Through the Eyes of the Tiger

Fall 1870

San Francisco

Twenty year old Toshiro Itou strode down Dupont Street smiling to himself each time someone crossed the busy thoroughfare to avoided coming into contact with him. He'd only been here in San Francisco for six months and already his reputation as one of the fiercest 'Hatchet Men' the Wong family had ever hired preceded him.

Stopping before the double doors of Golden Phoenix Benevolent Association Toshiro tilted his chin back enough to catch the waning rays of the late afternoon sun before it set, giving way to the bone chilling autumn fog that rolled in off the bay.

A burst of raucous laughter from further down the block caught Toshiro's attention and he turned to look, his pleasant expression souring the moment his gaze settled upon that useless son of a whore, Jin Chao.

'Can you picture the pretty domestic scenes they must make, Shu like some white noble decked out in silk robes sitting before the fire and his little Jap lapdog prancing around in a maid's apron kissing his as...'

Chao's words turned into a choking sound when Toshiro rammed into him, drove him back against the nearest wall, one hand clutching Chao's throat the other wrapped around the ivory blade a gleaming knife poised to slit open his belly.

'Toshiro...'

Toshiro smirked at the frightened Chao.

'Mr. Shu...help...me...' Chao croaked, trying to look over Toshiro's shoulder.

A trickle of crimson blood soaked through the white front of Chao's starched shirt.

'Are you going to disobey me, Toshiro?'

Toshiro tensed, his breath catching in his throat. Behind him, he heard the faint rustle of clothing, felt the brush of a hand across the small of his back. Brief though the contact was, the touch was slow and deliberate enough that there could be no mistaking the warning it carried.

'Disobey?' Toshiro's eyes remained on locked on Chao's, his hand on the bastard's throat. 'Not at all. The thought of killing him didn't even cross my mind.'

The man behind him laughed, a deep, throaty sound that caused a shiver to trickle down Toshiro's spine and the blood to rush to his cock.

'What's crossing your mind now, Toshiro?'

Toshiro addressed the terrified fool in front of him, mouthing silently to Chao, That today you were lucky, you little fuck.

He shivered again when he felt a hot breath against his ear and that hand again on the small of his back. This time the touch was more forceful, pressing hard enough that Toshiro could feel each fingertip through the fabric of his suit.

'Leave him, Toshiro,' Dao Kan said darkly.

Toshiro finally turned his back on the cowardly Chao and followed Shu back to the tong house.

'The thought of killing excites you.'

'The thought of killing him does.'

Shu stopped short and turned, his hand grazing his protege's erection. 'Is that all that excites you, Toshiro?'

'You know the answer to that.'

'I want to hear it.'

Toshiro leaned in. 'You excite me,' he said softly.

Shu gave him a smirking grin then backhanded him hard enough to bloody his lip.

'Oh yes,' Shu laughed under his breath. 'That's all this ever is...' He moved close, his tongue flicking out to catch the blood trickling from the corner of Toshiro's lip.

'You enjoy testing my patience for the sake of your arousal,' Dao Kan smirked. Reaching between them, he pressed his hand against the swelling bulge at the front of Toshiro's pants and clicked his tongue. 'I expected you to be harder for sensei.'

'For the love of Buddha, Shu, don't embarrass me. The Elders are on their way.'

Shu growled his displeasure at their superior, Toshiro's new stepfather, Ren Yang. 'That fool tries my patience,' Shu hissed as Yang and his bodyguards stepped around them and entered the building.

Toshiro's attitude soon mirrored Shu's when Chao Jin rushed by calling to Yang and proclaiming that he'd taken care of whatever shit task he'd been sent to do earlier in the day.

'Let's get inside and get this fucking meeting over with,' Shu muttered.

'Shit,' Toshiro hissed under his breath and clenched his jaw.

These regular gatherings with the Wong leaders never went well. It was no secret Shu despised being there. He preferred his own approach when it came to tong affairs...often far more bloody than the Elders would openly endorse, but effective nonetheless. Toshiro had his own methods, perhaps not as brutal as Dao's, but just as independent from the Elders' approval. This added to the usual tension between rivals in the gang created an 'unpleasant' atmosphere, to put it mildly.

But no one could deny how effective both men were as enforcers for the Wong. Just a rumor that either he or Shu--or the gods forbid, both men--are going to handle a situation is often enough to for the erring person to go running to the Elders for forgiveness. Dao Kan Shu and Toshiro Itou were well respected and feared by many...perhaps even by some of the very men they worked for

Toshiro's scowl gave way to a self-assured smile. He smoothed out the front of his coat, letting his hand linger a bit over the swell of his cock. Later, he hoped to continue the 'lecture' with Dao Kan, but in their bedroom and with no interruptions.

He reached the archway leading into the parlor where the Elders held their meetings. Padded benches and imported French divans were arranged at angles before a center row of several high-backed Chinese chairs with ornately carved armrests. The plush oriental carpet muffled the footsteps of the dozen or so Wong leaders as they took their places about the room.

Across from the entryway, a smaller group of men were huddled around a tall stand with a head-sized black box pinned to the top of the tripod. They were preparing a flash, the acrid smell of gunpowder cutting through the perfume of the incense burning on the end tables.

'Photographers?' Toshiro questioned. He came up beside Shu, who stood in the doorway with his dark eyes glittering as he watched the scene.

'It would seem so,' Shu replied dryly. 'Another show of the Elders' eccentricities. They want us to take a family photo.'

Ren Yang motioned for the men directly under his command to arrange themselves behind him but Shu boldly took a seat on the divan directly beside Yang. It was the place Yang's best friend and assistant, Lau would have sat had he not been killed by Shu some months earlier.

'Shu!' Yang said in a forceful whisper. 'Get out.'

'Let him stay Ren, the Clan's leader said as he took his place in the center of the gathering. I don't want to see an empty space ruin the photo.'

Smirking, Shu settled back and crossed one leg over the other. Toshiro moved behind the divan and places his hand lightly upon Shu's shoulder. Chuckling, Shu patted Toshiro's hand. 'Such a good pupil you are.'

Once that photo was taken the parlor was cleared to allow each of the elders to be photographed individually. Yang came up behind Shu, grabbed his arm and spun him around. 'Do that again, Shu, and I will gut you like a carp, the Elders be damned.'

Shu sucked in his breath, his nostrils flaring. 'Take your fingers off of me before I fucking cut them off,' he choked out. But Yang refused to obey and actually tightening his grip instead.

'I'd love for you try it, Dao Kan,' Yang glared from behind the round lenses of his wire-rimmed glasses. 'Please.'

All emotion disappeared from Shu's face, except for his eyes. They narrowed dangerously and pierced Yang with a look of utter loathing. Shu froze almost completely, but Toshiro was sharp enough to notice the way his muscles tensed under the flesh, trembling with his fury.

Yang and Shu would hate each other until the day one of them died, and probably afterwards as well. Yang knew exactly how to push Dao Kan's temper over the edge, while Dao would willingly forsake his better judgment for the chance to take Yang's life.

Cursing under his breath, Toshiro moved forward before things spiraled too far out of control. He said the first thing that came to mind, knowing it would get the attention of them both. 'Yang, at what time did my mother have her dinner party scheduled tonight?'

Sure enough, Yang and Shu broke their stare-off and turned to glare at him. Ume Itou, Toshiro's mother. Another very sore subject between all three men, enough so it distracted Shu and Yang from being at each other's throats.

'What?' Shu spat as he jerked his arm away.

Yang let go, reaching up to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He gave Toshiro a cold, knowing look. 'Seven-thirty,' he said evenly. 'Is your mother expecting you? We assumed you'd have your own...activities...planned for the evening, much as you have every other night.'

'She told me about it of course but I didn't give her an answer. I think we should go,' he said, turning toward Shu.

Both Yang and Dao Kan stared at him as if he proposed they both run off and elope.

'An excellent idea,' Yang said suddenly, a slow smile spreading across his face. 'It's time we become one big happy family isn't it, Toshiro?'

'The hell it is,' Shu hissed. He pushed in front of Toshiro, putting himself between Toshiro and Yang. 'As far as I'm concerned there's only thing you can do with your pathetic invitation, Yang.'

'Don't ruin it for the boy, Shu,' Yang stepped back, his smirk widening. 'Why don't you just stay in tonight?'

Shu bristled again and Toshiro rested a hand on his shoulder. During this short confrontation, something of an audience had gathered. Most of the Elders had finished taking their photos, and their attention started to wander across the room where Shu and Yang were obviously an inch within fighting. Master Cho, the oldest and most cunning of the Wong leaders, had his shrewd eyes focused directly on Shu.

'Dao,' Toshiro warned.

Too furious to even speak Shu swatted Toshiro's hand away, then stalked off to take his seat for the remainder of the gathering--this time near the back of the room, far from Yang. Reaching into his coat pocket he withdrew a silver cigarette case and boldly returned the direct look Master Cho gave him.

In front of Toshiro, Yang laughed softly. 'Each day you show yourself to be a more shrewd young man than you let on, Toshiro,' he said.

'Did you and Yang have a nice chat?,' Shu muttered when they left the tong house.

'We didn't have a chat, Dao Kan-' Toshiro broke off as Shu quickly crossed the street, darting between passing wagons in pursuit of a man in traditional Chinese garb who disappeared around the corner at the end of the block. Toshiro rushed after him and followed Shu and his quarry through an alley then another and another until they ended up in a section of Chinatown controlled by a rival tong. Shit. What was Shu doing?

Shu caught up with the man before he take another short cut and Toshiro rushed to stand at the mouth of the tiny dead-end alley to keep watch.

The man pulled a small gun which Shu swatted away with a laugh. He whipped out his jade handled knife and held it to the throat of the cowering young man. 'And what, was Yat-sen Soong, beloved only son of Master Ting-kai Soong doing on the Dupon Gai in broad daylight no less?

'Let go of me or I swear-'

'What?' Shu said with a smirk. 'You swear on the blood of my ancestors that I will pay for this effrontery?'

'Yes,' the young man said through clenched teeth.

Shu laughed. 'I know what you were doing, Yat-sen. I know everything about your little secret.'

Soong's voice quavered. 'Let me go or I'll call for help. You know what this building is, don't you?'

'Oh I know, Yat-sen. I make it my business to know everything.' Shu leaned in closer. 'I know that they can't hear you through this iron door because your father's two men at the front of the house are undoubtedly getting their cocks sucked by the new slave girls he bought this morning at the barracoon to be your concubines. But you, dear Yat-sen don't want concubines fresh off the boat because you like having your cock sucked by a twelve year old boy in Fish Alley, don't you? And that boy just happens to be a nephew of Master Cho...'

'Let me go,' the young man repeated, his voice quaking more than before.

'On your knees, Yat-sen. You're going to suck my cock.'

'Never.'

'Then die,' Shu said calmly, pressing his blade forward to draw blood.

Soong sucked in his breath. 'No, don't.'

'Dao,' don't do this,' Toshiro cautioned.

Shu's reply was a short derisive laugh. 'Are you jealous Toshiro?'

'No.'

'Oh I think you are.' Shu turned back to his captive. 'Yat-sen, I won't tell you again,' he said as he undid the buttons of his fly.

Soong made an odd squeak like sound then sunk to his knees on the damp cobblestones.

'And if you even think to bite me Yat-sen you will die before your jaws can clamp shut.'

The man shook his head wildly. If the thought had crossed his mind before, it sure as hell was gone now. He whimpered as Shu pressed the blade of the knife to his throat to draw another trickle of blood from the raw cut in the flesh.

'Your father prides himself on being such a cunning and ruthless tong leader, and here you are...' Shu laughed darkly. 'His only son, a squealing coward.'

Shu pulled the knife away and leaned close against the wall. He hovered his lips by Yat-sen's ear and whispered, but Toshiro could still make out the words. 'Now do the only thing you're good for, Yat-sen.'

The man said nothing, but dipped his head down and closed his lips around the head of Shu's cock.

Repulsed by Yat-sen's show of cowardice, Toshiro's face screwed up with displeasure. But it was the sight of Dao Kan's sex in that bastard's mouth that made his stomach twist.

'Disgusting,' he hissed, turning around. But couldn't look away for long. Shu's breathing turned into a heavy panting while Yat-sen's muffled moans worsened the knotting in the pit of Toshiro's belly.

Toshiro could only stare as Shu fucked Yat-sen's mouth with the same abandon that he did to Toshiro's own. And try as he might Toshiro couldn't help the blood from rushing to his own cock. Sometimes sucking Shu was just as stirring as having the man pound furiously into his ass.

Resisting the urge to touch himself, Toshiro continued to watch. Shu was close he could tell by the quick jerks of his hips and the way he tossed his head back as his climax neared. But instead of coming in the younger man's mouth Shu pulled his cock few with an audible plop and shot his load all over Yat-sen Soong's face and chest.

Laughing Shu stuffed himself back into his pants and nicked Soong's ear with eh tip of his knife. 'Tell anyone about this and I'll gut you starting with your ass.' He tucked his knife back into his jacket and strode out of the alley. 'Toshiro. Come.'

Toshiro's nervousness grew when Dao Kan refused to hurry back to their own side of Chinatown, instead walking boldly along the main street as if he had every right to do so. To Toshiro's relief they made it home without incident. 'You're insane. Soong's people will start a war before dawn over this. Yang won't be happy at all.'

'Fuck Yang!' Shu said skewering Toshiro with a look. 'I'm too important to the Elders and their thirst for conquest for them to do so much as wag a bony finger at me.'

Toshiro squared his jaw while Dao Kan shrugged out of his coat and strode across the foyer. He followed after Dao, stepping around the lamp and end table that had been pulled away from the wall to make room for the new mirror that would arrive any day now. They'd only been in the house for a few weeks and much of the furniture was still in disarray. That would be another one of Shu's quirks--he refused to let anyone stay in the house, including maids, and arranged things his way when he wanted.

Like fucking Yat-sen in the back alley. As much as Toshiro knew Shu had done it to throw in Yang's face, it was meant also as another slap to Toshiro himself.

Bristling, Toshiro entered the parlor and glared at Shu who was pouring himself a drink of brandy. 'Soong doesn't have any concerns about your 'importance', Dao Kan. And he'll certainly do more than wag a finger at you.'

'You sound afraid, Toshiro.'

'No,' Toshiro snapped. 'I'm being rational.'

'Hmm.' Shu took a sip of his drink before placing the glass on top of the bar top. He turned his gaze away from the darkening window to focus on Toshiro, piercing the younger man with a look full of cold anger. 'That's the second time today you've questioned my ability to reason.'

'And both times I've been right,' Toshiro matched his glare.

'How dare you,' Shu breathed. He crossed the floor, grabbing Toshiro by the elbow and yanking him forward. 'There are better uses for your filthy mouth, other than pissing me off.'

Dao Kan shoved Toshiro against the back of the sofa, hard. 'But you've been very cheeky with me, and I don't like it. Instead of being rewarded, my disobedient little pupil is due a well-deserved punishment.'

Toshiro grunted as Dao shoved him up and halfway over the piece of furniture. The back of Toshiro's knees hooked on the edge of the sofa, his legs parted whether he'd meant them to be or not. Dao Kan leaned over him, pressing against Toshiro's balls as he reached down to grab Toshiro's chin.

'Back in the alley with Yat-sen, though your coat was buttoned down the bulge at the front of your clothing was noticeable,' Shu whispered. 'How much did it ache not being able to take your swollen, hungry cock in your hands?'

'It didn't.'

Toshiro expected the slap that followed and truth be told he rather liked the sharp sting of it. He also liked the fierce gleam in Shu's eye and the way the older man reached down and squeezed his balls. It hurt like hell but he refused to give in to the pain and let Shu see it.

'Then why are you hard now?'

Before Toshiro could reply Shu laughed and let go. He gulped down his brandy then strode to the door. 'I'm getting a bath.' He stopped in the doorway, looked back at Toshiro his eyes glittering with an unspoken challenge. 'Follow me if you have the nerve.'

Toshiro straightened, his pulse hammering in chest while his cock throbbed between his legs. If he followed Shu to the bath, he knew he would be fucked senseless and God knew he wanted it. He cleared his throat and took a steadying breath.

'I...can't,' he said.

Shu scowled. 'Don't be stupid,' he hissed. 'My patience with you isn't endless.'

'Yang must have told my mother I'm going over tonight,' Toshiro smoothed out the front of his rumpled shirt. 'I should go.'

'You would prefer to spend your evening with them,' Shu said flatly.

'I'd prefer to spend it with you there, actually,' Toshiro mumbled. 'But no matter what I'm going.'

Shu cursed and charged out of the room. The sound of glass shattering on the hardwood floors followed, as Shu must've flung the empty glass down. Toshiro heard some more scuffling noises as Shu's tantrum continued upstairs. He decided the issue wasn't worth pursuing, and went out to the foyer to leave.

'Stop!' Dao Kan called out sharply from the top of the staircase.

Toshiro stepped over the shards of glass and gave him a wary look. Shu was buttoning into fresh shirt, his dark eyes glittering with fury. He took the stairs two at a time and joined Toshiro in the foyer.

'I'll be damned if Yang draws you into that house alone tonight,' he brushed past Toshiro and opened the front door.

'And what if he says something about Yat-sen?' Toshiro said, his earlier worries returned.

Shu whipped around and pushed the younger man back against the door. He leaned forward, possessively taking Toshiro's mouth in his own but delivering his kiss with a surprising tenderness.

'Yang and Soong are of no concern to me,' Shu whispered in a husky tone fraught with desires to come.

Shu took great pride in the uneasy look that appeared in Ume Itou Yang's eyes when he entered the house before her son. Oh she concealed it quickly but the tension in her slim neck and bare shoulders so pristinely pale above the low neckline of her French gown could not be hidden so easily. She welcomed her son with and quick kiss on the cheek.

'No kiss for me?' Shu teased leaning in, obscenely flicking his tongue at her.

Her dark eyes flashing with pent up fury she snapped open the silk and iron fan she always carried before spinning on her dainty heel to go and rejoin her invited guests in the parlor.

'Ume, dear,' Shu called softly. She turned and glared. He grinned at her and reached down to rub her beloved son's cock. I fuck him every night he mouthed.

'Dammit, Dao,' Toshiro, said pulling away, with an exasperated sigh.

Shu grabbed his arm, jerked Toshiro back to his side. 'Don't even think to be so dismissive to me again.'

Ren Yang's appearance at the top of the stair's to their right cut off any comment Toshiro might have made. 'Shu. You and I have business. Come to my study.'

Shu pushed Toshiro away. 'My pleasure, Ren I do hope you have the good liquor out as well.'

The minute Shu went up Toshiro's mother approached him. 'Toshiro please come live here. If not here then let me find you a suitable flat. You have to get away form that lunatic.'

Toshiro glowered at her and snatched a glass of wine form the tray the cute little maid held before him. He downed it in a single gulp then took another. 'You neglected me for most of my life don't try to be a mother now. I'm happy where I am.'

Another guest arrived-Master Cho and his bodyguards. Toshiro watched in disgust as his mother fawned over the old man before he and his men went upstairs and she returned to her guests. He heard the rumors only too often and didn't doubt them for a moment. Cho favored his mother and called her to his office and often to his home to 'serve him tea' and no doubt fuck his brains out. Dao was right she was no better than a whore and he was foolish to want to see her even for a moment.

Toshiro finished his drink then called the girl over for another an instant before a loud thud echoed form overhead. The crystal chandelier tinkled from the vibration. Muffled Cantonese shouting soon followed and Toshiro's mother clapped her hands and called for everyone's attention. She had an American guest in attendance apparently some celebrated composer she'd met after a recent performance and she encouraged him to play them a song on the piano while everyone pretended not hear more thumps and shouts from above.

Shit. What was Yang doing to Dao Kan?

'That's enough,' Cho waved his hand through the air. The two bodyguards at Shu's sides pulled back and released him. The man behind Shu stepped away, slipping the short whip of hemp he'd used to strike Shu across the back into his pocket.

Beside Cho, Yang snarled. 'That's hardly enough, Master Cho. What he's done today is another example of his growing disrespect for you.'

'Silence,' the tong Elder hissed. He pointed to the crumpled body on the floor, that belonging to Cho's fourth bodyguard. The man tried to get a little too rough with Shu, most likely on a prior order from Yang. The bodyguard paid for it with his life, blood still trickling from the gash at his torn throat.

'Take that fool away,' Master Cho said in his frail, raspy voice that nonetheless commanded ultimate respect from those around him. The two bodyguards who'd restrained Shu moved to drag the corpse out of the room.

'Now, tell me why you disgraced Yat-sen Soong today,' the old man ask Shu.

Yang interrupted. 'Because he's an infuriatingly reckless fool,' he seethed.

Cho silenced him with a cold look just as effective as a slap across the face would have been. The Elder turned back to Shu. 'Answer my question, Dao Kan.'

'The Soongs' collective existence is an affront to our organization,' Shu replied, calmly wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. 'More so when certain members of their family...' he paused and eyed Cho directly, '...amuse themselves in ways all of us within the Wongs should take personally.'

Cho hissed through his teeth. 'This I understand.'

Shu restrained any emotion from showing on his face, while Yang's expression soured into one of frustration and anger. The Elder's would always be bound by traditions set in an archaic code of honor and filial piety. Dao Kan could play their power games well enough; Yang wasn't the only one with a sharp tongue.

'But next time wait for us to decide when a show of force is needed,' Cho said.

Dao Kan remained silent. It was obvious Cho had no intention of reprimanding him further. The old man turned to leave, and that was all so far as punishment for Shu's transgression. A mere slap on the wrist. Beside Cho, Yang quivered with fury.

Cho paused at the door and gave Shu a sidelong glance. 'But there is a situation that does warrant your unique touch, Dao Kan,' he said.

Shu arched an eyebrow. 'Is that so, Elder?'

'Tomorrow night, you'll find a man named Shih-hsun Wu in our Dupon Gai gambling parlor,' Cho turned away. 'Show him the same attention you would've given that little fuck Yat-sen.'

'With pleasure,' Shu narrowed his eyes, his lips curling into a smile.

Toshiro was standing near the parlor door looking up the stairs when old man Cho came down. Of course Ume went to his side immediately. Cho's guards soon came into the hall from back near the kitchens as if they'd just hauled out the trash. Yang came down the stairs next wiping his hands upon a crisp linen handkerchief.

He started following his wife and Cho into the parlor but paused. 'Toshiro, go up and get that piece of filth out of my house this instant. And if you have any sense you'll dump him in the gutter where he belongs and come back here.'

Shit. Toshiro bounded up the stairs and ran to Yang's study. Dao Kan was buttoning his bloodstained shirt. A large stain-also blood-on the flowered rug caught Toshiro's eye and elicited a laugh from Shu. 'Don't worry that's not mine. By the way Cho is short one bodyguard, why don't you apply for the job?'

Toshiro sneered. 'So I can guard his bedroom and listen to him fuck my mother for Yang's benefit?'

Shu laughed then wiped away the blood from his swollen lower lip. He licked the blood form his hands then crossed the room. Toshiro followed him out into the hall, gasping when Shu grabbed his arm. 'Which bedroom is Yang's, the one on the left?

'I think so.'

Shu smirked then pulled Toshiro into the room.

The drapes were pulled across the French doors leading out to the balcony, however the doors themselves were open. A breeze rustled the light chiffon material, allowing slivers of moonlight to flutter across the carpet every few moments. Candles on the nightstand had been left lit by the housekeeper, the comforter and sheets already turned down for the man and lady of the house to just slip into bed once their guests had left for the night.

Toshiro picked up on the scent of his mother's perfume in the air, his eyes quickly glancing over all the little baubles of glass and gold decorating the vanity positioned across from the bed. It reminded him too much of their old home back in Tokyo, when Ume's concerns focused more on impressing her then-husband's wealthy associates and Toshiro was always an afterthought.

'Let's just go,' he sighed and tried to pull away from Dao.

'The evening is only starting, Toshiro,' Shu dropped his hand from Toshiro's elbow to slide over his protege's backside. 'And your mother expects you to stay for a while. Why disappoint her?' He drew back, slipping around Toshiro to trace his hand over the embroidered material of the bed's comforter.

Toshiro softly clicked the door shut behind him. He walked up to Dao Kan, taking in the bruises and the cut on his mentor's lip.

'Bastards,' he muttered under his breath. He grazed the wounds with his fingertips. 'Let me take care of these for you.'

Shu reached up and held Toshiro's wrist. 'How would you ease them for me?' he whispered, his breath skimming along Toshiro's bloodied fingertips.

Leaning in close, Toshiro hovered his mouth just over Shu's. In lieu of a kiss, he slid his tongue over the cut splitting Dao Kan's lip just below the cupids bow. He lapped up the coppery taste of the blood, shivering at the heat he felt radiating from the small, but sore, wound.

Dao Kan released his wrist, both hands moving down along the sides of Toshiro's body and gliding over the younger man's hips. He pulled Toshiro down on to the bed as he took Toshiro's mouth in his own. Their kiss deepened, and Toshiro tasted more blood directly on Shu's tongue.

He cradled the back of Shu's head, his breath stolen away by the heat of their kiss. Their mouths moved together, sucking and tugging on each other's lips. Toshiro's gasp was lost inside of Shu when he felt the front latches on his trousers ripped open.

Moaning against Dao's lips, he writhed on the bed until the clothing around his hips slipped down towards his ankles. Shu pulled away to push apart Toshiro's knees and expose the tight, pulsing opening between the curves of Toshiro's ass.

Shu pressed forward, one hand working at the latches on his own pants as he cupped Toshiro's chin with the other. 'Ask for it.'

'Not here,' Toshiro protested weakly.

'Yes. Here.'

Toshiro moaned when Shu shoved a finger inside him. 'Do it.'

'Do what Toshiro?'

'Fuck me, Dao.'

'How?'

'Hard.'

'Is there an other way?' Shu chuckled and the wickedness of the sound slid along Toshiro's spine like an icy finger.

Something on the nightstand caught Shu's attention. Reaching over to pick it up he chuckled. 'Now I wonder what Yang uses this camellia oil for? To slick back his hair? I think not.' He popped off the glass stopper with his thumb and tilted the little bottle so the oil could drip on Toshiro's lower belly. He leaned in, grinned and nipped at Toshiro's lower lip. 'Personally I think he uses to fuck your mother up the ass. I suppose the apple-or is that the plum, doesn't fall so far from the tree.'

'Fuck you,' Toshio muttered.

Shu grabbed Toshiro's cock, yanking it until the younger man grimaced. 'I think not. However, I'm willing to take it easy on you---this time. Watch closely now...'

Toshiro raised himself on one elbow and watched as Shu dripped most of the oil into his cut palm then rubbed it on his own already hard cock. He dropped the bottle to the foot of the bed not caring that it was leaving an oily stain on the fine fabric of the coverlet.

Without another word, Shu knelt between bent knees, parted them further then drove his cock to the hilt into Toshiro's tight hole with one hard thrust.

Toshiro cried out, his back arching with pleasure at the sudden rush of being filled so completely. He spasmed around the thick, swollen shaft driving into his ass. His fingers clawed at the sheets, Shu's back--anything at all to help him get more traction against the pounding thrusts.

Shu grunted, his hands snaking underneath Toshiro so they wrapped around his waist. Still buried in his entirety within Toshiro's passage, he twisted to the side and flipped them both around.

Another garbled moan burst out of Toshiro as he found himself straddling Dao Kan's waist. He threw his head back, his hands knotting in the front of Shu's damp shirt, as he rocked against the rigid cock stabbing up inside of him. To be penetrated so deeply--possessed so utterly and completely--the sensation sent jolts of ecstasy throughout his entire body and especially within his own throbbing, fully erect cock.

Shu pressed down on Toshiro's hips. 'Harder,' he panted. A groan burst out of them both as Toshiro pushed down, matching Shu's feverish thrusts.

A hot gush of come burst out inside of Toshiro and he gave another cry. Shu climaxed in a series of violent spurts, the fluid spreading out and filling Toshiro more than he imagined he could ever take. Shu kept ramming into him, and he kept riding the rigid shaft, sliding up and down Shu's erection as the creamy fluid eased the movement.

Moaning, Toshiro reached for his own cock and started to jerk the aching organ. Shu's hand closed over his, encouraging the strokes to speed up and become more forceful.

'Oh God!' Toshiro gasped. He erupted into both their hands, moaning again as the jet of come splattered through their fingers, on to the front of Shu's shirt and even on to the sheets.

But Shu didn't stop pumping until Toshiro emptied completely. When nothing more trickled out of the slit on the head of Toshiro's flushed cock, he finally let go of the organ and Toshiro pitched forward.

As soon as Dao slipped out of his passage, the wetness oozed out of Toshiro through the well-stretched opening. He shivered and eased off Shu, still breathing heavy and looking for anything to wipe himself clean.

Dao Kan sat up, gathering the bed sheet and pressing it up against Toshiro's ass. He stroked the material between the two curves, cleaning away the come. Toshiro shivered, loving the touch so deliciously gentle after the strong thrusts that had slammed into him a few moments ago.

When Toshiro was clean, Shu tossed the used sheet aside and leaned back. Half-erect and slick with his own come, his cock glistened at the open front of his pants. He gave Toshiro an even look, commanding his protege without ever saying a word.

Obediently, Toshiro bent over and started to lick his sensei clean.

From his seat in the back of the gambling parlor, Dao Kan Shu had a clear view of the front doors each time they swung open to let a patron in or out.

The brief glimpses he got of the outside world revealed that Dupont Street was being covered with sheets of rain, with some of the fog that would later roll in thick droves from the bay now only a veil of mist. He sipped at his brandy and ignored the Mah Jong board before him, all the tiles neatly arranged for a game but as yet untouched. As was the other glass of brandy positioned on the table before the empty seat beside him.

One of the parlor's women approached with a bottle of liquor in her trembling hands. She slipped through the red beaded curtain that hung from the pine beams overhead, the glass baubles clinking together softly. She made to refill his half-empty cup.

Shu's eyes never left the front doors. 'Don't.' The harshness of his voice made her recoil faster than a strike across her painted mouth might have.

The woman wisely lowered the bottle as well her gaze. She reached for the untouched glass of brandy and Shu's hand darted up to catch her wrist. He twisted until she cried out in pain and crumpled to her knees, dropping the bottle of liquor.

'Leave everything as it is,' Shu hissed. 'I want him to know what he missed.'

She nodded in a dumb panic and he shoved her away from the table. If anyone in the parlor had seen or cared, they showed no sign. The better for them, Shu noted darkly as he felt the front of his coat and the bulge caused by the curved blade of the knife within the breast pocket. A man rose from the table nearest the entrance, bowing repeatedly to the others he'd been gambling with. From the wide smile on his moony face, Shu assumed he'd won at their repeated rounds of those simpleton dice games. Then again, Shih-hsun Wu was a more clever man than that, wasn't he? With the trick die concealed up his sleeve and the hundreds of American dollars lining his pockets thanks to his trade in stolen Chinese slaves, Wu must have thought himself a brilliant, brilliant man.

What a fool. No wonder the Elders wished him dead.

Accompanied with two bodyguards, Shih-hsun pushed open the door and disappeared into the rain soaked street. Shu pushed away from his table, leaving his half empty glass of brandy beside the full one, and went after them. His knife was already in hand as he threw open the parlor doors and stepped out into the rain soaked street.

One bodyguard stopped to look behind to see who had burst out of the parlor. Shu cut him down first, with a slash across his throat that ended his cry before it even fully formed on his lips.

The other bodyguard pulled out a pistol when he heard his partner's body smack against the wet pavement. He shouted for Shih-hsun to run and when he whipped around, he turned right into Shu's knife, the steel blade puncturing him through the right eye and piercing his brain. Like his partner, he flopped to the floor, dead. His blood running into the gutter along with the rain water.

Shih-hsun ran, but terror made him clumsy and stupid. He smacked head first into an unlit gas lamp and landed in a daze.

Shu pulled out his knife from the guard's eye and walked over. He grabbed Shih-hsun by the collar of his tunic and dragged him to his feet. 'I wonder if the price you paid them for their loyalty was worth their lives,' Dao Kan hissed, his anger at the one missing growing more heated. 'All I desired from him tonight was a game--to play the board, to kill you and to spend the rest of the evening in our bed--and he refuses me.'

Shih-hsun was starting to gain some of sense back and tried to scream. Dao pushed the blade of his knife into the man's parted lips, stabbing through the top of his mouth. Slicing up and out so the blade tore through the front of Shih-hsun's face, Dao dropped the body and wiped the blood away on his rain-drenched coat.

'Toshiro, you've made me very cross tonight,' Shu whispered before continuing down the street and turning at the corner to head home.

He was laughing. The little Japanese fuck was laughing as he dropped some coins into the hands of two long queued coolies then disappeared back inside their house. How dare Toshiro do this to him?

Dao Kan stood and seethed, the cold rain doing nothing to quench the burning fury that consumed him as he watched the coolies climb into a wagon and hurry off. Toshiro Itou would pay for his treachery.

Toshiro stood before the huge gilt framed mirror at the bottom of the stairs in the new house he and Dao purchased. Finally the fucking specialty mirror had arrived. It had to be built in Chicago and shipped in. A smile crossed his lips as he recalled what Dao had said when they came to look at the house prior to buying it. I want a mirror in this empty space. A huge one. One big enough for me to watch myself fuck you...

BANG!

Toshiro jumped as the front door slammed open. He spun, knife at the ready. He relaxed when he realized it was Dao Kan, but before he could speak the older man dashed across the entry hall and seized him by the throat, spinning him around holding his own knife to Toshiro's throat.

'You insignificant little son of a whore. How dare you not come to me?'

'What are you talking about? I went. You weren't there.'

'Where did you go Toshiro? To one of the whorehouses in Fish Alley? Were you fucking some lice infested little piece of street shit while I was working?'

Toshiro's answering glare never wavered. 'I got your note and I went to the Gingbo. I waited two hours but you didn't show up. Master Cho sent a boy with a job for me to do so I did it then I checked again at the Gingbo. That 's when I got word that the mirror had arrived and the men were waiting here to hang it.'

'You lie,' Dao growled, pressing the tip of his blade to Toshiro's throat above his stiff shirt collar. He glared at the reflections in the mirror as the blood pooled into a thick drop that slid down staining the stiff starched collar.

'The fuck I do,' Toshiro muttered. He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a crumpled sheet of thin paper. 'Look at it.'

With his free hand Shu shook the paper until it flattened enough to read. That did look very much like his own crisp, precise calligraphy. 'Who gave you this?'

'Kwan Chen.'

Another feral growl vibrated in Shu's throat. 'It would be Chen, that fucking pet of Yang's.'

He crumpled the piece of paper in his fist and flung it to the ground. 'That sniveling little coward enjoys these games too much for his own good.'

Toshiro reached up and grabbed Shu's wrist, gently at first. 'Yes, well, I know there's one game I don't like very much at all.'

Quirking an eyebrow at him, Shu snorted. 'Two months in this house and already you've forgotten your place. As the pupil, the games we play are not for you to decide.'

Toshiro tightened his grip on Shu, twisting just a fraction so Dao Kan could feel the first tingling sensations that warned a pressure point was about to be stressed along the tendon. 'Let go of my throat, Dao. I'm not fucking with you.'

Shu pushed Toshiro back against the mirror, pinning him to the glass. He released his throat, but pressed his forearm across the young man's chest to hold him in place.

'Perhaps this game is more to your 'liking',' Dao growled. With his other hand he forced Toshiro's head to one side so the boy's cheek pressed against the cold glass. He leaned in, sliding his tongue along Toshiro's jaw and lower lip before forcing it into Toshiro's mouth.

As he pulled away, Shu traced his hand down Toshiro's chest and then squeezed between the young man's legs. 'Next time, come to me when I expect you instead of playing errand boy to that man whore Chen.'

Toshiro shoved Shu back and moved away from the mirror. 'Tell me that doesn't look like your writing. Tell me!' Toshiro stalked into the study and rifled through the desk then shoved it at Shu. 'Tell me that does not look like your note!'

Shu glared and tugged Toshiro by the hair and pulled him closer to the forged note. 'You look at the sloppiness in that character and this one and that one. I am exact in my writing.'

Toshiro pulled away again though it meant losing quite a few strands of hair in the process. 'It looks similar to me.'

Shu slapped him across the mouth. Not a hard blow at all, but one meant to clear Toshiro's senses. 'Don't get cheeky with me,' he breathed heavily. 'And don't be stupid. If you can't tell the difference between my marks and those of an illiterate fool, then you don't deserve the ones I left on you.'

He tore at the buttons on the front of Toshiro's vest and shirt, pried the garments open to expose the bare skin underneath. Toshiro growled and grabbed at the front of Shu's damp coat, tearing at it as well until Shu slammed him face down on to the desk.

Shu grunted as he pulled the clothing further away from Toshiro's shoulder. The carvings in the flesh were healed, but still pink with their freshness. He touched them roughly with the pad of his thumb before dragging his tongue over the raised lines.' I should take these back,' he hissed.

Toshiro elbowed Shu in the stomach then stood, his knife in his hand, the handle turned to Shu. 'Then do it! Take them away. If you don't trust me by now then I don't want them.'

Dao Kan slapped the knife out of Toshiro's hand. 'How dare you,' he seethed. 'Those marks were gifts-- not like the useless trinkets you can purchase or return at a shop when the whim strikes you.' Dao shrugged out of his coat and vest, unfastened the buttons on his shirt. Letting the wet clothing drop to the floor, he advanced. 'I expected you to know better, Toshiro,' he panted, his hands shaking from his anger. 'How mistaken I was.'

Brushing past the young man with only a cold stare, Dao Kan turned to leave. 'There's certainly one more gift you may never be worthy enough to have now.'

'Perhaps we were both mistaken.'

Shu froze at the foot of the stairs then slowly turned his dark gaze and impaled Toshiro with his wrath. 'What. Did you say. To me?'

Toshiro came out of the study the wet clothing in his hand. He tossed the garments to the side like so much trash and said. 'You heard me.'

'Maybe you haven't been listening to me.' Dao stormed over, his hands tightening into fists. To Toshiro's credit, the younger man didn't so much as bat an eyelash as Shu pushed him back against the archway.

'Such a sharp tongue you have,' he stared into Toshiro's eyes which flashed angrily, defiantly. That was the sort of passion that had endeared his protege to him over the course of their time together. It also had a nasty habit of driving Shu mad when Toshiro decided to prove difficult. 'If only your brain was sharp enough to match,' he spat.

Pressing his body against Toshiro's, he could feel the younger man gasp for breath. He pushed his hips forward so their cocks touched through the fabric of their clothing, both organs aroused despite both men's anger.

Shu hissed under his breath. 'When you say I should 'trust' you, do you mean that I should expect you to fuck off for someone else when they tug on your leash? Or is that I should part my legs for you because in your senseless reasoning you somehow think you've earned it?'

Toshiro shoved Shu away. 'I don't have a leash. I have a job to do the same as you and when I'm told to do it I go. How many times in the past two months have I done your work when you were too busy sleeping off your opium binge or your morphine?'

With an angry swipe of his hand he brushed back some hair from behind his ear. 'Remember this Dao Kan? I got this wound when that little fuck Shenlong whom you were supposed to take care of pulled a gun on me.'

He pointed at Shu. 'I've earned everything I get and I'll continue to do so.' With that he strode past Shu and went outside.

That cheeky little bastard.

Shu listened to the front door slam shut before turning on his heel and pursuing. Crossing the foyer, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, his hair already wet, his shirt equally drenched and half-open. In spite of himself, his lips curled up into a smile.

Throwing open the door, he moved quickly down the front steps and shouted to Toshiro who was already at the iron gate at the end of the walkway. 'Are you running now?'

Toshiro spun around, the tips of his hair already curling up in wet ringlets. 'I'm not running,' he fumed, his full lips pressed together in an indignant line.

'Good,' Dao narrowed his eyes, ignoring the cold damp of the air. 'I'm wondering if the Elders had castrated you while they were at it tonight.'

With a smirk Toshiro grabbed his cock and balls. 'I'm as hung as I ever was. Too bad you're not sampling it tonight. 'Shu charged forward, slammed Toshiro against the gate as he turned to exit. 'You insignificant little dog,' he snarled. How dare you even think to talk to me this way. I am the master you are nothing unless I let you be.'

Toshiro elbowed Dao and shoved him face first against the iron gate. He reached under gripped Shu's balls through his wet clothing and tugged. 'We are equal partners now and have been for a long time. I'm here because I choose to be.'

' 'Because you choose to be' ,' Dao laughed, his cheek pressed against the slick, cold metal bars. 'You have much to learn yet, Toshiro. Much.'

His balls ached deliciously in Toshiro's rough grip and throaty laughter escaped Dao's lips. But as pleasurable as it was, the gesture was an uninvited one.

Reaching down, he closed his hand over Toshiro's wrist and went straight for the pressure point in the center of the young man's palm. He pushed up with his thumb and twisted until Toshiro released him with pained grunt.

Dao reached over his shoulder and caught the back of Toshiro's neck. Pushing away from the gate at the same time he yanked Toshiro forward, Dao slammed the young man backward against the metal bars.

'You are mine, Toshiro,' he grabbed both of Toshiro's wrists and pinned them overhead against the gate. 'This idea that we're 'equals' is a sorely mistaken one. I take what I want and I give you what I want, when I want--not the other way around.'

Shu pressed forward again, his thigh pushing against Toshiro's groin as he captured the young man's mouth in a rough, devouring kiss.

Toshiro accepted the kiss-for a time.

He bit down on Dao Kan's tongue hard enough to draw blood then shoved the older man back.

Shu slipped on a wet brick and crashed to the ground grunting as his tailbone hit the pavement. Shu laughed as he picked himself up. 'Playing hard to get are we? I thought I'd broken you of that bad habit back in Colorado.'

'You haven't broken me at all. I'm not Chao Jin. I don't break. And I won't play your whore if I don't want to.'

Shu spat up the blood pooling in his mouth and stared at the crimson fluid being washed away with the rain. He felt the rush swell his cock against his wet clothing and shivered.

'If I wanted a whore there are hundreds crowding the streets and brothels even as we speak,' he said huskily. So many others like Chao would cowering before Shu now, on their hands and knees, begging in fear. Toshiro trembled now with the chill of the rain, not from cowardice or apprehension.

Such a sweet, defiant prize. One Dao Kan was too irritated to enjoy fully.

Shu leaned his head back and let the fat droplets of water run over his face. 'Go and do what you think pleases you then,' he straightened and stared evenly at Toshiro. 'See if it compares to the ravaging I would've given you in our bed.'

Toshiro laughed. When Dao Kan glared his way the younger man lewdly rubbed his hand over his swelling cock, the wet fabric of his trousers clinging to the rising organ.

'You dare mock me?'

The smirking smile fell from Toshiro's face, his brown eyes glowed intensely in the pale lamplight to his left. 'Hardly. I'm laughing at myself for not trying to ravage you for a change. I promise you'd enjoy it.'

Shu sucked in his breath. 'You're starting to play a very dangerous game, Toshiro,' he whispered. He moved forward and stopped an arm's length away from the young man, his eyes following each of Toshiro's strokes on the bulging front of his pants.

'Can you even fathom what it is you suggest?' Dao Kan lowered his voice, his right hand moving over his swelling cock in an effort to ease the pressure that was quickly rising to a feverish pitch.

In his mind's eye, Dao saw himself tearing open the fly on Toshiro's pants and touching the hot, pulsing organ jutting up so prominently between the young man's legs. He imagined the swollen head shoved into his tight, spasming opening, Toshiro's hard length filling him, consuming him.

So bold, Toshiro,' Shu breathed heavily, his hands shaking. 'Too bold.' He slapped Toshiro across the face, hard.

Toshiro's head snapped to the left with the slap and he turned it back around oh so slowly, his eyes flashing their fury, his hand slowly wiping away the blood from his lip, his pink tongue snaking out to lick it slowly away.

'I haven't even begun to be bold,' he growled out. His arm shot out and he grabbed a handful of Dao's wet hair, jerking him forward. He spun, shoved him against the fence, covered the older man's mouth with his own and nipped at his tongue, withdrawing quickly knowing only too well that Shu would bite his tongue off.

They stared at each other a long moment both seemingly shocked by Toshiro's daring to be so dominant.

Panting, a growl clawing its way out of his throat, Dao grabbed Toshiro's ass and lifted him off the ground. Toshiro gasped but his legs spread open, instinctively pressing the inside of his thighs against Dao's hips. Their cocks met again, each straining against the wet fabric to press into each other so both men stifled lustful cries of discomfort.

Toshiro grabbed at the metal bars, his gaze never tearing away from Shu's but no longer quite so indignant. 'Put me down,' he demanded even as his legs

tightened around Dao's hips.

With a growl, Shu pushed away from the gate and dropped Toshiro onto the garden bench just off the walkway. He climbed on top of the young man, forcing him to stay down as he shoved Toshiro's legs further open.

'Don't start something you can't finish, Toshiro,' Dao narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. 'Weren't you going to ravage me? Force yourself on me? Maybe I need to show you how the latter works.'

'Maybe it's time I show you.'

Shu backhanded him again. 'Don't taunt me, boy!'

Toshiro hit back with his fist. 'Are you afraid you'll like it?'

'That tongue of yours needs to be put to better use,' Shu hissed, spitting up more blood and blinking the rain water out of his eyes.

Toshiro flicked his tongue over his lips in another maddening taunt. 'You want me to do it, don't you?'

Shu's entire body trembled, his chest heaving and his pulse quickening. He clutched at either side of the younger man's head and held him still as he roughly stroked his tongue along the still bleeding cut on Toshiro's throat.

'Yes,' he hissed. 'But you don't deserve it.'

'Neither do you.' Toshiro yanked Dao's hair again and kissed him hard then shoved him off and clambered off the bench and to his feet. He grabbed Dao's arm and pulled the older man into the house and up the stairs. Once in the bedroom Toshiro kicked the door shut and swiped his wet hair back from his face then tore his clothing off and Dao simply stood and glared, his well toned chest rising and falling rapidly from his mixture of irritation and lust.

Toshiro tugged on his stiffening cock. Then reached over and yanked open the top dresser drawer. Inside was a short bladed knife he'd brought with him from Japan.

Shu growled. 'Don't even think you're going to put your mark on me.'

'Oh no, sensei I have better use for this.' With a wicked grin he advanced, grabbed the waistband of Shu's soaked trousers and with fluid swipes sliced them open until they fell free.

Dao Kan stepped out of the clothing and pulled off his boots then stood glaring at Toshiro, his own cock standing stiff, a bead of clear fluid forming on the swollen tip. He smirked and folded his arms across his chest. 'You still have to get me into bed.'

Toshiro threw the knife past Shu let it stick into the headboard of the high bed. With a quick grin he shot forward and knocked Dao off his feet and up over the bed's footboard. The bedsprings and frame protested the abuse but they held fast and Toshiro ground his hips into the older man's as he reached over him to root through the end table drawer.

Shu grabbed Toshiro's hips, holding him close as they rocked back and forth. His cock throbbed, stabbing upwards and frustratingly into the flat of Toshiro's abdomen.

Toshiro grunted, his own erection smothered in between their naked bodies. He sat up, straddling Shu's waist as he opened a vial of oil and let the amber liquid drip over his fingers and exposed cock. Shu watched him slather the pink, swollen shaft all the way up to the nest of dark curls bordering its base. The young man prepared to shove that engorged organ into Shu and the thought of it penetrating him made Dao's entire body quake.

With a grunt, he rolled over and pressed Toshiro into the bed, the wooden frame creaking loudly under their thrashing bodies. 'No, no,' he chastised with a smirk. 'Not yet. When sensei says.'

Toshiro's oil slicked fingers glided over the curve of Shu's rear. 'Yes, sensei,' he whispered wickedly a moment before two of his fingers pushed into Dao's opening.

Gasping sharply, Shu sat up. His back arched as he threw his head back and pressed down, those two probing fingers sending wave after wave of painful yet decadently pleasurable sensations through his body. He doubled over and devoured Toshiro's lips in a desperate, open-mouthed kiss. Reaching behind him, he grabbed Toshiro's hand and pushed it away, the sudden emptiness making him break the kiss as he sucked in his breath.

Toshiro reached in between them rubbing his slick hand over the sensitive head of Dao's cock, and then his own, stopping suddenly when the unmistakable sound of breaking glass came from somewhere at the rear of the house. He knew Shu had heard it too and without a word they both got off the bed and slipped into loose fitting robes. Toshiro grabbed the knife he'd stuck in the headboard while Shu went for his spare in a box on the dresser. They slipped downstairs via the narrow back stairwell.

Shu and Toshiro watched through a crack in the stairway door as two black clad tong men made their way inside the darkened kitchen after unlocking the rear door through the broken window. They let the intruders make there way by the faint light coming from the entrance hall then slipped out and took the would be assassins by surprise. Toshiro spun his man around and slashed his abdomen , sliced through his groin then kicked the corpse after it fell.

The other would-be assassin swung a hatchet overhead and bore down on Shu. Shu stepped to the side, swiping out the man's legs from underneath him so he crashed forward. Shu stabbed him through the right shoulder and pinned him to the wall.

'This has to be a joke,' Toshiro snorted, kicking at the dead assassin by his feet.

'One that's not in the least way amusing,' Shu grabbed the tong man's queue and pulled his head back.

'Damn you both!' the assassin spat in Shu's face through the whole in his mask around his mouth.

'Oh, let me Dao Kan,' Toshiro said darkly, the edge of his knife glinting in the flash of light outside the window. The beauty of the young man as he drew closure, his every movement one of predatory grace, proved an unfortunate distraction to Shu.

'Drop the knife or he dies.'

The cold round tip of a pistol shoved against Dao Kan's temple. Another assassin moved out of the shadows, followed by another. All wore the same black tunics, their faces hidden behind cloth masks painted to look like dogs from the Chinese zodiac. Whatever tong they belonged with, Shu did not recognize them.

The one with the pistol grabbed the back of Shu's collar and pulled him away from the tong man pinned to the wall. The man yanked the knife out of his shoulder, groaning as he did so.

'Just kill them both, the fucks,' he spat.

The assassin beside Shu tightened his hold on the robe and cocked the pistol. Toshiro shouted, 'No!'

'Hmph.' Shu slipped down and out of his robe as the assassin pulled the trigger and shot into empty air. He turned on his heel and drove his fist upwards, snapping the assassin's arm at the elbow.

'Kill them!' the first tong man bellowed.

Shu stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. Toshiro was already moving.

Having full confidence that his protege was up to the task at hand Dao Kan simply stood and watched Toshiro move with lightening speed and the grace of the Gods to slash the remaining assassins to death before the armed one could even pick up and cock his revolver.

Satisfied the men were dead Shu and Toshiro swept through the rest of the house upstairs then back down. Then dragged the bodies out and dumped them in an unused well at the rear of the property next door.

'Look at you,' Dao Kan said, wiping at the rain streaked blood that dotted Toshiro's handsome face. 'You disposed of those dogs so beautifully.' He traced the rivulets of bloody rain along the opening of Toshiro's robe. He tugged the damp garment off and threw it on the bloodstained kitchen floor. He pulled Toshiro to him, devoured his lips, suckled his neck, licked the bloody rain from his small peaked nipples. 'You've earned your prize tonight. Fuck me.'

Toshiro groaned, his hands sliding along Shu's bare chest as he pushed him back out through the dining room. 'I can't wait,' he moaned in between mouthful's of Dao's earlobes, lips and throat. Rock hard and seeping a thick trickle of precum, his cock prodded up against Dao's hip.

Knocking aside silver serving pieces and the flower filled porcelain centerpiece, Toshiro pushed Dao onto the dining room table with enough force to knock the wind out of Shu. Gasping for breath, Shu pulled Toshiro down on top of him and groaned as the young man's weight pressed into him. He spread his legs, Toshiro slipping between his thighs and licking at his cock, teasing the head with those suckling lips.

Shu growled, his desire reaching that dangerous point of desperation. He grabbed Toshiro's shoulders, drawing him up once more, their mouths closing over one another's.

Toshiro reached between them and stroked his fingers over Shu's opening. The touch was nothing more than a taunt and Dao growled his displeasure. He felt Toshiro's hand suddenly press against his hip to hold him steady, the thick head of Toshiro's cock poised at his opening.

'Do it,' Shu breathed. Digging his fingers into the flesh on Toshiro's back, he cried out through clenched teeth at the first thrust. Toshiro ground into him again, stabbing that engorged organ further into the tight passage so Dao felt another cry pass from his lips and leave his throat raw.

Toshiro pulled back, the barest hint of oil left from before to ease the way. He stared into Dao's hungry dark eyes then rammed himself all the way in, covering Shu's mouth with his own. He'd waited so long for this moment he couldn't hold back and a few quick thrusts brought him to a shuddering climax. He paused for a moment, savoring the tightness as his cock throbbed. Dao gripped his shoulders.

'More. Now.'

Still hard enough , he began thrusting again, his fluid making it so much easier. He paused, pulled Dao Kan closer to the edge of the table and clutched his thighs, driving into him like a man possessed, taking his mentor with the same fervor he'd been taken with every night since they'd met.

'Harder,' Dao Kan demanded, his breath coming in haggard gasps with each of Toshiro's thrusts. He took all of the length deep within himself, feeling it fill him, the hot come thick inside of him.

Reaching between them, he tugged at his own aching cock and jerked it violently in time with Toshiro's demanding rhythm. He jetted out into his hand in a violent gush, the semen splattering through his fingers and on to Toshiro's abdomen.

Groaning, he brought his fingers to Toshiro's lips and forced them inside. 'Suck them clean,' Dao pressed his other hand to the small of Toshiro's back, encouraging him to keep pushing. 'Don't stop,' he gasped.

Toshiro sucked Dao's fingers, raked his teeth across them as he pulled away, his rigid length buried to the hilt within his lover's hot body. 'I always do what you want don't I?' he asked with a grin before capturing Shu's mouth with his own and thrusting again.

He'd never been more thrilled, more consumed with lust that he was now. This was the rarest of opportunities and he wasn't about to let it slip away any time soon.