synwithagrin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
synwithagrin) wrote2009-01-31 03:31 pm
synwithagrin) wrote2009-01-31 03:31 pm
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Working Title: Kabuki Scarlet
Rating: Overall, NC-17
Summary: Born into sin, James Aldaine was different from his family, and he made sure the world knew it, setting the differences so far as life and death. Years later, as Kabuki Scarlet, he roams the streets, searching for the individuals rife with sin, and skillfully destroying them. He is strict, cold, and methodical, spouting dogma that rings only too true, and showing his face only to the ones about to die. Along the way, he meets Joseph, an anguished ex-cop who has sworn never to love again after losing whom he thought was his one true love, but Kabuki is inexplicably drawn to his intelligence. Will Joseph be the one to change this intelligent madman’s ways?
Genre: Crime, Dark, Death, Drama, Erotica, Horror, Murder, Novel, Strange, Third person.
Prologue | Inception | Gula | Luxuria | Curiosus | Avaritia | Superbia |
Opportunus
Kabuki crossed paths with Joseph once more, and instead of ducking out like he should have, he got interested. His brows furrowed under the mask and his steps shifted. He started following him again with his steps light and quiet, curiosity winning over common sense for the first time in his life. What he didn’t expect was the hand that came around his wrist and yanked him forward, or the strong, calloused hands that pinned him to the wall. His senses were jarred and he was knocked silly for a moment, blinking hard before he could focus, and when he did his eyes were sharp.
“Why the hell are you following me?” Joseph’s voice was deeper and more gravelly than Kabuki had expected, and it forced his eyes up, blue colliding with brown violently. It wasn’t necessarily angry, but it wasn’t pleasant either. It sent something that felt distinctly like fear through Kabuki for just a split second before he pushed it back, merely becoming a bad taste in his mouth before he spoke.
“Because I can,” Kabuki spat. The mask that covered his face had fallen to the ground when he'd been jarred, so he was completely exposed under the other man. This man knew exactly what his face looked like now. His heart was pounding and a strange sort of thrill was rushing through him, lighting him up from the inside and making his eyes glow.
“Who says you can? It’s against the law.” Joseph’s voice dropped as he leaned in closer, and Kabuki fought for breath, though keeping his eyes drilling back into Joseph’s. He wasn’t the kind of person to shy away from these kinds of confrontations. It wasn’t in his nature.
“I’m above the law,” Kabuki replied in a silken undertone, and he watched a smirk curl onto the other man’s face, the grip tightening around his wrists, and though it was uncomfortable, he didn’t flinch away. He could predict the ex-cop’s words without fail.
“No one’s above the law,” Joseph replied, eyes seeming to x-ray his face as it roved across the porcelain planes before narrowing, looking right back into Kabuki’s eyes. “Who the hell are you?”
“The only name I’ll give you is Kabuki,” he replied evenly, and Joseph’s eyebrow lifted. God, he really did feel like he was under some kind of microscope, but then again he had wanted to get caught, hadn’t he? He’d been careless indeed. He’d wanted this somewhere in his mind; he’d wanted to be caught at his own game, just because.
“Kabuki? What the hell kinda name’s that?” Joseph asked, moving closer and not letting go of his wrists. It was Kabuki’s turn to smirk as he looked up at the other man, eyes glowing. The words rang far too similar to his father’s, but he supposed that would have been a response he’d get anywhere. There was no acid behind Joseph’s words.
“One I picked out, and not one you’ll find in your records,” he hissed, and Joseph laughed in a loud, echoing burst that sent an unwanted shiver up his spine. He shifted to get out of Joseph’s grip, but instead he found fingers threading through his own. He looked right back at him, brows furrowing. “What?”
Joseph was looking at him carefully, and his head was pounding. He forced himself to keep eye contact, though but for the first time he didn’t have control of a situation and it fucking scared him. His lips parted slightly as he kept his eyes level.
“Not on record, hm? What name would be on record?” he asked, and Kabuki chuckled a little, shaking his head. Like hell he’d tell this guy anything. He may have been interested in this guy, but he wasn’t about to roll over and expose his underbelly just because he’d been caught once.
“I’m not telling you that,” he murmured right back, pushing his back off the wall. He was pushed back against it, though, when Joseph’s chest pressed against his own, and he grunted as he was forced against the wall again. “What’re you gonna do to me, huh? Turn me in?” His lips were barely brushing against Joseph’s, breathing right against his skin and inhaling his scent as he breathed in.
“Turn you in for what?” Joseph asked, his voice barely above a whisper, and Kabuki smirked, barely brushing their lips together as he shook his head. His hair was falling in his face but he couldn’t move to push it away.
“Whatever reason you have me pinned to this wall, maybe?” he murmured in return, and it was Joseph’s turn to laugh low in his throat. The sound grated on his nerves in the strangest way and elicited the strangest reactions in his mind. He actually liked the sound.
“I wouldn’t turn you in just ‘cause I was curious,” Joseph replied, and Kabuki’s breath caught, brows furrowing a little before he laughed again.
“Ever heard of curiosity killed the cat?” His eyes glittered but Joseph didn’t back down. In fact, he pressed his body harder to Kabuki’s, so hard it made his mouth run dry for reasons he didn’t know.
“I’m not afraid of you, especially since I have the upper hand here,” Joseph replied, and Kabuki shook his head. He felt the weight of his knife against his hip, but it was possible that Joseph felt it too. “Knives are nothing compared to guns, Kabuki.”
“Guns are too impersonal,” he hissed, replying even though his suspicions had been confirmed. “Joseph.”
“They’re quicker and easier, though,” Joseph pointed out, and Kabuki couldn’t help but think he was right. “And I’m not going to ask how you know my name.”
“I know more than your name. I know your habits, your work schedule, where you live. I know a lot about you,” Kabuki murmured even though his breathing was getting heavier.
“Then it’s not fair that I know nothing about you,” Joseph replied, shocking him into silence. He hadn’t expected that curveball.
“Why would you want to know anything about me? I’m just your stalker, right?” When in doubt, he thought, deflect. He felt panic rising in his chest from being so close to someone without hurting or getting hurt. It was rising like heat in his chest, fanning a flame that was trying to turn into a wildfire, and every labored breath he took in was giving it more life.
Joseph made a sound of amusement and moved closer, breathing against Kabuki’s ear before he spoke, making the killer arch against the stone he was helplessly pinned against. “Call me curious.”
“Curious,” Kabuki murmured right back into the cascading curls that were near his face and tickling his cheek a little. He felt every sensation, the way the calluses seemed to scrape against his skin and light something, a fire in him that wasn’t the panic he was still feeling. Oh, God, what was this guy doing to him? His blood was racing, scorching him from the inside out and seeming to melt something inside of him, the cold feeling not even beginning to tamper the heat that was pulsing through his every vein.
“Clever. Very clever,” Joseph murmured with anther soft laugh against his ear that made him shudder again. “Tell me something, then. Why are you following me of all people, and be honest. I’ll know when you’re lying.”
Oh, to have his words thrown back at him like that rang ironic in his head, and he laughed in a short burst because of it. Joseph made a sound of confusion low in his throat, and Kabuki just shook his head. “I’m following you because you interest me.”
“Oh? And how’s that?”
“You’re different. You’re like me.” Kabuki’s voice was barely above a whisper as he spoke, and he hadn’t known what else to say. Honesty seemed to indeed be the best policy with this. His heart was hammering in his temples, giving him a vague headache, but he wouldn’t pull away from this. Somewhere he almost got the feeling he couldn’t, and that scared and thrilled him in equal measure.
“Explain,” Joseph murmured, but there was no disgust in his voice. That, once again, shocked him. He slipped his tongue over his bottom lip.
“You’re an onlooker. Watching life, but never really living it. Being a silent observer, never really putting yourself out there. I’ve watched you in crowds; you’ve never made a single move to go out and make a life for yourself. You just watch, silently wanting what they have, but you’ll never step out of your shadows long enough to grasp onto some of the life that flares in their faces and in their hearts. Some would say you’re ruined or broken, but I think you’re afraid,” Kabuki’s mouth had opened and a flood of words came out without him wrapping his brain around them. They were just words, not formulated or calculated for effect. They were unfiltered and more honest than ever; it seemed they’d triggered something.
“Afraid? What would I be afraid of?” Joseph asked, his deep voice a little sharp against his ear, and Kabuki let out a sharp exhale. It was hard to think with Joseph pressed so close to him like this, it really was. He forced his mind to work, and came up with a simple answer.
“Getting hurt,” Kabuki replied, his own voice a little sharpened, but it hadn’t risen above a whisper, pressing his head against Joseph’s. He inhaled, and was immediately met with the dizzying scent of metal and sweat, as well as a scent he couldn’t place invading his senses so thoroughly he was sure he’d never think of anything else ever again. It felt like his entire body had locked up and some beast inside of him had been tamed, a thrumming sensation reverberating through his body in a way he’d never experienced.
“Why would I be afraid of getting hurt?” Joseph asked, and Kabuki let his head fall back, looking up at Joseph through his lashes. The look on his face was enough to say that maybe he’d hit a nerve somewhere, and the very thought made his instincts flicker where they’d laid dormant through the conversation.
“I don’t know, but I know you are because you keep deflecting,” he pointed out, and he watched Joseph’s eyes flare with a bit of amusement that resembled his normal affect. This guy was doing really weird things to him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
“You think you know so much, don’t you?” Joseph hissed, and Kabuki cocked his head, something going off in his head, a warning of sorts. The other man was breathing so close to him he could taste peppermint and something a little spicier that he couldn’t place. “You don’t know anything.”
“I know enough,” Kabuki replied, and Joseph, instead of snapping, just laughed, shaking his head a little and releasing the grip on his hands and stepping back. It seemed he was finally setting him ‘free’, but when the weight left his body, he felt bereft for a split second before he came back into himself. Bereft? Of what? He shoved the thought aside.
“I would say quit following me, but I get the distinct impression you won’t listen,” he said as Kabuki rubbed his hands together, looking up and lifting an eyebrow as a slight grin touched his lips.
“I never listen,” he replied, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants, feeling the knife brushing against his fingertips. He couldn’t help but think of Joseph’s words about guns and wondered if maybe they’d end up being a valuable asset. He shrugged it off. “I’ll be around.”
Without another word, Kabuki turned and walked down the alley, hopping over a fence and disappearing from Joseph’s view. He heard him scoff on the other side, and he smiled a little to himself. No, he wouldn’t stop following the other man, though every single instinct he had was ringing loud and clear, telling him to steer clear of the other man. For once, he didn’t intend to listen to them, though.
Rating: Overall, NC-17
Summary: Born into sin, James Aldaine was different from his family, and he made sure the world knew it, setting the differences so far as life and death. Years later, as Kabuki Scarlet, he roams the streets, searching for the individuals rife with sin, and skillfully destroying them. He is strict, cold, and methodical, spouting dogma that rings only too true, and showing his face only to the ones about to die. Along the way, he meets Joseph, an anguished ex-cop who has sworn never to love again after losing whom he thought was his one true love, but Kabuki is inexplicably drawn to his intelligence. Will Joseph be the one to change this intelligent madman’s ways?
Genre: Crime, Dark, Death, Drama, Erotica, Horror, Murder, Novel, Strange, Third person.
Prologue | Inception | Gula | Luxuria | Curiosus | Avaritia | Superbia |
Kabuki crossed paths with Joseph once more, and instead of ducking out like he should have, he got interested. His brows furrowed under the mask and his steps shifted. He started following him again with his steps light and quiet, curiosity winning over common sense for the first time in his life. What he didn’t expect was the hand that came around his wrist and yanked him forward, or the strong, calloused hands that pinned him to the wall. His senses were jarred and he was knocked silly for a moment, blinking hard before he could focus, and when he did his eyes were sharp.
“Why the hell are you following me?” Joseph’s voice was deeper and more gravelly than Kabuki had expected, and it forced his eyes up, blue colliding with brown violently. It wasn’t necessarily angry, but it wasn’t pleasant either. It sent something that felt distinctly like fear through Kabuki for just a split second before he pushed it back, merely becoming a bad taste in his mouth before he spoke.
“Because I can,” Kabuki spat. The mask that covered his face had fallen to the ground when he'd been jarred, so he was completely exposed under the other man. This man knew exactly what his face looked like now. His heart was pounding and a strange sort of thrill was rushing through him, lighting him up from the inside and making his eyes glow.
“Who says you can? It’s against the law.” Joseph’s voice dropped as he leaned in closer, and Kabuki fought for breath, though keeping his eyes drilling back into Joseph’s. He wasn’t the kind of person to shy away from these kinds of confrontations. It wasn’t in his nature.
“I’m above the law,” Kabuki replied in a silken undertone, and he watched a smirk curl onto the other man’s face, the grip tightening around his wrists, and though it was uncomfortable, he didn’t flinch away. He could predict the ex-cop’s words without fail.
“No one’s above the law,” Joseph replied, eyes seeming to x-ray his face as it roved across the porcelain planes before narrowing, looking right back into Kabuki’s eyes. “Who the hell are you?”
“The only name I’ll give you is Kabuki,” he replied evenly, and Joseph’s eyebrow lifted. God, he really did feel like he was under some kind of microscope, but then again he had wanted to get caught, hadn’t he? He’d been careless indeed. He’d wanted this somewhere in his mind; he’d wanted to be caught at his own game, just because.
“Kabuki? What the hell kinda name’s that?” Joseph asked, moving closer and not letting go of his wrists. It was Kabuki’s turn to smirk as he looked up at the other man, eyes glowing. The words rang far too similar to his father’s, but he supposed that would have been a response he’d get anywhere. There was no acid behind Joseph’s words.
“One I picked out, and not one you’ll find in your records,” he hissed, and Joseph laughed in a loud, echoing burst that sent an unwanted shiver up his spine. He shifted to get out of Joseph’s grip, but instead he found fingers threading through his own. He looked right back at him, brows furrowing. “What?”
Joseph was looking at him carefully, and his head was pounding. He forced himself to keep eye contact, though but for the first time he didn’t have control of a situation and it fucking scared him. His lips parted slightly as he kept his eyes level.
“Not on record, hm? What name would be on record?” he asked, and Kabuki chuckled a little, shaking his head. Like hell he’d tell this guy anything. He may have been interested in this guy, but he wasn’t about to roll over and expose his underbelly just because he’d been caught once.
“I’m not telling you that,” he murmured right back, pushing his back off the wall. He was pushed back against it, though, when Joseph’s chest pressed against his own, and he grunted as he was forced against the wall again. “What’re you gonna do to me, huh? Turn me in?” His lips were barely brushing against Joseph’s, breathing right against his skin and inhaling his scent as he breathed in.
“Turn you in for what?” Joseph asked, his voice barely above a whisper, and Kabuki smirked, barely brushing their lips together as he shook his head. His hair was falling in his face but he couldn’t move to push it away.
“Whatever reason you have me pinned to this wall, maybe?” he murmured in return, and it was Joseph’s turn to laugh low in his throat. The sound grated on his nerves in the strangest way and elicited the strangest reactions in his mind. He actually liked the sound.
“I wouldn’t turn you in just ‘cause I was curious,” Joseph replied, and Kabuki’s breath caught, brows furrowing a little before he laughed again.
“Ever heard of curiosity killed the cat?” His eyes glittered but Joseph didn’t back down. In fact, he pressed his body harder to Kabuki’s, so hard it made his mouth run dry for reasons he didn’t know.
“I’m not afraid of you, especially since I have the upper hand here,” Joseph replied, and Kabuki shook his head. He felt the weight of his knife against his hip, but it was possible that Joseph felt it too. “Knives are nothing compared to guns, Kabuki.”
“Guns are too impersonal,” he hissed, replying even though his suspicions had been confirmed. “Joseph.”
“They’re quicker and easier, though,” Joseph pointed out, and Kabuki couldn’t help but think he was right. “And I’m not going to ask how you know my name.”
“I know more than your name. I know your habits, your work schedule, where you live. I know a lot about you,” Kabuki murmured even though his breathing was getting heavier.
“Then it’s not fair that I know nothing about you,” Joseph replied, shocking him into silence. He hadn’t expected that curveball.
“Why would you want to know anything about me? I’m just your stalker, right?” When in doubt, he thought, deflect. He felt panic rising in his chest from being so close to someone without hurting or getting hurt. It was rising like heat in his chest, fanning a flame that was trying to turn into a wildfire, and every labored breath he took in was giving it more life.
Joseph made a sound of amusement and moved closer, breathing against Kabuki’s ear before he spoke, making the killer arch against the stone he was helplessly pinned against. “Call me curious.”
“Curious,” Kabuki murmured right back into the cascading curls that were near his face and tickling his cheek a little. He felt every sensation, the way the calluses seemed to scrape against his skin and light something, a fire in him that wasn’t the panic he was still feeling. Oh, God, what was this guy doing to him? His blood was racing, scorching him from the inside out and seeming to melt something inside of him, the cold feeling not even beginning to tamper the heat that was pulsing through his every vein.
“Clever. Very clever,” Joseph murmured with anther soft laugh against his ear that made him shudder again. “Tell me something, then. Why are you following me of all people, and be honest. I’ll know when you’re lying.”
Oh, to have his words thrown back at him like that rang ironic in his head, and he laughed in a short burst because of it. Joseph made a sound of confusion low in his throat, and Kabuki just shook his head. “I’m following you because you interest me.”
“Oh? And how’s that?”
“You’re different. You’re like me.” Kabuki’s voice was barely above a whisper as he spoke, and he hadn’t known what else to say. Honesty seemed to indeed be the best policy with this. His heart was hammering in his temples, giving him a vague headache, but he wouldn’t pull away from this. Somewhere he almost got the feeling he couldn’t, and that scared and thrilled him in equal measure.
“Explain,” Joseph murmured, but there was no disgust in his voice. That, once again, shocked him. He slipped his tongue over his bottom lip.
“You’re an onlooker. Watching life, but never really living it. Being a silent observer, never really putting yourself out there. I’ve watched you in crowds; you’ve never made a single move to go out and make a life for yourself. You just watch, silently wanting what they have, but you’ll never step out of your shadows long enough to grasp onto some of the life that flares in their faces and in their hearts. Some would say you’re ruined or broken, but I think you’re afraid,” Kabuki’s mouth had opened and a flood of words came out without him wrapping his brain around them. They were just words, not formulated or calculated for effect. They were unfiltered and more honest than ever; it seemed they’d triggered something.
“Afraid? What would I be afraid of?” Joseph asked, his deep voice a little sharp against his ear, and Kabuki let out a sharp exhale. It was hard to think with Joseph pressed so close to him like this, it really was. He forced his mind to work, and came up with a simple answer.
“Getting hurt,” Kabuki replied, his own voice a little sharpened, but it hadn’t risen above a whisper, pressing his head against Joseph’s. He inhaled, and was immediately met with the dizzying scent of metal and sweat, as well as a scent he couldn’t place invading his senses so thoroughly he was sure he’d never think of anything else ever again. It felt like his entire body had locked up and some beast inside of him had been tamed, a thrumming sensation reverberating through his body in a way he’d never experienced.
“Why would I be afraid of getting hurt?” Joseph asked, and Kabuki let his head fall back, looking up at Joseph through his lashes. The look on his face was enough to say that maybe he’d hit a nerve somewhere, and the very thought made his instincts flicker where they’d laid dormant through the conversation.
“I don’t know, but I know you are because you keep deflecting,” he pointed out, and he watched Joseph’s eyes flare with a bit of amusement that resembled his normal affect. This guy was doing really weird things to him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
“You think you know so much, don’t you?” Joseph hissed, and Kabuki cocked his head, something going off in his head, a warning of sorts. The other man was breathing so close to him he could taste peppermint and something a little spicier that he couldn’t place. “You don’t know anything.”
“I know enough,” Kabuki replied, and Joseph, instead of snapping, just laughed, shaking his head a little and releasing the grip on his hands and stepping back. It seemed he was finally setting him ‘free’, but when the weight left his body, he felt bereft for a split second before he came back into himself. Bereft? Of what? He shoved the thought aside.
“I would say quit following me, but I get the distinct impression you won’t listen,” he said as Kabuki rubbed his hands together, looking up and lifting an eyebrow as a slight grin touched his lips.
“I never listen,” he replied, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants, feeling the knife brushing against his fingertips. He couldn’t help but think of Joseph’s words about guns and wondered if maybe they’d end up being a valuable asset. He shrugged it off. “I’ll be around.”
Without another word, Kabuki turned and walked down the alley, hopping over a fence and disappearing from Joseph’s view. He heard him scoff on the other side, and he smiled a little to himself. No, he wouldn’t stop following the other man, though every single instinct he had was ringing loud and clear, telling him to steer clear of the other man. For once, he didn’t intend to listen to them, though.