Raiju no Ai

Author's Note : Part two of five to this story. This one has something of a plot, yay! Once again, please refrain from flaming, as I worked hard on it, and I think I have enough warnings in case this isn't your cup of tea.

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Manten had become brooding. Ever since that fateful afternoon, where he had lost his virginity to his own brother, Hiten, he had withdrawn into a shell of melancholy. At the moment he was seated on a rocky outcropping, just outside the mountain cave the urns containing his parent's ashes were stored. A cool breeze whispered past his ears, and the younger of the Thunder Brothers shivered lightly. He had discarded his fanciful armor for the afternoon, wearing his black hakama pants and a creme-hued haori instead. The haori was stitched with azure thread on the sleeves, and a design of swirling clouds in dark blue was dyed into the fabric in a border on the sleeves. His shoes were lying by the cave entrance, and his oddly small feet were exposed, with even paler soles and clawed toes. Another tiny shiver wracked Manten's frame, but not of the cold. His mind was constantly flashing back to that laviscious bit of sexual intercourse he had experienced a few weeks ago, and he shuddered in satisfaction at recalling the sweet sensations. The effect was instantaneous whenever his eyes met Hiten's, though for some reason Hiten had become equally reclusive ever since the pair had made love. Also, the elder brother had not brought home a female after that day, and that was rather uncharacteristic for him to be so detached. Such feelings were commonplace for Manten, as he suffered from severe depression now and then, but Hiten was the bouncier sort.

Now getting cold, the slant-eyed raidenyoukai stood up, walking back over to the cavern entrance. He picked up his shoes, tucking them under his shoulder before going in. The hollowed-out passage was cozily lit by torches in bronze holders, giving the white stone walls a golden glow all their own as Manten got farther and father from the light of day. At the end of the hall was a larger room, a wide, shallow pool in the shape of an oval positioned on the back wall. A carving in the wall, an elaborate tribal design, leaked water from the surface into the pool, creating a soothing sound. The wall around the pool was of the same white stone as the rest of the cave, although cut in the shape of rounded bricks. Forming the floor of the pool was a mosaic of white, blue, and green tiles, tiny squares that formed fanciful geometric shapes together. On either side of the wall carving was a small alcove, each holding a small cast-bronze urn. Manten sighed heavily as he sat upon the edge of the pool, elbows resting on his knees.

"Hiten... My nii-san... I think I'm in love with you..." Sighed the young raidenyoukai, running a hand over the side of his head as if smoothing his hair, which he would if he had any there. He slid down to the cavern floor, eyes sliding shut in despair. Before he'd left, he had told his siblings a brief goodbye and flown off, hoping to think in silence. Perhaps he'd forget that he'd ever had sex with Hiten... Though he seriously doubted it. Manten knew he had savored it too much to forget it.

"If only you'd love me too." He whimpered, clenching his hands into tight fists in his despair. Why was his heart screaming for his brother's embrace, his own lust awakening at the memory of Hiten's bare flesh? At the mere consideration, the image materialized, and Manten moaned quietly as his length grew erect. He was tempted to pleasure himself right there, to imagine Hiten was once again by his side, flesh pressed to flesh, but he restrained himself. The raidenyoukai had resolved to let nobody, not even himself, take Hiten's place as anything. He'd wait until Hiten once again found him, but he needed another place. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips as he remembered an abandoned peach orchard on the edge of the valley's southern side. After all, the peaches could be ripe by now.

Hiten as well had become somewhat reclusive. Currently he was sulking as he and Souten ate lunch, Manten having flown off earlier that morning and still he hadn't returned. A slice of human meat, soaked in soy sauce, clenched in his chopsticks, the eldest of the three Thunder Beasts glowered at his bowl of food. Whenever he wasn't with Manten, he felt angry at the entire world, but a strange peace washed over him when they were together. It felt weird, and frankly Hiten didn't like how his emotions kept tilting around like that.

"Are you going to eat that?" Souten eyed her eldest brother's virtually untouched meat, her own speedily devoured. As most young youkai eat until they nearly burst at meals before they hit puberty, she was still eager for more although she was mostly full. The response was Hiten shoving his plate towards her, taking in his mouthful of blood- and soy sauce-soaked meat since he wanted to get at least a little nourishment in him for the while. Now with lips stained a rusty red, the maroon-eyed raidenyoukai stood up, stalking away irritatedly. Souten was too busy scarfing Hiten's food as fast as she could to notice how agitated he was.

As soon as he was outside the abandoned mountain shrine they had converted into a house, Hiten collapsed on his seat, staring dejectedly at the clouded sky. He was beginning to get an idea of what he was feeling, and why he was feeling it. Ever since that day he and Manten had made love, he hadn't been able to get his brother off his mind. The snow-pale flesh, the slanted eyes, that silky patch of ebony hair... He had discovered that Manten actually had lavender eyes, though the irises were so thin that he appeared to have none unless one looked him in the eye hard enough. Those eyes, telling of such great sorrow behind the violet and black. The inner emptiness had made Hiten shudder, though not necessarily out of revulsion. It was also out of lust, to see those empty eyes fill with love as they looked into his. He had seen that while they had sex, and he had the image burning into his mind constantly. Squinting his eyes shut, he held his head in his hands, purely out of frustration. Why did he feel this way? Not even the loveliest female had stirred such emotions in him. It was so confusing.

"No use skulking about over this... Maybe a fly will help clear my head." Hiten mentally shook himself, rising once again. As soon as he willed it, a pair of flaming wheels appeared on the outside of each ankle, and he hovered in the air on them for a moment. Where to go... He'd go south for now, since there was nowhere else to go except the final resting place of his mother and father, and he considered that cave too depressing to visit when he was feeling this way. Tilting his body forward to make hinself move, the raidenyoukai's long braid fluttered slightly behind him as he travelled, in search of a more desirable answer to a question that he had already deciphered.

It was not long before Hiten came to a greener place than the rest of Laimei valley, where a village had once stood. The humans had departed of their own will years ago, realizing the dangers of a growing youkai family nearby before mass slaughter could arise. Since then the buildings had rotted into hopeless ruins, but the fields and orchards still were green and retained a somewhat cultivated air to them. While the weeds had overrun the fields, the orchards remained somewhat intact, and the peach trees had thrived in the mountain soil. They were somewhat gnarled and often the fruit was ridden with worms, but occasionally they'd produce sweet, juicy peaches. Hiten chuckled, recalling the time he and Manten had eaten peaches until they got sick one spring when they were young. Such innocent days, even if they were youkai.

Landing in the fresh green grass carpeting the orchard, he looked up to see a somewhat open sky, shreds of cloud darting across the blue dome of the heavens towards the center of their lands. He sighed in contentment, filling his lungs with the scent of peach blossoms. By now, some of the trees had already sprouted fruit, but there were still many with the flowers just losing their petals to the fresh, insistent breeze. Hiten stretched lazily, knowing that no lesser youkai dared to infringe on their territory even if it wasn't extremely close to their living quarters. They kept close tabs on the place. Feeling relaxed, he unfastened his arm- and shoulder-guards and laid them at the foot of a tree, then sat down beside the empty armor. Hiten leaned against the rough bark of the tree trunk, arms crossed behind his head, a warm gust of wind caressing his face and exposed arms. A peach petal settled on his sensitive nose, and the raidenyoukai sneezed, now fully awake from his near-doze. Blinking slightly, he could have sworn he heard someone squeak in shock at the sudden noise.

Hiten's pinkish-red eyes fell upon the form of Manten, sitting at the base of another tree that had started to bear a few round, ripe peaches. The younger brother's gaze was fixed upon him, and he was paused mid-bite in the peach he had gotten hold of. Standing up, the tanned brother sashayed over to the other nonchalantly, belying his inner reverie on how his blood was suddenly pounding in his ears. Manten finished his bite and swallowed, a small dribble of peach juice trickling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were still empty of emotion, but his body language was tense.

"Hello, Man-chan..." Hiten said, his tone a little shy. The slight crack in his voice warrented the shorter brother's eyes to slim further, slightly suspicious. Manten's pink tongue edged out of his mouth, licking away the stray droplet that was about to stain his white haori, and the elder brother licked his lips, now feeling his mouth dry. Sitting down beside his silent sibling, Hiten sighed softly. No reply, but Manten started nibbling the edge of the peach apprehensively. For a while there was awkward silence, and they stared at one another out of the corners of their eyes.

"Nii-san... I feel strange." Manten said suddenly, swallowing again. The sudden speech caused the other raidenyoukai to jump in place, and he looked sheepish as he turned towards his brother. Hiten couldn't think of anything to say, so he just watched a peach petal drift down to temporarily rest on the pale brother's forehead, only to be batted off after a few seconds.

"Really? What sort of strange?" He replied, feeling antsy. His brother's casual, yet somehow ceremonial attire had caught his eye, and with his gaze Hiten was peeling off the haori to expose the porcelain flesh beneath it. The ache in his groin told him that this was rather... stimulating.

"When I'm around you, I get this strangest feeling. I want to be close to you, to never let you out of my sight, and... Something else..." Manten trailed off, a pale pink blush coming to his cheeks and connecting over the bridge of his nose. The last part was a little embarrassing. He took a bite of peach again, not caring if he dripped on his haori now. The way Hiten was staring at him made him feel too odd to rationalize.

"That is strange... You see... I feel that way too, ever since that day we, anou... Hn." The elder brother brushed away another petal from his face, this one having stuck to his hair. He wouldn't be so blunt about it. There was silence again.

"Hiten, maybe that was more than just pent-up lust. I start feeling, well, jealous when I think of you with a woman, and I hate being apart from you," The dark-eyed brother swallowed his bite, and another drop of juice slid down his chin.
"I think... I think I love you more than just as a brother."

Hiten was silent for a while. Manten's blush deepened to a heavy crimson, and he looked down at the ground. It was foolish, to confess your feelings like that... He should have known that it was folly to expect love in return.

"You have some peach juice on your face." Hiten noted, and leaned forward. The younger brother expected a hand to wipe away the rogue liquid. Instead, the taller brother dragged his tongue across his cheek in a sensual lick.
"I love you too." Hiten said, withdrawing his tongue. Manten put a trembling hand to his cheek, tracing the path of his sibling's tongue gingerly. He was loved back! All was right in his world, even if he never grew another measly hair; Hiten loved him back, and that was all that mattered!

"Hiten... My brother, my lover..." The pale raidenyoukai purred in a low voice, flinging away the half-eaten peach. He nestled closer to his sibling, the blush lightening back to soft rose but still remaining. Hiten responded by tilting up Manten's chin, lapping at the younger youkai's lips eagerly, tasting the remnants of peach upon them. A slight smirk crossed his face as he slipped his tongue past his brother's lips, running it over the ivory fangs before stroking the roof of Manten's mouth with it. From the depths of the pale youkai's chest emerged a low rumble, like the purring of an enormous cat mixed with the roll of thunder before a heavy storm. His larger tongue arose to meet the other's, entwining with it passionately. The purr dissolved into a feverish moan as Hiten massaged Manten's tongue with his own, making up for the smaller size with greater ferocity. The younger brother's arms threw themselves around his sibling's shoulders, drawing him closer, and in response the seme of the pair's muscular yet slender arms snaked around the other's waist to press him to his chest and stomach firmly. Now short of breath, they parted, though Manten was still crushed against Hiten's chest in a tight but tender embrace.

"I love you so much, Manten. I'll never leave you, not even in death." Hiten groaned, his nimble fingers hooking into the light indigo fabric of his brother's obi, seeking the knot that held it in place. The lump of fabric was easily found, and the taller raidenyoukai's claws easily unpicked it. Manten occupied himself by undoing the ties for his new lover's armor, mentally cursing at all the hidden fastenings and complicated layers. Soon they were both nearly nude, the younger brother having literally torn off the elder's top while Hiten peeled away the offwhite haori covering Manten's supple chest. The pair now bare from the waist up, they stared at one another's bodies hungrily for a few moments before Manten allowed Hiten to resume stripping him. A low growl of anticipation burbled from the taller of the pair's throat as he slid his little brother's pants down from his snowy hips to his ankles, leaving him completely exposed. Meanwhile Manten clenched two handfuls of Hiten's hakama in his hands, pulling them down slowly, trembling as he did so. He noticed that his lover's length was already firm and straight, prepared to meld their bodies to one once again, and rumbled with pleasure at the mere thought.

Hiten smirked, pressing Manten onto the ground and sliding on top of him, groaning slightly as they felt their erections rub together tantalizingly. The nude pair leaned together for another impassioned kiss, the younger brother lifting his legs to wind them around the other's hips tightly. Panting, the maroon-eyed youkai broke away, eyes travelling over the pale flesh of his brother, ravishing him with his sight. The smaller lover groaned, grinding his hips upward in an attempt to stimulate Hiten further. It worked; the elder brother fell forward, nipping and suckling on the snowy skin beneath him in a frenzy, and latched on to a rosy nipple eagerly. Manten let out another moan, reaching up to untie his brother's long braid, then let the silky raven tresses fall about them. Hiten's eyes temporarily flicked towards the sudden loosening of his hair, but he resumed giving the nipple in his mouth his undivided attentions. Grinding his hips against Manten's, he attacked the nub ferociously with his tongue, his claws raking over the younger brother's pale flanks to leave reddened lines. He then let go, before beginning a new onslaught on the other neglected nipple with equal determination. Hearing the moans and soft cries of his brother, Hiten at last paused his exquisite torment before running his slick tongue downwards, snaking it into the tiny opening of the paler youkai's navel and teasing him by slipping it in and out.

"Ahhh... Hiten, don't torture me like this... Take me, take me..." Manten whimpered, eyes squinted shut. His hands ran through his brother's hair over and over, trying to capture the silken black strands all to himself to savor. At last resting slightly downwards, he slid his talons smoothly down Hiten's backside, feeling the twin hemispheres of flesh quiver at his touch. A low moan escaped the elder brother, and he reluctantly pried away his beloved's legs from his waist, holding them open to reveal the flushed skin of his package framed with the soft ebony curls that sprouted around them. Hiten panted lightly, then leaned down to kiss the firm head of his little brother's demonhood, warranting a loud groan from the teasing. The taller youkai got an idea. Opening his moist mouth, he ran the tip of an ivory fang over the heated flesh, then boldly engulfed the member completely. Manten screamed in pleasure, bucking his hips forward to hasten the process, but Hiten held him down. His tongue stroked his brother's stony length punishingly, sucking the weeping organ to receive another scream as he began softly kneading it with his tongue and teeth. The veins on it stood out harshly, the blood in them pounding eagerly as the erection became unimaginably hard. Suddenly Hiten stopped, not wanting to drive the shaking youkai beneath his body into an orgasm too quickly. He regarded the glistening length with a scrutinizing eye, then blew on it, causing goosebumps to stand out on Manten's flesh. This made the other give another heated moan, and once again the younger sibling tried to loop his legs around his brother, to draw him closer. Hiten still pinned his legs down, knowing it was neither the time or the place to keep doing that.

Thoroughly disappointed at the cut-off of his ecstacy, Manten whimpered plaintively as his impassioned sibling gave his member one final lick before moving lower. Hiten wasted no time in lubricating his lover, sliding his tongue swiftly into the puckered opening and wriggling his pink serpent inside it rapidly. The moist warmth was torturous to the elder brother as he tried to reason with himself that he had to be slow about taking his beloved. If Hiten went too quickly, Manten would probably get hurt. Tears running down his face, the dark-eyed brother's breath came raggedly, mind whirling with the combined pleasure and pain at the entry. At last finished, the tanned raidenyoukai withdrew his tongue, then sat up completely to rest the trembling velvety head of his penis against the slick entrance, pressing close but not entering completely.

"Stop tormenting me! Just fuck me now!!" Manten's language grew vulgar in his impatience, and Hiten angrily reached up to slap his brother's chest with an open palm.

"Watch your tongue. If you misbehave like that again today, perhaps I should withhold my gift to you, my love." The elder of the pair threatened, pulling away his length. Of course, he would not really just pause their lovemaking then and there. He had become too erect himself to simply stop, and the choice was to either have sex with his beloved or masturbate until it passed. Reasonably, the maroon-eyed raidenyoukai chose sex over the other option, though the uke of the couple had not quite figured that out yet.

"No, no! I shall not say such things, forgive me, do not take our pleasure away!" Manten wailed, jutting his hips forward to make up for the distance between them. This cause Hiten's tip to once more knock into his opening, and the brothers both moaned. Hiten smiled a tiny bit, then slid into his beloved in apology. Once again the hot, tight shaft enveloped his throbbing penis, making room for the strange intrusion slowly. The pale brother moaned as he felt his beloved new mate press into his cherry-red shaft, this time managing to grip his brother's slim hips with his legs.

"Ahh... My dearest Manten, it's been a while since that first time, na? You've tightened right back up." Hiten purred in a soft voice, though loud enough to be heard over his brother's moans. They remained in that position for a minute or so, allowing Manten to adjust to having his brother's length within him. A soft squeak from the younger of the pair signalled it was time. Sliding down his hands to gently grip the slant-eyed brother's snowy hips, the taller youkai slowly drew himself out, then abruptly rammed his erection back inside. The effect was instant; Manten's eyes watered in the slight pain, but they filled with love as well as tears as Hiten looked down at him.

"I love you." He whispered, then cried out as another thrust came. They began finding a rhythm, pumping forward and back in sheer pleasure as their bodies broke out in a thin sheen of sweat. Above them, the petals still drifted, the trees calmly oblivious to the passionate couple beneath them as the wind sighed through their branches. The cool breeze through the peach orchard carried the scent of brothers, peach blosssoms, and mating far from their site of lovemaking, and as the soft zephyr blew into their faces, their encounter reached its climax.

Breath ripping from his lungs, Hiten rammed in and out as fast as he could, mouth hanging open as he thrust heavily into Manten. The younger brother was keeping up doggedly, not about to just sit back and take advantage of his beloved. A loud scream, sounding much like Hiten's name, tore from his throat as he came to his peak, an explosion of white cream coating their fronts. The elder brother came moments later, a burst of his essence filling the taut passage with pallid fluid. Still, they did not stop, and the pair continued to compete to outlast one another. Seed intermixed, Manten filling with Hiten's sperm while his own poured onto their bodies and then the grass. Of course, such a breakneck form of sex could not last long, and soon they began putting their last pieces of lust and love together. A final simultaneous explosion of semen let them fall away, rolling to one side of the sticky white mess they had left in the grass beneath them.

"Ahh... That was Paradise, Hiten." Manten licked off a gob of cream from Hiten's belly as he spoke, determined to get his brother clean from that last round of lovemaking. The reply was a low groan, and the taller raidenyoukai sat up, eyes passing over the cum-spattered form of his partner briefly before leaning down to begin wiping away the white ambrosia left by their passion, sensibly using his tongue. After clearing away the left side of Manten's chest, he paused, then looked up at his brother.

"Yes, it was." Hiten agreed, then went back to licking away the essence on his lover's chest. The uke of the couple suddenly twisted around, so now to his tanned brother's view he was upside down.

"This way we'll clean up faster." Manten said reasonably, though his voice was muffled from being under Hiten's stomach. The elder raidenyoukai nodded in agreement, then lowered himself down to begin lapping away the milky liquid covering his younger brother's chest and stomach, then smirked as he felt his actions being mirrored. Once having licked one another free of essence, Hiten stood up, leaving Manten lying on the ground, staring up at him.

"We should probably go back now." He suggested, walking over to the pile of discarded clothes and armor that he had been stripped of before. Making a soft, contented sound, the dark-eyed brother sat up, stretching his now-tired muscles from the sensuous exercise, then scooted over to gather his clothing. Redressing themselves seemed tedious now, though they both knew that they just couldn't fly off stark naked. THAT would be hard to explain to Souten. Tying the knot in his chest-sash, Hiten didn't notice Manten pass a hand over his stomach anxiously before pulling on his haori.

"Hiten? I have a question." The younger brother, now fully clothed, looked over to his sibling curiously.

"Yes?" Hiten replied, still making sure his arm-guards were on properly.

"Why didn't you mark me?"

There was an awkward silence, then the elder of the pair spoke.
"Because I don't want to arouse any suspicion by putting a mating mark on you until later. Don't worry about it; in my mind you're already mine." Hiten said, and Manten smiled at him.

Souten was getting worried. Both her brothers had flown off, leaving her alone, and she was concerned something had happened to them. After all, they had been gone an awfully long time. The young youkai perked up, however, as she saw the pair land in the courtyard.

"Hiten-nii-san! Manten-nii-san! Are you okay?" She squealed as she ran up to them, stopping herself from latching on to the nearest brother's leg in relief. However, Souten's nose wrinkled as she smelled something weird between her two brothers. They looked rather content, but they smelled like peaches and something salty yet sweet. Ah well. She decided she'd worry about it later.

"We're fine... To be honest, we're more than fine." Hiten said, then smiled at his little sister, resting a hand on Manten's shoulder in what one could deem a comradely manner, but there was an inner meaning to the simple gesture, one of love. The befuddled look on Souten's face was absolutely priceless.

[FIN]