled and constricted below her, how his thighs twitched and kicked erratically.

She was close too.

How could she not be?

With everything she wanted below her—inside of her; how could she be anything but in heaven?

Slamming down harder, her head falls back as her grip falters against his wrists. Loud and keening as she shrieks out in pleasure. Her orgasm seizes her intensely, gripping Maria like an iron vice intent on not letting go for several seconds as she shakes.

Shakes with ecstasy, that is.

All of her trembles and seizes as she cries out in hitched, broken whimpers of happiness. Joy making her twitch while her pussy clenches eagerly around Sekido. Squeezing his throbbing cock perfectly as she grinds through it, bouncing on him just right despite being too far gone to even think on it.

That was his breaking point.

Against his wishes—against his will—Sekido sobs brokenly. Feeling his own abdomen tighten just like his balls did, before his body seizes up with his own climax.

Right inside of her.

He could feel it as it happened.

Cum being shot out from his body into hers. Ropes of sticky white filling Maria's womb as he comes, body humiliatingly enough rutting upwards slightly as if he wanted this. As if he asked for it.

No… No, please…

No like this…

Sekido falls limp.

His tears don't stop, yet his body goes lax beneath the woman who took him. Both off the street, as well as carnally.

He can't do this.

Not in the moment.

His mind feels gone.

Yet all Maria does, is mewl happily as she cups Sekido's face. Still allowing him to be buried deep inside of her as she does so, grinning wide while she nuzzles his face with joy. Rubbing her nose against his own, giggling before she steals another kiss.

Another painful, violating kiss.

Lips don't clash against Sekido's own, because his lips don't even fight it.

They only stay still while Maria devours him whole. Moving her mouth upon him as she moans and groans into his body, hips rolling against him even still as if she wanted more—like she was not satisfied just yet.

Perhaps she wasn't.

“I love you…” Maria breathed out when she finally pulled away. Face tinted in rosy pink as her sky blue eyes gaze down at him, affection and possessiveness swirling around her eyes like a whirlpool.

Sekido didn't see it, because he couldn't really process anything.

But Maria sees his lack of resistance, and takes it as an opportunity for more.

Moving once again, she already keens and mewls in pleasured need as she feels that fire reignite within her so easily. Like her Pusen was some sort of gasoline on her libido, a spark to her wants—and she takes that heat within her happily, with glee.

Leaning down over him as she begins to ride once more, Maria's smile is happy. It's ecstatic when she buries her face against Sekido's perfect neck. Placing kisses down beneath his ear, some nips and bites to spice it up between.

Then she speaks.

“I'll make sure to love you… every single day.”

You never forget your first, do you, Sekido?

It turned out that every single day loving him meant every single day spent together. 

Every single day, Maria would come downstairs to feed him. Sit with Sekido if he refused as she yapped and talked on about anything and everything, smiling and giggling like it was normal. Taking his hands in hers as she encouraged him to eat.

Even hand feeding him at times. Squealing softly about how much she adored to do so. How much she loved to take care of him.

Refilling his water often, making sure he stayed hydrated and healthy.

Spending hours downstairs with him, even if he cried. Even if he screamed. Begging for help, shrieking out curses hurled towards her. Then silence when nothing happened. 

Because Maria would just stare like he was a misbehaving pet wherever he did. Wait for his ‘tantrum’ to be over, before she resumes speaking once more.

Sekido quickly learned that his captors name was Maria. That she was nineteen years old—so six years his senior—from Norway at that, and that she was absolutely obsessed with him. He'd listen to her go on tirades about how much it had hurt her to watch him from afar. How it pained her to wait for him.

How she was so much happier now that she had him, how she could now rest easy knowing he was hers forever. That nothing could ever bring her down again.

It all made Sekido feel so sick.

Sometimes an older woman with a scar would come see him. Her eyes were colder, more detached than Maria herself. But she looked vaguely like Maria. Only older.

The mother, perhaps.

Sekido had tried to beg her for help when he first saw signs of other life. Sobbed and pleaded for her to call the police, for her to unchain him and let him go. 

As pitiful as it was to beg, Sekido had done it.

Yet the woman only stared. 

Frowned.

Then scoffed, before she left.

Never to be heard from again.

Another person also showed up on occasion. Yet he often spoke a language Sekido didn't understand very well.

Maria's brother.

He'd glare, and he'd glower. Sometimes he even grabbed Sekido by the hair and shook him violently. Asking him what was so special about him, what he did to ‘steal his Maria away’.

Sekido never wanted to steal anyone.

He never wanted her.

If anything, Sekido would happily give Maria up to Sondre if he could.

But he couldn't.

Because she was obsessed.

So much so, she even went against her own family for him. Because plenty of times when Sondre harassed him, she would hear him from upstairs. Rushing down in an instant, then flying into a wrathful rage within a heartbeat.

Many times had Sekido watched Maria beat the living shit out of Sondre, right in front of him. Punches against his already unfortunate face landing heavy. Kicks to his body slamming in hard. Bites and screams echoing off the walls.

Until she calms down.

Then she kisses him.

Kissing Sondre on the lips slowly. Holding his bloodied face and promising him that he will always be her brother. But that he has to be nice to Sekido. He has to be nice to the man she chose, no matter what.

At first Sekido didn't understand that.

But eventually he did.

Because Maria was diligent in teaching him Norwegian.

Between rapes, that is.

Since every single day was paired with at least one instance of forced sex. If not multiple. It depended on her mood, on her drive. Never his own. Only hers.

Stop… He's had enough…

It was torture. It was hell.

Sekido began to lay listless constantly, for every single time she would take him so carnally. Willing his own mind to escape so that he wouldn't live in the horrific moment. Gasping for air like a diver without an oxygen tank when he comes inside of her, yet moving like a fish on land with no mind to match.

It was worth it for the better things.

Such as her simply talking to him.

Teaching him something new.

Not letting Sekido be isolated completely.

After a while, Sekido stops wondering about his brothers. He stops thinking about his dad missing him. Simply perking up when Maria opens the door and walks down the stairs towards him, smiling as she sits down next to him and feeds him his next meal. 

Kissing back when she cups his face and presses her lips against his own in a slow dance of passion. Moaning deep against her as her fingers run through his hair in possessiveness, in ownership of him.

Sekido moans even louder when she mounts him and takes him as a ride. Nodding along while his arms wrap around her neck eagerly. Begging her to mark him again, practically sobbing for another bruise to taint his neck in proof of her love.

Which Maria always, always, accepts eagerly.

She would have done it regardless. But to be asked was to be accepted, and to be accepted was to be loved.

When Maria finally unchained Sekido and allowed him upstairs, it felt like a milestone in their relationship. 

Two years.

Two years of the basement.

It should have been amazing, it should have been everything they could want.

But then… it crumbled.

“I'm pregnant!”

Sekido had stared at her. Wide eyed and silent as he glanced towards the test she held in her hand. Clearblue stick shaking in her grip as she shoved it closer, presenting the results towards him only three days after he was let out of the basement.

Positive.

It was positive. Maria was pregnant, for sure. Because she may be crazy—but something like this? She possibly took multiple tests over days. Which meant the reason she let Sekido upstairs had to be for that reason, at least so he thinks.

It made his sense of security shatter.

Sekido had lost track of time, truly, he had.

But when he glanced towards Sondre's phone that first day?

Two years.

He would only be fifteen, at most.

Now he was meant to be a father.

The fragile illusion built overtime seemed to falter into pieces, as Sekido stared at his wife—no, his captor with horror. With panic.

She couldn't be, right?

“Pregnant…?” Sekido feels his mouth go dry as his eyes flicker between the test and the woman. Ruby reds widening in slow dawning horror.

Horror that Maria seems to not notice. Or she simply ignores it.

“Yes!” Her voice pitches upwards, as Maria jumps and bounces on her heels. Grinning so wide—so wide, that same wide smile Sekido remembers haunting his nightmares.

Too wide. Too large.

Maria shakes her head, not in upset, but in happiness. As her hands retract away from him so she could spin like a doll-like ballerina. One upon a music box. Fake and plastic. “Isn't this amazing? After so long…!”

So long…

So long of what?

Trying? He never tired. Not ever. Only she did.

It suddenly feels like a tidal wave again. As if all the trauma Sekido had repressed came crashing down against him, washing over him and reminding him of how little he wanted any of this. How he never asked for a single thing of this life.

But he can't say that.

So all he can do is nod. Forcing a smile while his soul slowly crumbles from within. Nodding along mindlessly as his brain begins to run across acres to understand. Yet finding nothing but his own pathetic weakness. “Y-Yeah… it is…”

That seemed to be enough for Maria. As she beamed like a blazing sun. Squealing loudly while she jumped up and down, before her body shot forwards onto his slightly smaller form. Wrapping her arms around him in a suffocating hug, pressing his face against her neck as she inhales his own.

Like she always did.

Smell him.

Inhale him.

“Oh, Pusen min. This is one of the best days of my life! Don't you agree?” Maria giggled, so ecstatic as she squeezed him even closer. Lips finding their way to his neck even through his long locks. Burying her face so deeply against him there was no barrier to stop her.

Never enough to stop her.

“... Yeah…”  Sekido breathes out shakily, tilting his head back as he feels Maria teeth grazing his jugular. Wet appendage lapping up across his skin as she latches on, already seeking more than he could give. Groping and feeling him up as if they were a loving couple having wonderful news shared between one another.

His world wanted to shatter.

But Sekido couldn't. Not like this.

So he only nods along, and agrees to what she wants to hear. Forces a smile for her sake, so that she wouldn't accuse him of anything. Wouldn't get angry or sad.

“I agree.”

It was her happiest day, just as she said. Possibly.

It was one of Sekido's worst.

His worst being the day she took him.

This might be the second. He remembered that now. How awful his life was. How scary living with Maria was.

But he couldn't do anything but smile.

Sekido was in hell. The lowest circle.

Unable to escape when he was with her.