Elska pants into the floor with wrists twisting to break free, 'Please-be-done…please-be-done.', unsure of how to process.
Nanami, the kind manager structured by integrity transposed into something enigmatically more twisted while in that frenzied state. His threat echos cranially.
"After unwisely altering me as you have, I feel my darkness flooding. In order to save Ieiri, I will subject you to whatever I please…"
'W-what was that? Was Nanami still frenzied? That has to be it. Yeah. He just wasn't himself...'
Nanami's domination proceeded until he finished and then almost instantly after his release collapsed back into reality but hasn't done much since. Horrified however, Elska's positive the others must have heard or sensed them because there's no way all of that energy went unnoticed. He groans and she feels his member steadily exiting so with a spark of adrenaline, she bursts with the plea, "N-Nanami...untie me! Please!"
Nanami stares down at the area of floor between his parted knees, dazed and slouching his weight in place. His vision steadily blurs as he fixates on the DNA leaking from Elska onto the floor but his entire body tenses up when a tear falls, no longer obscuring the disastrous evidence of his actions.
Her quiet signs of emotional stress lecture him but as much as he wants to apologize, it's not that simple. The truth is, at this moment, he can't even look at Elska.
Heavy galloping footsteps approach the room obliging Nanami's forehead to the floor while still on his knees.
"How could I do tha-"
Nanami slams the side of his fist into the floor. Nothing makes sense to him. Frustration encases him and this only worsens when memories of Shoko race to his thoughts.
"What did I…", stuttering breaths brokenly disassemble, "…Ieir-i…"
Elska wipes her tears away only to have more well up as Nanami devastatingly wails a few feet in front of her. Naturally, she lifts a shaking hand to offer support.
"DON'T!"
"I'm…so sor-ry…", she quietly replies, now beginning to sob with him. She senses her turned and feels relief but also a maddening rush of discomfiture when she considers how she's positioned. 'Will they really understand?', riddles her with deep pits that hold no base, 'But honestly...was this...even normal?'
"BABBY!", Naoya bursts through the door, forgetting to breathe as his eyes rake over Elska's brutalized appearance, losing the finite grasp he had on positivity.
"What...the fuck…", he coldly interrogates while briskly trotting over and drops to his knees to help Elska, "What is...holy sh-…", Naoya's stomach burns with hatred, but "Princess, tell me you're okay.", are the only words he can assemble in the first seconds as he rips her restraints and blindfold away.
"Jesus…", Naoya squints as he can smell some of her blood and even though it's a small amount, everything about this ruffles him.
"Feed baby…please feed…", he soothes while cupping the back of her head. Her breathing becomes heavier in anguish and all he can do is sink into the floor as her heaving cries breeze along his neck and chest. "It's okay baby…", he kindly whispers in contrast to his increasing hypertonicity once his rancorous scowl lands on Nanami.
Toji and Gojo slowly enter into the room and bring with them a heaviness that infects the air with ambivalent truth. They don't notice the cloth dangling from Elska's wrist nor the impression marks on her thighs but that's likely caused by their disinclination to even be in this scenario to begin with. The giant especially struggles to maintain his stoic expression when he hears her decompose into Naoya's hold. He only knows to stand there and observe as Gojo knees down beside them but its hard to even complete that much while trying to tune out the maddened cries from Kento.
'Maybe it didn't go well then…', the giant anguishes.
While studying her trembling hands loosely gripping Naoya's bare shoulders, Toji combats a new wave of helplessness that leads him to a mental list of how unfair this shit is but tries to shake it away because he understands beating himself up over this situation would be fruitless. They knew what was happening and stood by in order to ensure Elska's success and this is something he knows a man would own. Sachiko flashes behind his eyes though and the fear that accompanies him as he contemplates what the future holds with Elska nearly churns his stomach, 'I can't lose her too. I can't.'
"My love…", Satoru whispers in her ear, "You did it. You saved him…"
Gojo kisses her temple deeply, "Thank you for saving him…", knowing that although he'd rather comfort her all night, Nanami needs help too and is without a support system. He stands up and approaches his friend who has yet to sit up while wondering through his own experience, if there's really anything that could make Nanami feel better.
Choso walks in now, he was making sure Shoko's reverse technique was still working and frowns immediately while taking in the way Naoya clutches Elska and the dead look in Toji's eyes. He too wants to check on Elska though and can't help but notice her superficial injuries, "Master…please feed…", he prompts sheepishly, "It will make us all feel better."
"…O…okay…"
She darts her eyes over to Nanami who seems more catatonic than responsive and eases into the response, "I-I'm alright. Just a little rattled… I'll feed."
With this said, she pierces her prince's neck and bathes in their wonderful embrace as his baritone voice sings to the intrusion. Her injuries weren't as bad as they probably looked so she doesn't need to take much but is certainly able to appreciate the calming affect his sweetness brings her.
'My prince.', she thinks to herself as his care and worries gush across her tongue.
When Elska lifts her head away and closes the wounds, she shifts around a bit and dares to view Naoya. To her misfortune, she notices that her prince's gaze is of her legs and how his brow vehemently bends further the longer he looks. When Naoya's eyes finally reach hers which are watering, his amber ones glow red with duty. She wasn't exactly sure what that expression meant at the time but it soon evolves into action.
"That's it.", the Zenin snaps, quickly lifting her up into his arms, "We're leaving baby."
Toji's eyes narrow, "Let's just wait a second bo-…"
"I SAID WE ARE FUCKINGLEAVING!"
Elska jumps in his hold, unnerved by Naoya's malicious tone and is convinced to remain inaudible as the golden light travels over them both, stinging. She senses an incredible fury within him, something she's not used to feeling from her loving prince.
'Is he really that pissed?!', she worries with less capacity in her lungs like his disdain steals the air she was about to breathe in.
With care, Naoya squeezes her for a moment, wanting to convey that he isn't angry with her but proceeds to look at Toji while barking, "Cho, send us to my estate. Now."
After perceiving the grotesque amount of Nanami's fluid lingering down Elska's thighs, he'd had enough. He's so fucking sick and tired of her being put in stupid fucking situations and not being able to do anything about.
Naoya needs to get away from there. With her. He needs to shield her, protect her. She's not safe. She needs care, love. He needs to save her.
He needs to escape.
"Your estate?!", Toji growls, not being sure that's really the best place for them to go, "God damn it Naoya…", his eyes fall to his doll who is cowering in his cousin's arms but begins to understand that the blonde simply needs to get out of there. Toji resonates that for he wishes to do the same thing.
"Don't leave her fucking side while you're there boy. We do not need any repeats of before, you got it?!", the giant huffs when Naoya shouts that of course he will because the idea of her being surrounded by Zenin men is the last thing any of them need to think about.
Choso glances over at Gojo's nearly bare body with eyes full of questions such as, 'Should I?', but the being is met with a nod of approval from the silver shaman which makes him even more hesitant but knows that he can bring the others to her once they settle things here, "Okay then, I'll do it.
"My prince?", Elska asks in a small voice, half worried that he's irate with her over what happened with Nanami.
He holds silent until Choso stands to map the portal, making her increasingly nervous. Her eyes dance around to view all of her turned while the atmosphere pressurizes to Choso's technique, unable to bring herself to even think anything to them as sheets and some cheap gray PaperMate pens whoosh across the room. She was opening her mouth to remind Nanami that he's not a monster but her thought process breaks when Naoya's quick feet take them through the portal's opening.
The portal shuts and the whirring wind flattens into quiet stagnation as a few items are heard falling to the floor.
Gojo laments to their absence and raises a hand to place onto Nanami but the manager jerks away and wails in a rage.
"This isn't your fault man…", he tries offering to his friend but this is when Satoru finally sees the makeshift cuffs and with a flickering eyebrow, more cautiously expresses, "Please look at me Nanamin…we will get through this."
When met with nothing promising and weird suspicions rising within, Gojo sighs and looks over at Choso to ask, "Could you go get Shoko?"
At the mention of her, Nanami snaps his head up.
"NO!", the manager's eyes are wide, terrified and wet with hands trembling out of dread; he can't imagine that his wonderful girlfriend is even still his girlfriend after he viciously assaulted her.
Similar to Gojo, Nanami definitely has a dark air buried deep within the soil of his soul but he would never have done that to Shoko without her or anyone without consent. He actually prefers to treat Ieiri with respect because of how much she means to him too so unless she asks for it, he's not usually even rough with her. Flashes of memories burn into his mind because this time he was rough, unimaginably so.
He brutally took Shoko with force and then even went after Elska because something in him was left unsatisfied with Ieiri, this too being something he doesn't fully understand. The sweet horrors Nanami relives of mounting Elska flood him in this moment but all he can say in explanation is, "I didn't mean to do that to Oda…I can't belie-...", his insecure voice resounding low in volume, whispering, "What the fuck...why??!" The air hits his cooling body reminding him that he's completely naked which causes him to shiver and appear even more disheveled than before.
Toji catches this and walks over to the bed to rip off the top blanket before draping it around the disordered man. When Kento wraps it around his body on the floor, his bewilderment is for all to see which causes Toji to admit, "You have nothing to fear from us. You were critically wounded in the forest and had to be turned by my doll in order to be saved. We know you wouldn't do this on your own."
Nanami's brow furrows as if he's trying to remember and his gaze drifts off and away from the giant.
"This was all part of that process of your awakening. Don't you remember Gojo and I fighting over my own? That stuff right there gets pretty nasty.", Toji's doing his best to not let his actual discontent for the situation show because he understands too much to ignorantly spew meaningless hatred. Nanami still seems pretty perplexed though and with his own nerves wearing thin, Toji decides it may still be too early for him to comprehend everything and leaves it alone.
Gojo tries to offer comfort through his hand again, having more success, "I'm the one that hurt you Nanamin…"
Satoru witnesses the exact moment Kento recalls the incident and watches the blonde go pale and cover his mouth as if he's going to puke.
"I…", Gojo exhales into a long sigh, "I'm the reason why you had to do that with my love. We tried to change this fate but you were too strong for us to avoid it…and well...there wasn't really any other way..."
Nanami inhales sharply as if the reminder of plowing through Elska causes physical pain.
"But why would I do that to her?!", he wishes he could delete that record from his head, he doesn't need it decaying his thoughts, "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE."
Gojo's eyes darken with shame, "I'm...I'm sorry, Nanamin..."
'Ieiri…', floats through Kento's awareness when Choso finally stands to retrieve her but now he's back to being afraid to face her.
"NO!", he calls out to the being desperately, "I…I can't see her."
Nanami's neck now lowers forward as his teeth threaten to shatter from the tension in his jaw, "What I did…I did unspeakable things...", he now traps his fingers into his hair and pulls while anxiety cuts at all of his seams and roars.
Toji looks at Gojo and thinks, 'Have you ever seen him like this before?', concerned with all the broken pieces that now make Nanami as he gently rocks himself. Gojo doesn't think anything back to him but merely shakes his head with remorse, clearly worried about Nanami as well.
Toji isn't even sure of what to do right now. He's never been that great with emotional situations and this shows as he folds his arms and awkwardly stands there while the grown man whimpers into tears. He wonders to himself how they should move forward, how they can make sense of everything. The atrocious question stings his consciousness, 'What if some of the volunteers she turns are past the threshold?', and the idea of any unknown man having to receive her fully for the ritual creates a stance of opposition for the first time since Genghis brought the plan up with him. Toji is not about to let this happen again and knows that none of the others will stand for that either.
Gojo's lip quivers. The sound of Nanami suffering through this course cuts deeply. Although he's happy that everything ultimately worked out on the surface, there's a lack of words that can be used to truly describe the detriment that survives as an outcome. He hopes that with time, Nanami will be able to forgive himself but Satoru also knows what kind of man he is…how good he's become and how after being hinted evidence of this little bondage bonding, that's not likely to merely happen.
Gojo also wants to check on Elska too. There's still a bit of dread that lurks within over the topic of her and Nanami and he believes that this exists within the others currently as well, despite the necessity of their bonding. Gojo knows that they had sex three times instead of the mandatory one but he at least is more eased in this department when he can clearly see Kento's regret.
'But he definitely trapped her in here. He doesn't seem to want my love right now and she didn't show signs of really changing in terms of him either so maybe…maybe I'm wrong.', these internal epiphanies comforting him immeasurably.
Choso walks in with Shoko passed out in his hold and explains, "She will be out for a while still…she wanted to rest so I assisted with my technique.", before gently laying her down in the bed. He darts his dark eyes over to Nanami, "She's healed up now too so don't worry.", but the comment has the opposite affect on Nanami who becomes visibly distraught to that bit of information. "I just meant tha-…"
As Nanami's breaking down again, Gojo grabs his shoulders and shakes him while saying, "Please calm down Nanamin!!", sighing when that doesn't work. His head now hangs low too, feeling the strange sensation of completefault. With desolation in the forefront of his emotions, Gojo hugs the blanketed blonde and lets him sob with support. When Nanami screams out "WHY?! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME?!", Gojo's eyes visibly darken as they shift to Toji.
Toji frowns but still isn't sure as to what to say nor does he know how to calm the man down. He knows for a fact how worthless one feels after committing atrocities in the frenzied state however. Toji also understands that the culpability is something one has to work through on their own but he'd be lying if he said the acceptance he felt from Elska after he was himself again didn't save him from the cruelest of emotions the situation brings. With a hard huff, Toji now thinks he knows what to do, though he's weirded out by what that is.
Nanami hears Toji's heavy footsteps nearing him but he doesn't even turn his head from Gojo's shoulder, thinking he deserves whatever is about to happen. He takes a deep breath and contemplates about how much he wants to be with Shoko, how she's literally perfect for him in every way and how long he waited for her to be his. As he's falling deeper into despair and is anticipating a hard fist, Nanami is shocked by the feeling of Toji's arms tucking under his own to lift him to his feet.
Gojo stands up and steps back as he witnesses the rare, affectionate demonstration from the giant. If Nanami wasn't so bad off at the moment, Gojo might have even felt jealous too but instead, crosses his arms and observes as Toji awkwardly hugs Kento and then orients them to look at the bed.
Toji points to Shoko sleeping and explains, "She loves you. I know that sounds crazy considering what all went down but that woman right there loves you so much that she agreed to endure you in your frenzied state. Shoko knew everything to come and even prepared for this without hesitation."
"There's no way that's true. You don't understand what I did to her! And then what I did t-...", Nanami's heart breaks as his eyes wash over Shoko's form. He just wants to hold Ieiri, hear her voice again. His hand absentmindedly reaches out for her foot which causes him to inch forward, away from Toji. Before he knows it, Nanami is kneeling by the side of the bed where she lays and is sobbing into the sheets underneath her. While staining the fabric with his sorrows, he blindly searches for her and grasps her hand with a tenderness he was sure no longer existed within himself anymore.
Gojo swallows hard but then switches glances between Choso and Toji before quietly stating, "Let's give him some time…", and waits for them to turn away towards the door before he does as well. Divided on how to feel about what likely transpired during his awakening, Satoru can only frantically place Shoko back in front of his friend and hope he's jumping to conclusions.
Naoya and Elska's unique awakening experience makes some sense due to their lineage, maybe but Nanami indulging as he did and with enough awareness to bound his love seeps uncertainty into Satoru's hollow soul. He feels its a hint or precursor to something but currently cannot calm his mind enough to solve shit. One thing is undeniable though, whatever happened in this room flattened Kento onto a spiked fence and caused a noticeable, bizarre shift in the manager's behavior, something not even expected out of a frenzied turned.
They all begin filing out of the room but when Toji walks past him, Gojo's brow creases as he wonders, 'And why the fuck does Toji open up with everyone else but me?', leading him to a morose state as if the saddened theme was infectious. Right before Gojo leaves the room, he watches Nanami sulk with a heavy heart.
-------------------------------
When they arrive through the portal to Naoya's room at the estate, Elska refrains from asking any questions so she can feel out her prince's mood. He wastes no time in taking her to the large bathroom, the light switching on automatically and him holding her while using his bare toes to manipulate the touch screen of the bath. Her eyes widen when she notices that whatever settings he used, two additional spouts supplying water are engaged, filling the tub with speed. She thinks he's going to set her down now but he instead carriers her over to the fancy shower stall where her feet finally touch the floor.
Naoya is on a mission. He briskly walks back over to the tub and grabs a wash cloth from the neatly folded pile next to it. While scrunching it into a ball, the image of Elska focuses from the background and he takes in the insecure mannerisms she's displaying. They haven't spoken to each other yet but its because he's going crazy knowing that she had to accept Nanami in that fashion.
"Tch.", he releases as he paces towards the shower and turns on the water.
Elska jumps to the sudden streams falling from the ceiling but does her best to not make a big deal about it. She hadn't even had any time to remove her dress which now clings to her body like a raggedy costume. This, brings her back to tears though when she realizes that all of her efforts to be pretty earlier were for naught as Kento destroyed what remained of her ensemble in his frenzy.
Naoya jumps when she starts crying, "Oh no baby…please don't…", he coos desperately while entering the dampened corner of the room. When his arms reach her, he pulls her into his chest and rests his cheek on her head while trying to provide comfort. His sweatpants are soaked now too but he pays it no mind until she settles down.
"I'm so sorry that it happened, Naoya!", she wails into him, desiring him to only understand her repentance and the message that she didn't want to do it. To her surprise however, he simply tightens his hold on her and exhales a shaky sigh above her ear.
"I'm not mad at you baby, I understand why everyone wanted it to happen…", he confesses, "I am angry at the circumstances but not you, princess."
With this, he peels their skin apart so he can look down into her eyes, manually lifting her chin through the weight of disgrace. He wants to kiss her but is afraid that it will be too much too soon so he adamantly resists and resorts to help her out of the dress.
"I wasn't thinking clearly when I turned the water on.", he chuckles lightheartedly with one eye open as droplets rush down his face, "At least we have plenty of dry stuff to change into."
She giggles too, giving him a breath of reprieve while he pinches the strap to her dress to maneuver it over her shoulder. When it slaps the tile, he removes his pants as well and lifts the wash cloth to the streams above them.
The words, "Is all of you, okay?", seep from him while placing a palm over her lower abdomen.
Elska cups his cheek as he brings the rag to her with his other hand and asks, "I think everything is okay my prince but we might both feel better if you check.", and ends the offer with smile to assure him that he's not being too needy. She's worried about their child too because she was honestly stressed the fuck out during the bonding and has never even experienced pregnancy before.
Naoya halts with the rag and throws it over his shoulder to mirror her hold. He leans down past her face towards her neck but turns to gently place his lips along her jaw while whispering, "I love you."
Elska nearly loses her balance when he passionately punctures her skin. His heavy breathes between gulps are like tiny melodies that make for the perfect background noise and it immediately draws out of her, the sanity that she's been hoping to return to. She hears his voice in her head, 'OH SHIT BABY!! IT-...It's beginning to bloom!', which creates a wide smile on her face where she sobs out a half laugh but then squeals when he lifts her up wraps her legs around him.
Naoya removes his fangs and quickly closes her wounds before maintaining his grasp. Looking up to her, he smiles as warmly as he can to express that he's over the moon at both of them being fine, now resting his forehead onto her collar bone while taking a moment to finally calm himself down as well. 'Everything is okay…', he reminds himself, even though he still is abhorred with the bonding, prompting the Zenin to exhaustively blurt out, "Fuck baby…I don't know how long I can keep this up."
Elska's stomach drops to his words, the instant horror of him leaving her life consuming her with anxiety.
"Wh-what do you mean?", she grabs both sides of his face and wide eyes him as he lowers her back to the tile.
Naoya, who is merely lost in his own thoughts, fails to pick up on Elska's immediate apprehension but when he notices her expression he quickly tries to explain.
"I'm not going anywhere princess! I didn't mean it like that!", he releases a long blown out exhale when he finds that she's not fully convinced. His amber eyes dart over to the filling tub which makes his brow raise, "Shit! Our bath!" Naoya slips and nearly falls while running out of the shower to rush over to the digital interface to shut it down.
Elska, even with all of these mystifying emotions manages a laugh to her prince's lack of grace. He turns around with one eyebrow perch up and asks, "Oh so you thought that was funny, huh?", and growls as he playfully stalks over to her. She cries out in excitement and shuts the glass shower door to block him but he stops it in time and is now slowly edging her to the corner.
"I'm just too fast baby, don't you know who I am?", the Zenin asks with an embellished sense of grandiosity. When she smirks, he comprehends that she remembers when he said asked something similar in the park and continues with his makeshift reenactment.
In a cute but mocking tone, Elska adds, "Theee Naoya Zenin, right?", tittering to the hint of embarrassment that forms along his features.
"Tch!", he remains in alpha mode though as he strolls closer, only fueling her anticipation for what he will do next.
She loves this about Naoya. Even in the hardest of moments he's somehow able to still be a lighthouse that brings her home and out of the emotional fray.
"Just don't call me Sati, for the love of God…", he cackles out while ghosting his lips over her own, "You hit me right in the nuts with that before without even attacking. And come to think of it, that's the only time I've ever been truly angry with you.", he explains in a whispered tone against her. He's actually always wondered about that weird occurrence though which prompts him to scrunch his face and ask, "Whydid you do that actually? The Sati thing, I mean."
Elska, happily trapped against the wall, becomes somber as she too thinks back to that night.
"It was really weird actually, I'm not one hundred percent sure…", Elska racks her brain, "I knew Sati wasn't there and it's not like I was hallucinating him…", she stops to recall, "…but it was like my mind was playing a trick on me."
Naoya's lips slightly pouts out while he racks his brain but for the sake of smiles asks, "Hallucinations? Was I really that unappealing to you?", chuckling when her eyes roll.
"No it's not that! I've admitted that I was curious about you ever since the first time we met but you kind of entered the picture acting like a creep my prince.", she tells him bluntly with a flare of mischievousness.
"A CREEP?!", Naoya spares no form of theatrics while responding to her statement, "CREEEEEP!?", he repeats in a higher tone. Folding his arms with a sly smile, he playfully squints, "How the hell was I creepy when you lived with Gojo?! You will pay for these insults princess…"
Elska doesn't have a chance to banter back before he scoops her up once again and leads her to the tub. She can't help but laugh at how he mumbles under his breath stuff like, "Creepy Naoya", "Well you're a naughty princess", and "I'm totallynormal", adding to the silliness that has become them.
Naoya carefully steps into the tub, definitely not wanting to fall now that he has precious cargo and slowly submerges them into the water.
"I miss doing this. Why do we let life get in the way of our bath time baby?", he inquires while resting her in his lap.
"I don't know but I miss it too. We don't do it nearly enough now…"
Elska leans forward to place a kiss on Naoya's jaw, adoring his growing smile, "Thank you for being you, my prince."
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In the hallway, Toji stops a few feet from the door and twists to face Gojo, "What do you think we should do about them?", he asks while hoping there's a definitive answer somewhere, "You think Nanami's actually fucking stable in there?"
Gojo shrugs his shoulders and with a melancholy tone says, "Fuck if know…in case you've forgotten I usually only make things worse."
Choso frowns, "Nanami's energy confirms the absence of frenzy…", and quietly stomps his foot, "And not uh Satoru! Not true! Aren't we about to go make things better?", smiling widely now to raise Gojo's spirits.
"What the are you talking about?", Toji asks suspiciously. When Choso anxiously turns to Gojo for guidance on what to say, Toji asks again, "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Look big guy…", Gojo begins while placing his hands up in front of him, "I'll tell you but you need to not lose your shit.", and waits for Toji to agree.
Toji folds his arms, "Just tell me what kind of shit y'all are up to damn it. Things are too fucking rocky right now for more surprises." Toji gauges that this is definitely going to be something he's not going to like and wonders what it could be.
Gojo clears his throat but motions them to walk further away from the room, "This is top secret.", pretending he doesn't catch on to Toji's slimming patience.
When they meet the kitchen area, Gojo takes a second to reminisce the time him and Elska spent in there prior to shit hitting the fan. 'Love…', he thinks warmly, grateful for her strength and resilience but when Toji taps his foot to usher on the explanation, Gojo submits and confesses, "We're going to go see Getou."
Choso flinches when the energy ignites from around the giant whose eyes now glow a menacingly dark red. "T-Toji…Elska wants hi-…", but he receives a halting hand from Gojo.
"Let me explain this one buddy.", Satoru urges to the being but then continues with Toji, "My love cares for him more than she shows because she doesn't want to piss you or Naoya off. She doesn't want to hurt your guys' feelings. I promise you I'm right, and whether you believe me or not doesn't matter because I've already promised her that I'd bring him back."
"WHA-…WHY?!", is all Toji can sport in response because he truly doesn't understand, "Can we fucking not with the sexual assault shit for one fucking DAY!? You know he has a pattern now and I'm not fucking cool with it, Gojo." He narrows his eyes to the silver shaman, "Naoya is going to be the one to lose his shit… and how the fuck did you two become so close all of the sudden? Thought you wanted that Titer fucker dead?"
Gojo runs his hands through his hair and stretches while formulating the best retort possible.
'Yikes…', he thinks to himself but then hears Toji say out loud, "Yikes-nothing fucker you're asking for it."
At the end of a long whine over lack of privacy, Gojo attempts this hurdle by starting off with, "He's her turned now too Toji, you know they're bonded. Imagine if you were in Getou's shoes."
"I wouldn't be in his shoes because I don't pull the shit he does. For fucks sake Gojo, I tried being friendly but then he went after her again and even tormented Naoya more than he already has. He fucked with my doll and my cousin one too many times!"
Toji glances over at Choso to see how the being feels about these words but Choso looks down to the floor as if he's upset.
"Alright. Fine.", this irritates Satoru enough for him to slip and say, "But I think you forget who you used to be Toji. Life with my love has muddled your memory obviously because I can recall being sealed in tiny damp dungeon and having to listen to all of your twisted plans for her. Remember when you were going on and on about how you were going to use me fucking missing to manipulate her into dependency? How can you even tal-…"
Toji decks Satoru in the chin and seethes, "Say that again fucker. I faintly recall also putting a God damned hole in your gut and in case you forgot…", the giant's eyes narrow as he inches closer to Gojo, "You're the one that fucking kidnapped her and forced her to be yours."
Satoru experiences a molten rush of defiance but when he goes to form the words for his next brutal insult, he receives a second fist but this time to the nose.
"Yeah fucker...felt that one didn't ya?", Toji shakes his hand at the wrist to eliminate the sting as blood falls out of Gojo's nostril but after meeting the silver shaman's hurt-filled eyes, Toji twinges with remorse and steps back, "Go ahead and compare me to that fucking Titer one more time…"
He didn't mean to lose his temper but Toji can't understand how throwing Suguru back in the mix will help anyone at this point. Respite cloaks him when he sees that Gojo didn't take the punch personally because despite his current demeanor, Toji's not actually wishing to start a fight.
"Dick.", Gojo wipes his face with resolution and continues with, "If you've gotten that out of your system, I have more to say.", waiting for the reluctant giant to demonstrate that this is true.
"Okay then.", Satoru proceeds, "Yes, I know Getou has a terrible track record with us and its true, I wanted to kill him for a while now but all I can say is that it's because I never actually got to know him." Satoru notices the look of disgust on Toji's face but doesn't address it as he moves along with, "I wasn't able to understand him before but now I kind of do which is why I'm sticking up for him. He's honestly not much different than me…"
"Toji, I thought he was a really bad man too but I was wrong about some of the assumptions I made about him!", Choso chimes in to help convince the giant anyway he can, "I know he cares about Elska, I've seen it!"
Toji grunts and shifts his stance, "No offense Gojo but having two of you around here doesn't sound that great. I don't need you guys concocting devious little sexcapades with her and don't say you won't because I fucking know you. The first chance you got with them, you went for it."
Gojo has to admit that Toji's rash coldness towards himself is starting to sting.
"I won't let anything bad happen, Toji. I think Getou blows up like that because he doesn't feel like he belongs.", this is a major reason Satoru wants to help the Titer for he knows all too well what that kind of alienation feels like because he lived every day before him and Elska fell in love, "We all know what it's like to feel unwanted…"
Toji begrudgingly takes that last bit to heart and hates his own logic for understanding to the fullest. He's still extremely against Getou once again but Toji did have hope once upon a time that he could get along with the man.
"I don't know…", the giant stirs verbally, not completely for this reunion attempt but finding that arguing over it isn't going to deter them. 'What about Naoya though?', he contemplates on how the Zenin has probably creatively planned 1,200 different ways for the Titer to meet his end.
Gojo is astounded with how reasonable Toji always is and leaves him to his thoughts for a second before adding, "This isn't going to be anything immediate. Last we checked, Getou was technically in a comatose state at the compound."
Toji swiftly looks to Choso for confirmation and he receives it silently and can't help but acknowledge how there's a tiny piece of him that is saddened by this information but knows that it likely stems from them sharing Elska as a master.
"What happened to him?", he queries, trying to withhold the concern in his tone, "Does she know?"
Choso steps closer, "From what I saw, the Titers were saying he crushed himself. I think it was right after he left here…" Choso shudders at the thought of Getou being so broken over what he did that he'd attempt suicide since he's only known Getou to be confident, permanent and poised, "I think it's because he didn't mean to hurt Elska…"
Gojo nods in agreement, "And no, she isn't aware of his current condition. I didn't want to give her additional stress, she was already worried about the bonding." He can feel Toji's presence simmering down which makes Satoru take in a deep, deep breath, "I know I'm not making a mistake here, she wants him back and he can be better. We just have to accept him Toji…"
"Elska would be so happy if we did!", Choso can feel them reaching a compromise and is elated for it but then Toji reiterates that the biggest issue will be Naoya.
"You know the boy has every intention on settling things with Getou.", Toji is genuinely worried about how his cousin will react to this because out of all of the turned, Naoya's suffered the greatest by the Titer's hands, "How do you plan on stopping that?"
Choso thinks back to the day where Suguru stole Elska's wing and how it shattered Naoya. He can still hear the Zenin's anguished cries as he held her in that puddle of blood; the huge gaping wound in her back. This depresses Choso momentarily and although he wasn't trying to draw attention to himself, his change in mood was noticed.
"What is it bud?", Toji asks with curious emerald eyes.
Not wanting to oppose their mission to bring Getou back, Choso lies and says, "It's nothing. You're right though Toji, how are we going to keep Naoya from revenge?"
Satoru taps his foot, "Perhaps we should try to form an agreement between them.", Gojo is now feeling like he's about to stumble upon brilliance, "Like...maybe Naoya gets to choose a form of punishment that isn't death and Getou has to accept it." When Toji chuckles and comments on how absurdly ridiculous it sounds, Gojo scrunches his face, "Naoya's kind of simple in this way, it might work if we all vote to bring Getou back."
Toji massages his temples but figures he can't knock them for trying it, "Okay but do you think Getou will really agree to all of this?"
Gojo stands tall, and grins confidently "For my love? Yeah, I know he will."
-------------------
"Don't fall asleep baby, you can't drown on me!", Naoya splashes some of the hot water onto Elska's neck and back to help her wake up.
Elska stretches her arms but then leans back into his chest, "You're the one with magic hands, my prince, how can I not sleep when I am sooo relaxed?"
Naoya kisses the back of her head with a smile, beyond glad that she expressed that she isn't the opposite still. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he hums to the sound of the dripping water and feels a surreal amount of tranquility between them. No one has come to bother them yet either, not Zenin nor turned which makes this all that much better. He hears her say that she really could fall asleep like this but he beckons for her to hang on so he can finish the pampering. "Scoot up for a sec baby…"
Elska does as requested and watches him reach for two pump handled purple bottles and a pouring cup from the opposite side of the tub. He instructs her to sit in the middle of the tub and when she gets there, he begins pouring water through her hair. It feels so good and she sits there rummaging through the memories she does have to try and recall if anyone else has done this for her before.
'It feels familiar…', she ponders on this, straining her brain to resolve the origin of this Déjà vu. She can almost make out an image though and swears it must have been her sweet Sati but something deep within denies this. Her thoughts become nonexistent however when Naoya's fingers massage the lavender shampoo into her scalp and even whimpers an exasperated, "Ohhhhhh m' God…"
Naoya smirks to her pleasure and looks at their profile in the wall-length mirrors, quickly tearing his eyes away though because the mere sight of them both in here is enough to light a fire; he's not trying to seduce Elska, that's actually the last thing on his agenda right now. He rinses the shampoo away one pour at a time and thinks back to one of his fantasies where he was doing exactly this. When he chuckles to himself, she asks what's up and he's rather inclined to explain, "Baby, don't judge me but I used to make up scenarios like this, right here, in my head about us."
Elska bursts out in an unexpected short bout of laughter, "WHAT?", surprised with his casual admittance, "When was this, my prince?" She tries to turn around to see him but instead twists the way she's facing entirely, viewing him through the reflection.
Naoya shimmies about to follow her shift but finds talking about it with her eyes on him makes it a little more difficult. She remains waiting for an explanation though so with all pressure felt, the Zenin shyly shrug his shoulders, "You know…after we met."
"That's rather obvious and not the answer I was looking for.", she winks to him through the mirror, trying to share that she's only teasing. She watches him lean over for the conditioner and pump some into his palms as he flashes quick information broker glances at her every so often.
Elska pouts her lips with a grin, "Tell me! I'll share a time when I did something similar if you do.", and smiles impishly to his intrigued facial expression.
"Say no more then princess!", Naoya teases with interest, "Well okay, it was after we met in that apartment but the fantasy I'm referring to now, I was designing your room at the base…", he turns his head cheekily with squinting eyes since he still feels weird about the abduction.
"My prince, you can do no wrong in my eyes and if I were to be snatched up by any man, I'm glad it was you.", Elska reassures him and wants to hear more, "We became what we are now because of that.", she reminds him with pure affection, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Naoya leans over her shoulder and locks his lips to hers as soon as she turns to meet. He hums again as he always does and tenderly caresses her tongue with his own. He's timid to say it out loud but he honestly feels the same way about that whole situation, like it was absolute fate. There's no telling where they would be in terms of dynamic if he hadn't help plot for her capture and feels oddly blessed that they were able to blossom as they did. Through all of this, Elska releases a soft whimper that instantly riles him up so he gradually pulls away from the kiss to stare into her.
"I wouldn't either princess.", he expresses while switching his view between her lips and eyes, "I like things just the way they are. NOW TELL ME of this...fantasy of yours!"
"Oh you like that, huh?", Elska giggles to Naoya's undivided attention and cheerfully shares, "I imagined this when I was taking that little vibrator on a test run." Judging by his wanting expression, she thinks she's got him, "The thought of you and that vibrator together is what ultimately threw me overboard. I know it would be incredible because of how wonderful of a lover you already are."
Naoya growls seductively to that knowledge and has to mentally evacuate from the situation as his groin pumps full of blood. He doesn't want to stoke this flame between them too much but he also doesn't want to leave her high and dry so he whispers, "I'm going to have to make this fantasy happen then, aren't I?" She gasps to his teasing which makes him throw his head back and think about how it really doesn't take much for them to fall into the mood. This is something Naoya loves about them but he is still strict on his belief that things shouldn't evolve to that stage right now.
Elska can sense his restraint and figures its because she still has a head full of conditioner so she ducks her head backwards and douses it to help with rinsing. He seemed to pick up on it and is now pouring the water down her strands in aide. When he finishes, he stands up behind her but she steals a look through the mirror to admire his existence, biting her lip when he wraps the towel around his waist and shoots her that charming, princely smile.
Naoya lowers his hand to suggest her assistance out, soon cocooning her in towel as well. "Would this princess like a lift?", he offers in his deep voice and cackles to her yelp when he hoists her up. Elska reaches down and snags another towel and scrunches it against her hair while Naoya feels over the moon and transports his giggling woman to the bedroom where he gently lays her down. He half somersaults in the air over her to plop on the far side but quickly scoops his arms around her, allowing them to curl into each other.
Elska rearranges her hair, feeling bad for drenching everything it touches but Naoya calmly informs, "All will be washed.", so she relaxes into his chest and absorbs his heat. He grazes a hand down her back and thighs, tracing up again in a sweet attempt but Elska can't help but become stimulated by his touch. She patiently waits for his light fingertips to become pressured with grip, for him to become handsy and explore…but he never does. After debating over how to address this, she huffs and with a pout, asks, "Is something wrong?"
Naoya dips his head up to see her, "What? No baby, nothing's wrong, why?", but as soon as her eyes glow and his respond, the answer was no longer questioned. His view follows her hand as it rubs up his leg, to his waist and then down so he grabs her wrists and says, "Baby? You can't expect me to have sex with you right after all that shit. We are fucking cuddling."
Elska's jaw drops in shock as she tries to decipher if he's messing around or not but when he redirects her hand back onto his chest, she sits up and glares, "Do you think I'm gross or something now?!"
Naoya sighs his stress but sits up too, "I hate to say it baby, but that was a dumb question."
Elska retreats even more though and he mentally kicks himself for being so dense with his wording. When she turns away insecurely, he grabs her arm, "I meant that I would never think you're gross…please, don't think that I'm mad at you for bonding with Nanami, baby. I'm not. None of us are."
Elska gives in a little and meets his eyes, "Then why did you just reject me?"
There was a time where his insolence made the Master inside crazed in the worst ways but as she adapts to all of the emotions, Elska has come to realize that she cannot stand being in opposition with her turned. Their approval of her is everything, she needs it.
Naoya holds her hand and confesses, "Because baby, you've been through enough today and we can still be intimate without having sex!" He does his best to elucidate his reasoning, "Even if your body is healed or wasn't even badly harmed in the process", his becomes serious, "you still went through a bonding with a man that was really emotional and unwanted. I did not steal you away from everyone else out of jealousy baby, I wanted to save you from that chaos."
Elska is beside herself with disbelief. Naoya never ceases to amaze her, it's actually kind of crazy that someone like him even exists. She's no longer disdained by his lack of sexual aggression but is back to feeling something he's constantly gifted her with.
"You've always been this way I guess…", she jokes with a soft voice, "I remember even while being your captive, I felt like you truly cherished me…"
"It's because I do.", he asserts with veracity, "I only want what is best for you, that I can promise."
He's glad that this didn't escalate, that she understood where he was coming from and figures there isn't a single thing in this world that they can't overcome together. But when Elska scoots closer again, he finds himself being pushed onto his back with her wasting no time to straddle, "Baby what did I just say?!"
Elska removes her towel and snickers as her prince's face flares warning of irritation but she is merely being a tease and used this unnecessary method to make room for the sheets to be pulled back, innocently tittering, "Well come be intimate with me under the covers then my prince.", and gives him a quick pec on the lips before rolling off of him and onto her back.
Naoya sends her a mischievous glower, "You are a troublesome little minx…", but dives on top to smother her with more affection. When she squeals and shouts that his breath is tickling her ear, he concentrates harder on her demise, increasing his output until she shrieks.
"You won't get off so easy next time baby...but I'll be nice today.", he tells her as he slinks back over to his side and they settle into the bed. She tucks into him and puts her head on his chest which is when he notices how incredibly wet her hair is. 'Shit, I didn't even dry it a little bit!' After trying to comb through it once he asks, "Want me to grab you a towel for this? I completely forgot about that part baby, I'm sorry."
"If It's not bothering you, I am fine as I am. I don't want you to get up my prince.". She snuggles into him more and smiles into his skin. All of her turned are exceptional in every way shape and form. She honestly misses the others but also comprehends why Naoya brought her here instead of just doing this at their place. She's grateful too.
"Nah I am totally fine with being soaked by you.", Naoya smirks and counts the grooves styled into the ceiling, enamored with how nice it is to just lay together without interruption. He doesn't want to get up either though and with that being the case, he compresses her into him and whispers, "So I'm not going anywhere baby."