Yatagarasu

The soft tick of a nearby clock cheerfully keeping track of each second that passed him by met his ears and caused him to stir. Shifting his weight with a groan, he became acutely aware of the fact that he had been tucked a bit too tightly into bed, the quilt fighting against his body as he struggled to roll onto his side.

Wait. Bed? So he had found his way back, somehow. Or someone had found him.

His eyes flew open, green orbs scanning the swirled pattern om the ceiling as his brain began to clear and the events of the previous day came to him. The pear tree. His dream. The storm.

Abe.

Turning his head to the right as best as he could, his eyes lighted on his cousin's sleeping form, sprawled on the bed beside him. His freckled face reflected the open mouthed depiction of peaceful sleep, dark hair falling onto his pillow, chest rising and falling evenly, a small snore escaping him every few breaths.

Eamon couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"If anything had happened to you..."

Heavy footfalls met his ears, setting his teeth on edge and a shiver down his spine. He dared not turn in the direction of the newcomer. His eyes trained and fixated on the blue and yellow quilted pattern covering his body.

"If anything had happened to him, you would be dead, wealthy protector." The use of his name's meaning cut into him like a knife, the verbal sneer contained in the deep voice of this newcomer serving as a slap to the face.

Laying still, he bit down on his tongue. He wouldn't be baited into a foolish, hot headed retort this time. He had to bear down. As much as it killed him to lay here and be mocked by such scum, Abe needed him more.

A sudden rush of cold air met his semi-clothed body as the quilt was yanked away, leaving him staring at the criss-crossing scars that covered his chest. A rough, calloused hand gripped his chin with so much force he swore it would break his jaw, forcing his head up. His eyes flitted to the face of his assailant, angry amber eyes framed by golden bangs, the occasional touch of silver showing throughout them.

"Eamon, you know the punishment for leaving the property." A wicked smile lit up the harrowed, pock marked face before him. His throat went dry and his heart sank.

His small hands clenched into fists, his face contorting as he felt both fear and hatred begin to surge through his veins. The hand moved from his chin to his hair, tugging harshly and dragging him from the bed with a stifled yelp. He attempted to twist beneath the hand to check his cousin, but he was unable to turn more than a quarter inch in each direction before his scalp burned from the stretching of his roots.

"You know the more you fight, the worse you make things for yourself."

Pain shot through the right side of his body, the air escaping his lungs and leaving him breathless as he felt a fist connect somewhere in the middle of his ribs. Clasping a hand over his mouth to stifle a howl of pain and a rush of bile, he swallowed, glaring back at the man who held him captive.

"If you wake him, I'll kill you." He coughed out once his stomach stopped flipping and his breath returned.

He was responsible for Abe. There was no way he could let him witness such an act of evil. The world was open to Abe in ways it had never been to him.

He refused to ruin that for him. So he sheltered his purity from ugliness as best he could. Even when it meant wrecking what was left of his own.

He gladly accepted double the punishment. He knew in his heart it was too late for him. So with his last remnants of purity, he would save Abe.

A manic chuckle met his ears. An arm snaked around him and lifted him from the bed. Biting his tongue to suppress a shout of protest, he finally snuck a glance in his cousin's direction.

Abe was still fast asleep beneath polka dot sheets, unaware and impervious to the perversion seeping into the air of the room. A sigh of relief escaped Eamon's lips as the man lurched toward the door.

"In that case, let's take this somewhere more private."

He didn't struggle. It wasn't worth it. His punishment would only be increased tenfold, and besides his job was done.

Whatever happened next couldn't be any worse than the broken daily life he already had to slog through.