Escape Artists

Nii was jarred from a deep sleep by the train whistle. He opened his eyes into darkness and found himself quite cold and alone. His storm cloud of a foul mood had descended once more. Rather than attempt to seek out Koumyou again (he had no doubt the man would find him again), he poured himself a bath and changed into new clothes. No expense had been spared for this ruse, as the suspenders, trousers and shirts were all perfectly his size, not meant for Koumyou\'s taller, broader-shouldered frame. They were well-made, too.



Nii was glad for his steadiness of hand as he carefully shaved, recalling Koumyou\'s complaints about his stubble. It was a fun little game, making sure he didn\'t slit his own throat when the car gave an unexpected lurch. It\'d have been more fun to try not to kill someone else, though. There were times Nii missed the blood of his surgery days, the filthy, nauseating smell and being deep in someone\'s flesh, and the wave of satisfaction at having pulled off the impossible. It wasn\'t so different from the stage, only people\'s lives were at stake.



(Thinking of it that way, perhaps these high-risk escape acts had something after all.)



Nii rubbed fingertips over his cheek and thought of Genjyo\'s story of his father\'s death. Koumyou\'s elegant face would show a calm sort of determination, throwing himself between the old man being beaten. But then, what fear and shock when those sharp claws tore the silk of his robes to ribbons, entered resisting flesh to turn all those soft, cool colors into red and red and red like ink bleeding into a charcoal sketch.



The ragged flesh and blood would splatter to the ground a handful of rose petals. The mental image awakened creativity and arousal in him. Smiling to himself, Nii doodled a few ideas on a napkin, had a quick wank, then left for the dining car. Last he saw, Gonou spent most his time there, and it was about time he caught up to the young man.



The dining car was opulent as the rest of the train. There was an open bar in one corner, connected to a kitchen, made of finely-polished wood and decorated with a mirror and rows of crystal glasses that made tinkly, hollow music to accompany the vibration of the engines. Only two others disturbed the eerie chimes of perilously-placed glasses - Gonou and a redhead in a bartender\'s uniform sat quietly, laying playing cards onto the white linen table cloth.



Gonou\'s laugh rose above the noise of the train: an utterly foreign sound to Nii. He couldn\'t see the assistant\'s expression, but his polite, amused voice nearly sounded like another person\'s. Something more than the numbed, detached politeness Nii had come to associate with him. Gonou sounded happy. "Ah, sorry. Straight flush."



"Again?" The barkeep spoke around his dangling cigarette. "Gol-dang, sure you ain\'t a gambler?"



"Not in the way you\'d think, ahaha."



Gonou\'s whole body shook with the effort of containing his warm laughter. Nii could barely contain his disgust. If Gonou became just like every other young man, he\'d probably start having ambitions and all sorts of other nonsense. He\'d become boring. Nii took one of the chairs and sat on it backward, invading the space Gonou created with the redhead.



"This the boss-man?" The bartender\'s eyes were also red, and he sported quite an interesting scar beneath one eye, two smooth, deep cuts. Something about the young man seemed familiar. Nii wondered which side Red fought for in the war - half-youkai were the ugly ducklings of the world, not wanted by either human or youkai society. Like the gold-eyed porter, trains like these were some of the few well-paying jobs Red could get. Probably one he couldn\'t afford to lose, either.



"That\'d be me," Nii grinned. "Just imagine, you can tell everyone you fixed Master Illusionist Nii Jyiani a fancy gin cocktail. Now hop to it!"



Nii could barely contain his glee as Red rolled his eyes and slid from his chair. Gonou\'s face fell.



"How about a smile with the service, boy?" Nii called over his shoulder, watching as Red mixed the genever, curaçao, syrup and bitters with ice. He paused in his chore to give Nii a grin around his cigarette, accompanied by an upraised middle finger. Gonou could barely contain his laughter.



"Don\'t be like that, I won\'t give you a tip," Nii said, full of put-upon sweetness.



"I\'ll tell ya where you can shove your tips," Red shot back.



Nii turned back to Gonou, snickering. "So this is where you\'ve been wasting all your time?"



"Yes." All Gonou\'s emotive color drained from his face when he looked upon Nii. "Did you miss me?" Dry irony tugged at the corner of Gonou\'s lips, nearly resembling a smile.



"Not really." Nii patted himself down, felt the letter and then what he was looking for - his cigarettes. He lit one up even though Gonou crinkled his nose. He always did. "Things have been getting interesting for me here."



"Like the curse?"



"May you live in interesting times," Nii nodded.



"Here\'s your drink, sir." Red set out a doily and placed Nii\'s fancy gin on it with practiced care. Contrary to his airs, he was good at his job. "Hey, Hakkai, d\'you want anything?"



"More tea, if you\'re up, please," Gonou replied.



"Sure thing."



Nii didn\'t bother watching Red disappear into the kitchen. Instead he stared at Gonou, who was still looking happy, almost luminous. There was more color in those pale cheeks than Nii had ever seen, even when he wore rouge. He was alive now. "Who\'s Hakkai?" Nii snorted.



Gonou went cool and brusque as he always was with Nii. "I\'m thinking of going by that from now on. To signify starting over."



"Don\'t want to be known as a murderous circus freak for the rest of your life? Can\'t say I blame you." Nii leaned back, stretching his legs out beneath the table. He inhaled smoke deep and slow. He thought of names and of changes. Nii changed his name after the war, Koumyou changed his name to fake his death, and now Gonou wanted to call himself Hakkai. Wasn\'t that just like breaking rotten eggs into a hat and expecting cleansing flames to arise? The truth was, the whole change was just one more illusion. Bad things couldn\'t be transmuted into good. People were the same no matter what they looked like.



Gonou went quiet. Didn\'t say a word more until Red brought the tea, and then all his attention went to sipping it. Red made himself scarce polishing glasses.



"I\'m starting over," Gonou said in that careful way he always used to address Nii, like he needed time to chew each syllable. "I\'m resigning as your assistant. There\'s a cook\'s position open on the train and Gojyo - the bartender - has signed me onto the crew. He\'s assured me it will be fine to use his bunk until I have one of my own, so you needn\'t concern myself with seeing me. I\'ll be starting tomorrow."



"You\'d rather be a cook on a crew of lowlifes than my assistant?" Nii laughed. Couldn\'t do anything but laugh. "Just when the act is really going places, you\'d rather be bunk mates with some bummer?"



"I don\'t mean to sound ungrateful," Gonou - Hakkai - said quietly. "But you and I both know that I\'m not all that important to the act, and more than anything, I just want to lead a peaceful life. Consider this me releasing you from my obligation."



Nii glanced back at Gojyo. The half-youkai was still polishing glasses. There was a sort of savage beauty about him, and a misfit quality not found in typical youkai. Not bad, he thought, but worth giving up a career in illusions? Nii wondered if he\'d been wrong about his green-eyed assistant all these years. Maybe the reason the kid only ever seemed to have eyes for his sister was because he preferred men. Too bad he hadn\'t used that to his advantage. Maybe he wouldn\'t be out an assistant now.



"Was that Hakkai name his idea too?" A name referring to sin didn\'t seem like Gojyo\'s style, from what little Nii knew about him.



"No," said Hakkai. "That was another friend of mine."



"Since when do you have friends?"



Hakkai raised his cup to his lips but did not sip for a moment. Nii could see why he was so good at cards, calculating as he was. "More surprising things have happened," he said after a moment, and then drank. "Didn\'t you say you were living in interesting times?"



"True," Nii said. "You\'re missing out."



"Aha ha ha. I\'m sure I am."



Nii lifted his nearly-forgotten cocktail in a mock-toast to Hakkai.



The drink was surprisingly good.



~*~



Koumyou didn\'t return to the luxury box until two days later. By that time, Nii had done a thorough search of the train and could only conclude Koumyou spent all his time in the crew quarters or in another luxury box. Frustrated and petulant, Nii spent that whole day in the dining car torturing Gojyo by ordering him around and amusing pretty ladies with card tricks. In the early evening, Hakkai drove him out, emerging from the kitchen wearing an apron and a smile over his usual things. He explained how it was easily possible for a man to read a woman\'s mind in two or three different ways: by watching her eyes, by cutting cards a certain way, by having a limited number of options. Now, what would the ladies like for supper?



Nii slammed the door of the luxury box upon returning. Koumyou, dressed in a chang pao of light gold, sat on the edge of the bed, one leg crossed over the other.



"Where have you been? I\'ve been mad with boredom without you!" Nii sat down next to Koumyou.



"I\'m responsible for your amusement? No one told me."



"You\'re the reason I\'m stuck on this train for all this extra time, so yes, I\'d consider you responsible." But Nii\'s fowl temper was cooling in the light of Koumyou\'s smile. He rested his chin on Koumyou\'s shoulder.



"I\'m responsible for that too?" Koumyou scratched his chin pensively. "I had no idea."



"Let\'s lie next to each other again," Nii said, nibbling Koumyou\'s ear. "Or on top of each other. Whatever you like. Let\'s make love."



"I\'ll let you lie on top of me tonight," Koumyou said. Nii caught a glint of enticing hazel eyes beneath his lashes, behind his smile.



"Yes!" Nii breathed. He gathered the older man in his arms and kissed him deeply, swathing his tongue across his lips, overeager as if he were but a lad again. Koumyou took hold of his shoulders and pushed him back, wagging a finger in his face.



"Ah-ah-ah! That\'s not how we do it. I need a pair of scissors."



Dumbfounded, Nii produced a pair from the shave kit in the bathroom, but the blades were far too dull. Instead, Koumyou took the straight razor and sawed his braid right off. Nii\'s mouth went dry as the thick rope of ash blond and gray fell to the thick green carpet with a muted thud. It lay dead as an amputated limb, but Koumyou stepped over it instead of staggering away. He sat down on the bed and drew a large white scarf from his sleeve. Koumyou picked up his braid, cutting the smooth tresses into smaller tufts and stuffing them into the cloth. After a short period of this, Nii realized Koumyou was stuffing a pillow. He\'d heard of separated lovers performing such bizarre rituals, but he was still reeling at Koumyou\'s much-shorter hair to much consider the implications. He was little more than a stunned spectator as Koumyou filled the pillow. When he was through with that, he neatened his now chin-length hair in front of the mirror in Nii\'s commode and threw the scraps into the pillow as well. His flourish-free finale was to draw a needle and thread from inside the pillow, and sew it up.



"Tah-dah!"



It was the softest thing Nii ever held, weighty yet soft and airy as a cloud. It smelled strongly of Koumyou and his pipe tobacco, his almond oil soap. Nii hugged it instinctively. As a child, he favored soft toys, though they were inappropriate for boys after a certain age. The pillow seemed a gift from a simpler time.



"Now you can lie on top of me," Koumyou explained, his eyes twinkling. Nii couldn\'t decide whether he wanted to slap or kiss him. He grabbed him by the collar, deciding on the latter only on the last moment. He bit Koumyou\'s lip before withdrawing. Koumyou had that offended pigeon look again, rubbing the blood across his lower lip.



Nii smelled blood and felt his arousal rising. "If you keep up this teasing, I don\'t know what I\'ll do. I\'ll go mad as a loon. I\'ll ravish you. Or maybe kill you."



"Throw me onto the train tracks, right? I was thinking it might be more effective if you threw me off the front, rather than the back. Then I\'d get all caught up in the wheels." Koumyou laughed.



The arousal melted into nausea as Nii imagined Koumyou throwing himself off the train willingly. He sat down on the bed. Koumyou ran his long fingers through his messy dark hair, soothing him. He kissed Nii, slow and gentle, no teeth or tongue at all.



"You\'re free to do whatever you want with me," Koumyou said. "But, keep this in mind. You\'re committed to that performance in Houtou. You no longer have an assistant. You\'re expected to do an escape artists\' act, and you know nothing about it. I can help with these two problems."



"I never said I\'d do the show," Nii murmured, far too assuaged by Koumyou\'s kisses, which now mapped his jaw and throat. "I told your son I had no interest and I deal in illusions, not escapes."



"My son?"



"Mouthy sonnovabitch, that one. Nothing like you." Nii purred as Koumyou unbuttoned his collar, showering the triangle of exposed skin with kisses.



"We all have our personality problems," Koumyou murmured. "You\'ll go, won\'t you? And I\'ll be your beloved assistant, a clueless newcomer."



"The dowager won\'t recognize you?" Nii ran his fingers through Koumyou\'s newly-clipped hair. It seemed softer like this, fashioned into such a short, boy-like cut. With enough make up, the spry middle-aged man would probably pass for Nii\'s age, or even younger.



"Gyumaoh\'s widow? It\'s as I said, I just didn\'t have that flare and flash the woman desired." Koumyou bit Nii and suckled a spot on Nii\'s jugular.



Nii curled his fingers around Koumyou\'s neck. "Koumyou..."



"Soma," Koumyou said.



"Soma," Nii repeated, squeezing his fingers tight around his neck. "I\'m going to take you. I have to take you."



"How sweet," Koumyou said, and palmed Nii through his pants, curling fingers along the half-hard length. While Nii was distracted, Koumyou broke free of his grasp and drew a blue scarf from his sleeve, using it as a blindfold again. Nii laughed wickedly at the games he was certain were soon to begin. But Koumyou had only a precious few more kisses for him. He placed several to his neck while he tied Nii\'s hands behind his back with thick, rough rope he\'d hidden beneath the bed. He tied Nii\'s ankles together in a similar fashion.



"I\'ll be back in a half hour to check on your progress," Koumyou laughed. Nii could hear his amused smile. "I\'ll bring you a little tea and some vegetables."



Nii couldn\'t stop laughing. He lay back on the bed, rolling around, blindfolded, bound, and giggling. "I think I\'ve decided. I\'ll definitely kill you."



"You\'ll have to get free," said Koumyou reasonably, and made his exit.



~*~



The remaining days of the journey cooled Nii\'s desire to kill Koumyou somewhat. Most of his energy was focused instead on learning a few new tricks, how to get out of ropes, even dislocating his shoulder to free himself from chains and straight jackets. Koumyou and Nii took their meals together in the luxury box, but the only way Koumyou slept with Nii was beneath his head at night. t Ijust seemed to drive Nii\'s focus all the harder, bringing vanilla-scented dreams of a laughing lover who disappeared just as he got close enough to touch.



The train arrived on a dank day, the flies buzzing and the cicadas beating out their hollow cries through the jungle. Standing on the platform, Nii surveyed palm trees and the big, white mansion on a hill in the distance. He thought of Koumyou, now Soma, and Gonou, now Hakkai. He thought of how his own name was once Ken\'yuu. At night, with that strange, silky pillow against his cheek, he sometimes wondered at taking on yet another new name, as if lives were as easy to wiggle out of as rigged handcuffs.



As if to spite the swelter, the Widow Gyumaoh arrived to greet him in a high-collared gown with the most outrageous bustle Nii had seen since his society days. The peachy-orange of her dress was a poor match for her smoky purple hair, its shade a vulgar competition for the foliage around her. Nii heard only every other word she spoke as her attendants took his bags and she led him to a carriage. Genjyo Sanzo had secured quite an interesting guest indeed, and she was so very pleased, she was having a special dinner thrown in his honor. Her name was Gyokumen and he should very much feel free to call her that. Though Gyokumen was unusual, a youkai woman living a life of human opulence, complete with her own entourage of youkai servants, she bored Nii so much he found it insulting. Her words were too numerous, her clothing too elaborate. Koumyou\'s were better, loose, light and not confining.



Modesty was a concept Nii never found alluring until Koumyou. Now he favored the mystery. The exposure of Koumyou\'s milk-pale neck, his willowy fingers that often hid beneath his sleeves, all awakened a schoolboy-like excitement in Nii, the likes of which he\'d never experienced from any man or woman. He thought of Koumyou\'s lips against his neck, staring out the window of the carriage, barely paying attention to Gyokumen\'s chatter.



Nii\'s appearance always advertised his true intention: today, in a ditto suit and bowler, he was trying to impress Gyokumen, but not much. He\'d shaved but not cut his hair. His gaze barely lingered at her exaggerated form, the cinched waist, the chin that lifted by the necessity of a lace collar, the ridiculous curve that both accentuated and hid her backside. For some time, he watched her lips carefully form each word. Though lip and cheek rouge had gone out of fashion for the proper women, it seemed Gyokumen still painted her lips blood red. They were a flawless shape, and her fangs seemed quite sharp against the movements of her tongue. The effect was a dramatic one. She was a hungry, scheming beast, and she smiled when she caught Nii looking.



Nii smiled back. "So which birthday is it you\'re celebrating?"



"You mustn\'t ask a lady to reveal such things about her age."



"I had no idea such concepts bothered youkai."



"I assure you, there are those of us who believe there\'s a place for youkai and humans to get along. And a few social graces never hurt anyone." Gyokumen\'s voice was like petting a cat with new kid gloves. Every now and then, a spark flew from a wrong rub, but usually it was cool, soft and lovely.



"I think there are boys who died in the war who might disagree," Nii laughed.



"Are you filled with such unpleasant thoughts? You\'re supposed to be here to entertain me. Pull a rabbit from your hat."



"If you want something fun to play with, I\'m sure I could make some kind of arrangement," Nii leered. Gyokumen could probably keep his bed warm and remain amusing for at least fortnight, but he did not lean any close to the woman even when she drew closer. Nii did not know why he should hold back the instinct, it wasn\'t as if Koumyou had laid any claim to him. In fact, Koumyou likely wouldn\'t comment or even care. So why shouldn\'t he see exactly what kind of marks those sharp claws of hers could make down his back?



I\'ve never felt as if I wanted to listen to someone.



Would Nii wait forever for words that were never spoken? Would he wait up for a thousand nights waiting to lay side-by-side for the man who now locked his handcuffs but never entered his bed?



Nii produced a rare youkai coin from Gyokumen\'s ear. Silver, with the face of the Dragon of the Western Sea on it. Gyokumen raised an inky brow when Nii pressed it to her palm.



"That\'s about the going price for a woman of your caliber, right?" he said.



Gyokumen was furious by the time they arrived to the estate. She could not cancel Nii after having boasted to her friends he\'d perform at her private birthday, so it would behoove her not to return his insult. On the other hand, she was every bit as prideful as the magician, and Nii half-expected the woman to tear from the carriage hissing and spitting as she stomped to the gate without the help of her attendants.



The mansion stood out like a wedding cake displayed on a green tablecloth, all wrought iron and curling buttresses, far too lovely for its vulgar mistress or the mud-smelling jungle around it. Nii saw that it was not the gate itself that offended Gyokumen so, but rather a tow-headed young woman on a bicycle. She was youkai, dusky-skinned, but Nii saw her face was a similar shape to Gyokumen\'s. No wonder Gyokumen wished to conceal her age, if she was old enough for a teenage daughter. Even from a distance, Nii could see a youthful energy exuded the girl that Gyokumen utterly lacked. She was also more modern, dressed in bloomers for riding. It brought to mind Koumyou and his morose son. Koumyou\'s behavior gave the illusion of youth, and made Nii more lively through being near it. Gyokumen, on the other hand, was heavy, pushing all the light from the windows away from her and attempting to drain it from her daughter.



"Lirin! How many times have I told you not to let men see you on that infernal contraption! And in those clothes!" Each complaint was marked with a sharp slap to the girl\'s shoulder. "Get inside and dress yourself properly to greet Mr. Nii!"



"Yes mother!"



The footmen opened the gates, and Gyokumen sighed heavily, attempting to pin her smoky hair back into place. "Forgive my daughter," said Gyokumen. "She\'s never known life outside this town, and her father and step-brother spoiled her."



"I assure you, milady, what I saw did not reflect poorly on her," Nii said, rolling his eyes.



Gyokumen either missed it or ignored him. "I suppose part of it is my fault. I\'ve been too lenient."



It seemed people never changed anywhere, youkai or human. Nii had a sudden vision of a life far behind him: a velveteen rabbit tossed in the rubbish bin with the ashes. You\'re really too old, Ken\'yuu, I had the nursemaid throw it out.



Nii didn\'t know whether he was pleased or annoyed he\'d resolved not to play with Gyokumen. It didn\'t really matter. As Gyokumen led him through the grand front door, he saw Koumyou\'s face smiling at him from a window high above, and he was sure his night would be otherwise occupied.



Gyokumen held a welcome banquet in Nii\'s honor that evening. Though she had the doors of the dining hall opened out to a spectacular view of the jungle at sunset, the exotic locale did nothing to combat the dreariness of the company. Lirin squirmed, clearly not used to wearing a corset and sitting still for such long periods of time. Knowing she\'d been a fan of Koumyou\'s, and also that it would make Gyokumen angry, Nii attempted to engage her.



"I\'ve never seen someone master a bicycle like that on such rough terrain."



"Big Brother taught me to ride when I was really little!"



"Don\'t bore our guest," Gyokumen interrupted.



"I\'ll let you know when I\'m bored," Nii replied through the teeth of his grin. He made a deliberate study of Lirin. She had a youkai clan marking visible on her cheek, deep red, three stripes a little like a the claw mark from a great cat. Nii assumed it must be the mark of Gyumaoh, but paired with her sand-colored skin, it bore a striking resemblance to someone he hadn\'t seen since the circus. They always joked that the lion tamer once fell afoul of a cub and received the mark.



Kougaiji and his friends never seemed too fond of Nii, coming just short of openly despising him. They certainly hadn\'t bothered to see him off. Nii could barely remember the last time he spoke even a pleasant hello to Kougaiji.



Still, to find his sister half across the world was quite a coincidence, especially since he was performing for the young man\'s stepmother. It was type of coincidence that would probably be followed by several more, the type of coincidence that had followed him this entire trip.



As the youkai servants set out the plates, they barely glanced at Nii and didn\'t even murmur the typical courtesies. Nii didn\'t care enough to be affronted, but he did find the role reversal amusing. Gyokumen might claim to believe in social graces, but he knew when he was being given the cold shoulder. This was youkai territory, and they were trying to throw him off-balance as a show of strength.



"I apologize to milady," said the head butler as they brought out the main course. "The new cook said he didn\'t know our guest was human. It may be spiced a bit too strongly for him."



The chicken was slathered so thickly in spices it was hardly recognizable. Nii\'s eyes watered as he ate a bite. After that, he went to great lengths to hide his food in his napkin, making a great show at how delicious it was. He imagined Koumyou feeding him a small bowl of steamed vegetables and rice, piece by piece, with chopsticks, and was able to fool everyone present into believing he\'d eaten the whole meal.



Lirin, on the other hand, pushed her plate aside and said, "Blech!" Without asking to be excused, she left. "I\'d rather go hungry than eat more of that! It\'s way too hot and salty! I\'m gonna see if the cook has some of those dumplings."



Gyokumen didn\'t finish her meal either. She scolded the servants for bringing out portions so unsuitable for delicate women.



"If you\'ll excuse me," Nii broke in, "I\'m quite tired from the road. I\'ll have to take the tour next time."



"How sad," Gyokumen said. She tapped her long nails over the table cloth, and watched him walk up the stairs.



Nii was expecting the room to be empty, and it was, save his birds and rabbits. They seemed surprisingly calm and content. Then again, Nii could at least keep his animals happy. Like an audience, he knew how to gain their trust.



The space was a welcome change from the cramped interior of the train, though the furnishings weren\'t as sophisticated. The bed was large enough for three grown men (and what a shame it seemed Koumyou\'s son wasn\'t amicable), lightly dressed with fine linen. Outside, the mosquitoes had joined the persistent whine of life in the dying twilight.



In the center of the bed sat a single pillow different from the others, lumpy and uneven. Nii picked up Koumyou\'s pillow and held it tightly. He recalled Koumyou\'s face in the window, and wondered if the fall was far enough to kill him, should someone be behind him to push.



Nii\'s daydream was broken by a soft knock on the door. His mind fought to talk his heart of elation, after all, it couldn\'t be Koumyou. The man hadn\'t properly announced himself since the moment they met. As usual, his mind was correct: it was Gyokumen, dressed in nothing but a simple white shift. She was nothing but dangerous looks, her red lips drawn like a bow ready to fire her pointed tongue.



"The night\'s still young," she said. Nii made no secret of the study he made of her body, the darkness of her nipples visible through the light fabric of her shift. He took a step back from the door, but held up a hand to stop her from following.



"The night is still young," he said, cracking a manic grin. "But you\'re not. And I\'m not that bored tonight."



Nii closed the door and fell back on the bed. He held Koumyou\'s pillow close to his chest and laughed, long and hard.



~*~



Houtou Mansion\'s parlor was equipped with a grand little stage, about three and a half feet from the ground, with a set of flood lights and a few other useful apparatuses like a deep trap door and long mirrors. It had its own little set of curtains, gold and silver with the most charming silk fringe, and looked out onto rows of high-backed chairs on an inclined floor. It was on this stage that Koumyou finally re-appeared to Nii, the day before the party. He was almost startlingly normal in a blue flannel jacket with shiny brass buttons and a flat-topped straw hat. He did a spin around the center stage, arms outstretched. "Ah, it\'s lovely, isn\'t it? Just as I designed it all those years ago."



"You said you mostly performed for Lirin," Nii said from where he stood on a ladder adjusting the spotlight in the back of the room. He was not looking nearly as cheerful or dapper, sweaty from the exertion of setting out all his things without the help of other circus workers, stage hands or an assistant. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up high, his suspenders hanging round his hips.



"You really do listen," Koumyou praised him, then spoke lightly. "Shall we do a dress rehearsal?"



"Yes," said Nii, hopping off the ladder and crossing the room in a few confident strides. He stood directly in front of the older man and kissed him. The trap door beneath them fell open, and they plunged into the profound darkness of a tiny, enclosed space - just as Nii planned. It was not really enough space for them to stand comfortably, smaller than a broom closet. Koumyou had no choice but to press against Nii just to get even footing, straddling Nii\'s leg. Nii kissed Koumyou again, coaxing his lips open. In the partial dark of their hidden compartment, they relearned one another\'s mouths, as if it had been a lifetime since they\'d last met. When Koumyou finally broke free, he laughed against Nii\'s collar. "The door is behind you," he said breathlessly. "I can\'t get free like this."



"Why would you want to be free?" Nii laughed, sliding his thigh between Koumyou\'s legs. They were both damp from the heat by now, the heat of their breath collecting on the sides of the painted-black box. Nii kissed Koumyou\'s neck, so much easier to access with his newly-short hair.



Though the handle of the door dug into the small of his back, Nii was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he pushed his leg between Koumyou\'s again, rubbing slow. He couldn\'t do more with his hands, caught and pinned around Koumyou as they were, but Koumyou soon responded to his subtle movements. They were kissing again, tangled.



"I want to do this during the show," Nii whispered. "While everyone is waiting. They\'ll wonder where we disappeared to."



"Were you always such a naughty young man?" Koumyou teased. He was just as hard as Nii was, and they were frotting through their clothes in earnest now, with whatever tiny movements they could manage.



"Tell me the truth," Nii rasped. He was beginning to regret his choice of venue, but he\'d needed this: an enclosure, some way Koumyou couldn\'t disappear from him, elude him. But he wanted inside Koumyou, wanted more than his mouth and the awkward friction of their clothes, and he couldn\'t have it here, but he couldn\'t stop, either. "Why did you fake your death and send your son to me? Why did you come to me under false pretense? How did you know my assistant had quit? Why is Kougaiji\'s sister here?"



"If you wanted the truth, you shouldn\'t have become a magician," Koumyou said through gritted teeth. The friction of their movements was desperate, but painful too. "Damn it, Nii, I can\'t - I can\'t finish like this!"



Unable to contain his urges, Nii opened the door behind them. It shut without a sound once they stumbled through, trapping them in total darkness. They fell onto one another in the narrow hallway beneath the stage, and surrendered to one another as perfectly as if they\'d planned it. They panted and unbuttoned and never stopped kissing. Nii pressed Koumyou against a wall, spat in his hand and finished them both. Koumyou screamed silently into Nii\'s mouth, then fell into his arms, limp and helpless. It took a few moments for both to gather themselves, giddy as if they\'d shared a private joke. Maybe they had.



"Did I kill you?" Nii whispered into his ear. Koumyou just laughed and kissed him.



"I\'d have to be alive for you to kill me."



"So you\'re a ghost?"



Koumyou lifted his gaze, and pulled Nii\'s spectacles from his face. Hazel eyes met dark, dark brown.



"Maybe. Something like that."



Nii smoothed his hands over Koumyou\'s chest. He felt a small lump, an irregularity, and slipped his hand into the breast pocket of Koumyou\'s jacket. It was a locket made of some heavy stone, cool in his palm. He could feel the grooves of the locket\'s hinge, the small detail in the center of one, a loop on top missing a chain. Nii knew if he were able to see its contents, it would contain a picture of him as a schoolboy, back when he had another name and another life.



"We\'re both ghosts," Koumyou said, sounding both fond and sad. He touched Nii\'s lips. "Invisible."



"But I see you," Nii said to total darkness.



~*~



At precisely 7:24PM the next evening, the silver and gold curtains of Houtou Mansion\'s little stage drew back, revealing the greatest illusionist of his time, Nii Jyianyi. He wore his finest black suit, the ones with tails, with a red vest beneath and his white collar high and stiff. With his bright white gloves, his shiny top hat and equally shining grin, the audience could do little more than love him. Nii observed the audience as they crept further and further into his world of magic and illusions, like flies hopelessly attracted to a pitcher plant. They knew what they would find would offer no substance, but they did not mind, no, instead they sought it. Truly, they were no different than the farmers and working class fools he\'d played for at the circus. Their laughs may have been quieter, their claps more reserved, but their cow-eyed awe at the orange tree finale was just as mind-numbingly dull as it was back home.



As Nii listened to them call for an encore, he looked to his fair-haired assistant. Koumyou smiled behind his black half-mask. He\'d brought out the straitjacket and handcuffs. Nii nodded, and a servant pulled the curtains back again.



"I heard the lady of the house likes escape arts. For my truly final act of this evening, I\'ll escape from this straitjacket, these handcuffs... and this set of chains."



Nii thought he saw a figure with dark hair moving through the crowd. It was probably a servant, judging by the clothes. He didn\'t let the movement distract him. He knew his smile was getting bigger and toothier with the addition of each new weight, each new obstacle. He knew it would take less than 30 seconds to get free. He was not worried. Gyokumen looked on with interest, as did Lirin. But it was Koumyou that Nii focused on, his stillness and his hands clasped behind his back, the slight upward turn of his mouth, visible from beneath his mask.



Nii turned his back to the crowd to work himself free of the final details. As the handcuffs fell to the stage with a jangling clunk, Nii turned, expecting a tide of applause. Instead, he was treated to a pale and outraged Gyokumen, standing up in her seat, her eyes like fire.



"Lirin! Where is Lirin? Where did that girl disappear to?! Someone turn on the lights! She\'s run away again!"



Within moments, the whole household mobilized to search for the girl. Nii had an alibi by being on stage, but they searched the hidden compartment, rooted through the props, and thoroughly upset his doves and rabbits. Lirin wasn\'t the only one who turned up missing. The new cook and stable boys were gone, too. Nii was not surprised to hear the cook had green eyes, or that the stable boys looked youkai.



More important to Nii was his vanished assistant. Everyone claimed to have seen Soma up till the moment Gyokumen halted the show. Yet no trace of him remained, not even a hair for Nii to tie around his wrist. Though Nii wasn\'t sure what part his assistant played, Gyokumen blamed him and sent him from the house.



The train station wouldn\'t be open to buy tickets until morning, so Nii dragged all his things, as well as his animals, to a local inn. The innkeeper let him leave his animals in the stable and escorted Nii to his room. Before retiring, Nii took a bath. He held his breath and sunk deep beneath the water, imagining the weight of the chains keeping him there, threatening a watery grave. Drowning was an attractive way to die, at least until the body started sponging up fluid. Nii wasn\'t vain, but he thought it might be nice to leave a beautiful corpse. He broke the surface only when his lungs were burning, threatening, and his body could not take another moment. Nii was still a little dizzy as he returned to his simply furnished room, yet he felt that nearly drowning had somehow cleared his head a bit.



Koumyou lay stretched out on the bed in a red chang pao, reading a book by lamplight. He didn\'t even look as Nii sat down, nor when Nii crawled over him to kiss the nape of his neck.



"How did your son do, then, Koumyou?" Nii asked him. "Did he pull everything off all right?"



"I have no idea what you\'re talking about," Koumyou said, scratching his cheek. "Have you ever read this book? It\'s called the Tao Te Ching."



"I think I read it in school." This time, Nii kissed Koumyou\'s shoulder blade through the silk of his robe. Koumyou rolled onto his back, and put his arms around Nii.



"The show is over, now. You can lie on top of me. Or kill me. Whatever it is you want."



Nii kissed Koumyou, slow and lingeringly. "I should ask you to un-hypnotize me."



"I could only do that if I\'d actually hypnotized you."



"Didn\'t you?" Nii pulled the onyx locket from the pocket of his suit jacket and placed it in Koumyou\'s hand. Koumyou had slipped it to him during the course of the show that night.



Koumyou smiled and kissed Nii below his left eye. "Maybe a little. But only as much as you hypnotized me."



After one more kiss, Nii stretched out beside Koumyou on the bed and squeezed their hands together. Something odd had occurred to him when Gyokumen offered herself not long ago. He could have empty relations every night for the rest of his life, however he pleased, with almost anyone he wanted. Gyokumen would have been a fine enough diversion in spite of her disgusting personality. But Nii came to realize that what he wanted most was not what he fantasized about, nor what was offered most freely or easily obtained. Those things were illusions, cold comforts compared to the warmth of a simple and quiet companion. That night, after turning Gyokumen away, he realized he genuinely wanted nothing more than to just lie beside Koumyou, staring at the shadows on the ceiling, drifting in and out of sleep. Words and release weren\'t necessary.



"...You didn\'t have to fake your own death just to find out if I\'d want you out of context," Nii said.



"No," Koumyou said with a yawn. "But it was fun, wasn\'t it?"



"It was fun."



Far in the distance, a train whistled.



"Tomorrow, we\'ll head back to the big city," Nii said.



"Do we have to take the train?" Koumyou\'s question held a note of complaint.



"I promise I won\'t throw you from it," Nii assured him.



"How sweet." Koumyou lifted their hands, kissing the back of Nii\'s. "I should warn you, I\'m not making that kind of promise."



"So you\'re going to kill me?" All of Nii\'s skin tingled with the idea of it. "Do you promise to do it if I get too bored?"



Koumyou\'s answer was immediate. "No, absolutely not!" he laughed.



"Why not?" Nii pouted a little.



"Because you\'ll never be too bored."



Nii shook his head then sat up to kiss Koumyou\'s temple. After a little shifting around, they crawled beneath the covers, spooning. Lulled by the rhythm of Koumyou\'s breathing, Nii felt into a deep and dreamless sleep. He didn\'t find it the least bit boring.





~EPILOGUE~



On a train from Houtou to Chang\'an, three men sat around the table in the dining car. A sullen blond, a redhaired bartender, and a dark-haired cook. They were joined by a gold-eyed young man in a white uniform, who laid a newspaper out between them.



"They\'re in it again, Sanzo," said the porter, skimming the article. "The feat was a successes, but naysayers think his assistant may have brought him the key in a glass of water - or a kiss."



"It\'s good to see they\'re doing well," Hakkai tittered, smiling into his tea.



"I thought you hated that guy," Gojyo pointed out.



"Well, at least it\'s good to see Sanzo\'s father doing well. He sounds rather happy, don\'t you think?"



Genjyo glowered and snatched the paper to hide behind.



"Don\'t make me sick."