Poison

The power of the Wildfire and the Torrent together was fantastic. And only together can we defeat Talpa.
- Ronin Warriors, Ep 6 “The Counter Attack”

    He jumped into a raging whirlpool to retrieve him. He fought an adversary and nearly lost his life. He went to the limits of his strength and capabilities in a hopeless situation for the sake of another. This selfless, almost reckless abandon was just another task for Ryo Sanada. Vini, vidi, vici as the saying goes. Ryo came, he accessed the situation, and then he conquered it. And he let nothing stand in his way.

    It would be a lie to say that Cye didn’t feel admiration for Ryo. The both of them defeated Sekhmet, and neither could have been successful without the other. How ironic that two complete opposites, fire and water, should have the greatest strength when fighting together. However, the ordeal had worn the both of them to the extent of their energies, and now was the time to retreat to safety and lick their wounds.

    Mia had left them a small medical kit in case of any unfortunate accidents, and Cye and Ryo made good use of the bandages, rubbing alcohol, and hydrocortisone. Now they, along with Yuli and White Blaze, were safely hidden within the decrepit subway station long since deemed as a fortress.

    Now devoid of their subarmors and only half dressed, Cye and Ryo tended to each other’s cuts and scrapes while Yuli sat, curled up with White Blaze in the corner, growing sleepy against the large warm cat, his deep purr like a lullaby.

    Cye dabbed some alcohol on a piece of cotton and brushed back the dark bangs that covered Ryo’s forehead. Deep blue, cat-like eyes looked up at him as he gently pressed the cotton to a bloody scratch. Ryo hissed softly as he felt stinging liquid seep into the cut. Cye, face drawn and pale, gave him a meek, reassuring smile — he wasn’t feeling too hot, either.

    Ryo sighed as the cotton was taken away, now streaked with blood and smears of dirt. He waited patiently as Cye prepared a small bandage then held still as the other boy gently pressed it on. Afterwards, Cye leaned back and inspected his handiwork, nodded in approval, and began to clean up the bandaid wrappers and various ointment bottles.

    Ryo, despite the qualities that made him the obvious leader, was very timid when it came to thanking his peers for saving his life. The saving of lives was his job, and Ryo felt embarrassed that he had even gotten himself in a predicament to where he needed rescuing. And after jumping into the water so cocky and self-assured that nothing could beat him or go wrong . . . Boy, had he learned a lesson in humility. The hard way.

    Ryo stared at the concrete floor. “Thanks for saving me out there. I really appreciate it.”

    Cye turned slowly and looked at him, sea green eyes almost amused. “Ryo, if anyone needs to be thanked, it should be you. If it weren’t for you I’d have been killed by Sekhmet-”

    “But you pulled me outta the water-”

    “And you jumped in when Sekhmet was thrashing me.”

    Ryo and Cye looked at each other and smiled modestly.

    “I guess we both owe it to ourselves,” Ryo murmured.

    Cye nodded and gently patted Ryo’s thigh, then snatched his hand away as the dark haired boy let out a yelp of pain. Cye stared at him with wide eyes.

    “Blimey. Don’t hold it back or anything. What’s the matter? Is your leg injured?”

    “I don’t know how I coulda overlooked something that hurt so bad . . .” Ryo grimaced and gently ran a hand along the inside of his leg. He winced in sudden pain as his fingers passed over the epicenter of discomfort, and Cye frowned darkly.

    “You’re hurt. Ryo, you’ve got to let me see. It could get infected.”

    Ryo knew what that meant: off with the pants. And he wasn’t about to get indecent while there were other people around. God forbid if Yuli awoke and got the wrong idea. Ryo didn’t want to have to explain that to Mia, and besides, Ryo was terribly shy when it came to undressing. He glanced over at Yuli, sleeping against White Blaze. “S-somewhere else?”

    Cye nodded once. “Alright. Come on.”

    He stood and took Ryo’s arm, helping him limp to a small utility room, dimly lit by a single bare bulb hanging from a chain. An oblong table was directly underneath the light. Cye set the medical kit on it and turned to gaze at Ryo, who bashfully bowed his head.

    “Come along, mate,” Cye whispered reassuringly. “We’re both men here.”

    Ryo’s trembling fingers fell to the button of his jeans, undoing them, sliding them off of his hips. Cye stiffened his upper lip and tried not to stare at the tanned, sinewy legs rippling with muscles. Ryo sat on the edge of the table and gingerly inched the jeans off, grimacing with the pain in his leg.

    The jeans landed on the floor; Cye picked them up, brushed them off and folded them. He’s like that, Ryo thought. So careful and considerate. Then Cye began to examine him. “Hm. I can’t see the wound.”

    Reluctant and very embarrassed, Ryo bit his lower lip and inched his legs apart. Cye breathed out a quiet oath, and Ryo turned his head away.

    “Is it bad?”

    Cool hands were suddenly pressing into his hot skin, and he looked down to see Cye inspecting his inner thigh, where there was a swollen red gash about three inches long. Not very deep, but the infection was evident.

    Cye paled. “My God, Ryo.” He looked up at his friend with a frightened face. “You’ve been poisoned.”

    Ryo clenched his teeth. “Sekhmet,” he growled. “He-he sliced me up. Those swords of his are poisoned, that’s how I lost my vision-! Only Sage was there to heal me . . .”

    He trailed off. Sage was with Mia, looking for Kento. No healing, nothing but a medical kit. When looking at the supernatural powers of Sekhmet’s venom, they might as well be equipped with leeches and mushrooms for all the good it would do.

    “How long does it take?” he forced himself to ask.

    Cye furrowed his brow. “It all depends on the strength of the poison and the size of the wound. I don’t want to frighten you, Ryo, but I saw Sekhmet’s swords kill hundreds of fish in just a few moments. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He continued to inspect the wound, frowning worriedly. “It might just be an infected cut, I can’t say when it’s this far along. There’s no way to tell. But if it is poisoned . . .” He placed his fingers delicately near the slash. Ryo squeaked, and Cye gazed up at him. “A day at the most. If it’s already in your bloodstream, a few hours.”

    Silence fell between them.

    “I’ll be . . . dead. In a few hours?” Ryo had a hard time choking the words out. Tears clouded his vision and he blinked frantically. “But . . . but the fight is just beginning. I can’t die. We need to find the others. We have to defeat Talpa! This isn’t happening . . . Cye, tell me this isn’t happening. Even if you have to lie to me. I need to hear it.”

    Cye blinked once. “I won’t lie to you, Ryo.” He stared at the puffy wound. “I’ll save you.” He kneeled down and put his hands on Ryo’s knees, spreading his legs open. Ryo was startled.

    “Wh-what are you do-”

    “Sucking out the venom,” Cye explained evenly. “I know it probably won’t do any good, but it’s the only thing I can think of right now. At least it’s worth a try.”

    Ryo thought a moment before closing his eyes. “Okay. Do it.” And I’ll try not to die of embarrassment.

    Cye lowered his face and engulfed the wound with his mouth. Ryo winced as he felt a warm tongue slip into the cut, then Cye gently bit down and Ryo clenched his fists, gritted his teeth in agony. Cye turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood, then grasped the flesh around the wound tightly, forcing blood to ooze out slowly.

    “This might take a while,” he murmured. “Relax, Ryo.”

    He nursed the wound again and spit out the infected blood. Ryo felt as if his face were ten thousand degrees and he knew it was probably as red as his Wildfire armor. He felt Cye deepen his suction, breathing heavily onto Ryo’s bare skin and sucking hard on his skin. Ryo became suddenly short of breath, working into full-blown gasps. And it wasn’t in pain. Looking down he saw — humiliatingly enough and to his greatest surprise — that he had become aroused by Cye’s ministrations . . . Cye, whose cheek was dangerously close to brushing against the obvious erection concealed in Ryo’s briefs.

    “Aah-!” Ryo choked in wordless horror.

    Cye, thinking something was wrong, spit to the side and looked up at Ryo. “What is it? Was I-”

    He trailed off and suddenly focused his eyes, almost crossing them at the earnest bulge before his face. And the only thing standing between he and it was a millimeter of white cotton. Cye’s cheeks colored and he gazed up at Ryo with a grin tugging the corner of his mouth upward. “Least I know where all the blood went now.”

    Ryo was too ashamed to look his friend in the face and hid his eyes with his hand, turning away. Cye politely ignored the embarrassing situation and stood, fetching some healing gel and bandages from the medical kit. He applied the gel and primly wrapped Ryo’s injury. When he was done, Ryo had what looked like a white garter around his thigh. He looked up at Cye gratefully.

    “I . . . th-thanks, Cye.”

    The brunette smiled craftily. “Don’t I get a reward for a job well done?” He slid his hand in the crook of Ryo’s crotch, grazing his long fingers lightly over the dark haired boy’s straining erection.

    “Ah!” Ryo squealed in surprise, staring at Cye as if unable to believe a boy so proper and tempered could be capable of such inappropriate behavior. And why him? Was Cye like that? Before Ryo could stammer anything further, Cye abruptly kneeled down in front of Ryo’s spread legs and pushed them as far open as comfort would allow.

    “Wha-what-?” Ryo stuttered, scared and handicapped by his humiliation.

    “Just relax, mate,” Cye murmured, parting the fold in Ryo’s underwear and revealing his bare cock, already leaking thick moisture. “This won’t take long.” And without another word, Cye closed his mouth over the whole burning member, sucking it heavily down into his throat.

    Deep-throating takes a person of talent, someone able to suppress that instinctual reflex of gagging when something that large is placed in the throat. And Ryo just found that Cye was a master.

    Ryo bit his lip and closed his eyes, craned his head back and mouthed a silent scream to the ceiling, gasping loudly at the erotic sensation. So hot, Cye’s mouth. Wet and so hot. This shouldn’t be happening. It felt too good to be real. Ryo’s hands, one clamped down on the table’s edge and the other, trembling, reached out to place itself on Cye’s reddish locks. Cye, understanding the meaning of the gesture, began to work his magic, running his tongue up and down the underside, swirling it over the glans and into the slit that oozed thick, salty liquid, enjoying the firm flesh in his mouth as much as Ryo was.

    “Oh God, Cye,” he moaned wretchedly, beginning to sweat. “I never . . . I never. God, m-more.”

    Upon hearing those words, Cye released Ryo’s cock from his mouth, dripping with saliva and precum, and the spell lifted with Ryo’s heartbroken expression. Cye stood up and popped his neck, commenting, “Hard work on a tadger that size.”

    “But.” Ryo sputtered. “But I didn’t . . . I haven’t. I-I thought-”

    He trailed off as Cye began to unbutton his jeans. “Who said it was over?”

    Ryo stared as Cye dropped his pants before him as if totally undaunted by his own nudity. He was already aroused, his erection standing rigidly out from his body like a spear. He pushed Ryo flat on his back and was between his legs before he could even protest. Cye stared down into fearful blue eyes and stroked Ryo’s burning cheek once.

    “It’s alright, Ryo. I’ll die before I let anyone hurt you . . . even me.”

    Ryo didn’t know when Cye had grabbed the bottle of aloe from the medical kit, nor did he see him rub the slippery gel onto himself. He did, however, know that when Cye began to press his length into his ass, everything was going to change between them.

    True to his word, Cye didn’t let it hurt. He patiently eased himself through Ryo’s tight ring, stroking Ryo’s cock with enough vigor to keep him distracted from any pain. It worked, and before long Cye found himself in to the hilt. He laid heavily on top of Ryo, and gasped in open-eyed awe at the sensation of full penetration. “Fuckin’ hell,” he swore softly. “I can feel your soul.”

    Ryo leaned up, wrapping his arms over Cye’s shoulders, and everything from there was a hurricane of body, skin and heat.

    It was clumsy and awkward and didn’t feel all that great at first, but then Cye changed his angle and something within Ryo flared up like gasoline on an open flame. He moaned out loud and held on as the world around him began to disappear. All he wanted was to feel that pleasure again. And again. And again and again and again.

    Ryo was so distracted by his physical sensations that he was almost able to forget that in those few moments he had lost something precious and irreplaceable: his virginity. He arched his hips up off the table and groaned. He hissed as his new lover went deeper into his body and he clenched Cye’s shirt in his fists.

    “Oh yeah,” he gaped. “Don’t stop. Cye, don’t.”

    “Won’t,” Cye promised, grunting and huffing with exertion. “Fucking you . . . so good.”

    It was such a dirty word, so base and animal. An ugly word for an ugly act. What they were making was certainly not love under any circumstances, so pointless and carnal as to be carried out in a filthy room on a hard table. This was an indulgence of the flesh, a blind, groping search for pleasure in unholy places. No trace of love was to be found here — no tender touches, no sweet whispers and above all, no kiss to speak of.

    Cye thrust forward and back rapidly, ramming himself into Ryo’s yielding body. Trembling fingers jerked Ryo’s shirt up around his collar and rubbed over the hard, tan nubs of his nipples; Ryo gasped and timed his hips with Cye’s thrusts, creating an intoxicating physical euphoria. Ryo felt it flowing all through him: in his abdomen, his pounding heart, his shuddering loins. Cye began to rock forward and back, brunette hair falling over his eyes and hiding them from view. Lips parted, he breathed delicately, sucking in and heaving heavy sighs from his mouth. Sweat trickled from his brow down the side of his face. Ryo’s hands, once passively lying above his head, now reached out to find Cye’s. They did, and they clasped together to form a white-knuckled grip that not even the power of the Dynasty could separate.

    Ryo bucked, groaned, and finally came, shuddering and writhing and jerking spasmodically. His muscles jolted and contracted and wouldn’t obey his mind; his fingers and toes clenched and twisted in feverish agony, red light exploded behind his eyes. Blood rushed around in his head. More, more, more!

    Something was missing and Ryo instinctively knew it; his hand reached out above him and grabbed Cye roughly by the collar, jerking him downward and meeting his lips in a passion-soaked kiss. Cye hesitated, not expecting this display of emotion, then parted his lips and partook of the oral pleasure Ryo offered in payment for Cye’s. For a while they remained, lip-locked and tongue-tied, messy and bumbling with each other’s faces. Heat and sweat and the scent of hair all mixed together. Cye frowned and stiffened his lips over his teeth as the awaited orgasm wracked his slender frame for several moments. He plowed forward, almost pushing Ryo off the table in his zeal, grunting lowly with each movement, “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah!”

    Ryo, eyes barely hanging open, watched him in fascination. Never in his life had he seen anything more appallingly sexy than Cye Maury, filling him with his seed. Then, a moment later, it was over.

    Cye, exhausted from his “healing”, let himself lay against Ryo’s chest, mouth open and gasping for breath like a fish out of water. Ryo, as if acting on a reflex, reached up and wrapped his arms around Cye, holding his body against his own. For a while they didn’t say anything. Ryo stared up at the ceiling with a glassy, far away look in his eyes. “How old are you, Cye?”

    Cye sat up slowly, pulling out, brushing his auburn bangs off of his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. “Sixteen last March.”

    Ryo put a hand over his eyes. “I was a virgin yesterday . . . What the hell have I done?”

    Cye dismounted the table and began to dress himself. “Don’t trouble yourself, mate,” he said. “At least we know you’re going to live now.”

    Ryo sprang upright and grabbed Cye by the arm. “Wh-what? You knew?” he cried. “You knew and still you did all that!?”

    Cye pulled himself free and leaned down eye-to-eye with Ryo. “Listen to me, love. That little romp we took would have been enough run the poison through your heart and shut it down — thank God it didn’t. I wouldn’t have done such a bloody stupid thing like what we did unless I had a damned good reason. I thought you were going to die, Ryo. You scared the life out of me, and all I could think of was making sure that the last moments you spent on this earth were in ecstasy.”

    Ryo was dumbstruck, an expression on his face that could break a villain’s heart. Cye looked suddenly unsure of himself. “You’re not going to cry, are you? Ryo?”

    Tears flooded Ryo’s brilliant blue eyes and he buried his face in his hands. He made no sound but Cye could tell from his shuddering shoulders that he was weeping.

    “Oi, now,” Cye said, alarmed by Ryo’s reaction and taking a seat next to the crying boy, throwing a friendly arm about his shoulders. “It’s not anything to cry about. I mean, at least you’re not going to die, yeah?”

    That didn’t help.

    “Listen, there’s no need for tears. There’s a team out there that needs your leadership if we ever get them back together.” He gave a gentle nudge to Ryo’s side with an elbow. “Trust me, these sorts of things happen all the time. C’mon, love, pull yourself together. It’s not so bad. Really.”

    Ryo wiped his face and blinked red eyes rapidly.

    “You okay? You going to make it?”

    Ryo sniffed and nodded.

    Cye smiled and patted his back. “That’s good.”

    Ryo leaned over and threw himself against Cye’s chest, hugging him tightly. “Does this mean I have to love you now?” he murmured in a small voice.

    “What? No, no. You don’t have to do anything. You can forget this ever happened-”

    “What if I want to love you?”

    Cye felt his mind blank out on him, his mouth speechless. He numbly reached up and placed a hand on Ryo’s warm ebony locks, stroking them gently. “I . . . I won’t stop you. If you really think you do, that is. But I . . . just do what you want. As long as you’re happy.”

    “Well, in the case you’ll never feel the same way I do . . .” Ryo pulled back and stared pleadingly at Cye’s face. “Can I kiss you one last time?”

    “. . . Of course.”

    Ryo brought his lips to Cye’s and kissed him. Chastely. No tongue, no open mouth. Just the soft flesh of lips, touching and lingering and retreating. It was the sweetest, purest, truest, most innocent thing Cye had ever experienced, and he stared at the dark-haired youth with a face that would have described a person just smitten with Cupid’s arrow.

    Cye licked his lips. He tasted Ryo. He opened his mouth slightly to offer an apology, an excuse, anything to get the harrowing look out of those gorgeous blue eyes when-

    “Ryo?” came a sleepy child’s voice. “Cye?”

    Both young men jumped apart and stared at Yuli, standing in the door rubbing his eyes. Cye sprang off the table and went to the door as Ryo located his pants and hurriedly shuffled them on. He heard Yuli and Cye: “What’re you doing with Ryo?”

    “Ryo was injured, lad. I was helping him.”

    “I heard noises.”

    Cye paled. “He was hurt badly but I took care of him. Don’t worry, Yuli.”

    That seemed to satisfy the small boy, who smiled at Cye and decided not to ask why he had seen his and Ryo’s lips pressed together when he had first walked in. It was probably part of the healing. Cye knew how to take care of Ryo. He would make sure that Ryo was all right.

    “Okay,” Yuli said, hugging Cye’s leg. “G’night, Cye.”

    “G’night, lad,” he replied, and saw to it that Yuli curled up with White Blaze and was fast asleep before turning back. On his way back toward the room, he met Ryo on his way out. They both stopped.

    “Did he see anything?”

    “I don’t think so. Everything’s zen.”

    Ryo sighed in relief. “I hope so.”

    And the two young warriors walked away, the door to the room where they had both lost one thing and gained another was locked, forgotten, and never opened again.

A/N: A few minor alterations were undertaken in this story since it was first published in 2002, mainly in the phonetics of Cye's British speech patterns.