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Ostentatious Displays of Affection

Ieyasu was brought into a lavish room. The walls were dripping in fine silks, painted in bold colors. Gold was splashed everywhere glittering in the lantern light. Priceless vases dotted alcoves filled with rare flowers and the air was heavy with incense. He recognized it as a combination of some of the most expensive aromatics available on the market. It was cloying, seeking to rob him of his breath. Only someone trying to compensate for their insecurity could be happy here surrounded by garish reminders of their wealth and power. What else could he expect of a man who had a solid gold tea room? Of course, the man’s bedchamber would be just as ostentatious. 

He was pushed to kneel on the floor, his hands bound and mouth gagged. Once he was kneeling the guard bound his feet and then tied the bindings on his wrists to them. He could not move and he could not speak. He wondered why he had been dragged from the dungeons in the middle of the night. Then he caught movement in the center of the room and upon closer examination he saw a woman in white silk robes kneeling in the center of a large pile of bedding. His blood ran cold. He knew that woman. He knew her better than any other. It was his wife, Scarlet. What was she doing here?! 

Ieyasu tried to call out to her but his cries and screams were muffled by his gag and they came out as no more than loud moans. He was sure that she heard him but refused to look his way and he furrowed his brow in anger and frustration. How dare she ignore him, he thought venomously but then he noticed her trembling faintly and knew that she was not here for her own amusement just as he wasn’t. 

“Now, now Ieyasu. Calm yourself. The night is still young. You’ll want to conserve your strength for what’s to come,” a man’s voice said. Ieyasu would recognize that voice anywhere. He had fought with and for the owner of that voice for many years. Ieyasu had always hated the man and how he somehow repeatedly got his way and in his way, over and over again. A familiar smiling face came into view. It was a smile meant to disarm and put people at ease but the eyes did not match. They were cold and piercing, ruthless. The monkey!

After dismissing the guard, Hideyoshi strode over to the bed and knelt there with his knees spread facing Ieyasu. He pulled Scarlet in between them so she too was facing Ieyasu although she still didn’t look up at him. Hideyoshi slid his arms around her waist and rested his chin causally on her shoulder. “Now my sweet little dove. You remember our bargain?” The words dripped with practiced charm as he looked straight at Ieyasu. “You will completely submit yourself to me tonight and in exchange I will make sure your husband lives. I will keep you until dawn. During our time together you may not look at him, you may not say his name, and you must take your pleasure from me at least three times. Those are the terms. Do you agree?”

Ieyasu’s eyes went wide and he screamed against his gag once more. NO!! He’d rather die. Scarlet, just let me die! But he saw her swallow her fear, gather her resolve and assent. 

“Yes, milord.” Her voice was small and filled with remorse. He knew that tone. She knew what she was doing to him and he would not forgive her, even if it saved his life. He looked away from them in his shame and anger. 

“Ieyasu, you have your own part to play tonight.” He heard the sound of a short blade being drawn and then his wife’s fearful whimper. His eyes shot up. Hideyoshi was holding a knife against her throat. “It’s up to you whether she experiences pleasure or pain at my hands. I don’t want to have to hurt her but I will every time you look away. You wouldn’t want me to leave any permanent marks now would you?” 

Ieyasu shook his head vehemently. Even if he couldn’t forgive her, it was one thing for Hideyoshi to take her and quite another for him to disfigure her. He briefly wondered how Hideyoshi had become so twisted. He had not used to be this way. He guessed it had happened slowly after years of compromising his convictions in the name of success. The man was now as cruel as he had once been before his wife had shown him a better way to live. At least he had never forced his way between a woman’s thighs.

Hideyoshi broadened his smile at Ieyasu’s reaction and put away his knife. He ran his hands through Scarlet’s hair, attempting to sooth her. Despite the fact that her head was down Ieyasu could see her tears fall down her cheeks. Every moment of his existence became more painful than the last as he witnessed his wife’s degradation and knew much worse was yet to come. He only had to endure until dawn. THEY only had to endure until dawn. 

“Hush now, Scarlet. If your husband cooperates you won’t know anything other than pleasure from me. Do not be afraid.” Hideyoshi cooed softly to her. He gathered up her hair and swept it over one of her shoulders and laid gentle kisses along the nape of her neck. 

“You know I’ve wanted this for a very long time. Since that first day we met. You don’t know how disappointed I was when you married Ieyasu.” Hideyoshi slid his hands over her shoulders and eased her collar open to expose them to him. “Ieyasu has been a very lucky man to have you all to himself, but now I finally get to taste you,” he said as he kissed along the newly exposed skin. 

Hideyoshi looked into Ieyasu’s eyes, taunting him as he slid his hands around to slowly expose her breasts. “I’m going to enjoy every single last moment of having you, over and over and over again.” He plucked her nipples and she gasped. “Do you like that?” He did it several more times until she stifled a moan. “No holding back now. I’m sure Ieyasu wants to enjoy your sweet voice as much as I do.” 

Indeed her gasps and moans went straight to Ieyasu’s loins despite himself and he could feel his cock responding. He’d been locked up in Hideyoshi’s dungeon for weeks and it had been even longer since he’d last made love to his wife. As he looked at her exposed breasts with their hard rosy peaks he could practically taste them. But he couldn’t stand the sight of Hideyoshi’s hands on her and he hated himself for still wanting her. What kind of perversion was this? 

His heartbeat quickened with his unwanted desire and he closed his eyes to grasp some shreds of his self-mastery. Then he heard a scream of pain and his eyes snapped open again. On Scarlet’s newly bared shoulder was a blooming purple bruise with a red ring of teeth marks. It wasn’t some quaint love bite, the kind lovers often share with one another. Hideyoshi had nearly broken her skin and Ieyasu could clearly make out the marks of his individual teeth. Ieyasu struggled against his bonds, the rope burning his wrists, but they held as fast as steel. He screamed against his gag. “You bastard!” but of course it came out unintelligible.

“Tch tch tch. I warned you, did I not?” Hideyoshi licked her wound and she whimpered with the pain of it. “This is your doing.” 

Ieyasu tried to apologize to her with his eyes but of course she wasn’t allowed to look at him. Gods only knew what punishments Hideyoshi would visit upon her if she did. Her pain was his fault. All of this was his fault. He had failed in his schemes and had gotten himself caught in a trap. Now she was the one suffering for his crime. She should have let him die. The only thing he could do for her now was keep his eyes on her. 

“Shhh… I’m sure he won’t let it happen again, my dove.” Hideyoshi soothed her. “Isn’t that right, Ieyasu.” Hideyoshi gave him a pointed look as he petted her in long slow comforting strokes of his hands. Ieyasu stared back with all the hatred he was capable of feeling, which was considerable, blazing in his eyes.  He swore to himself that he would kill Hideyoshi dead and drag him out of hell to kill him again for every time he marked her. 

As Hideyoshi’s hands continued to roam over her he slowly pushed the silk of her robe down and around her arms, pinning them to her sides. He untied her sash and the folds of her kimono parted under his direction revealing her soft stomach and thighs that were held closed in her kneeling position. 

Hideyoshi looked down at her body from over her shoulder. “You are beautiful, Scarlet. I hope you know that. How many men have desired to touch you as I am touching you?” He ran a single finger from the base of her throat languidly down the center of her breast, over her stomach to finally force its way between her clenched thighs. 

Ieyasu watched helplessly as Hideyoshi relentlessly sought after his wife’s most sensitive spot. He knew her body well and he knew that if Hideyoshi touched her there her body would force desire upon her no matter how much she tried to resist it. She twisted her body away trying to evade his hand.

“Ah ah.” Hideyoshi warned. “You promised to submit yourself completely to me. Are you already going back on your word?” He grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. “Shall I call the guard and have him escort Ieyasu to his execution?” 

“No! No, please don’t,” she begged with panic in her voice. 

“Then sit here like a good girl and spread your legs for me.” Hideyoshi’s voice was full of authority. He wasn’t cajoling or persuading now. He was commanding. “Make sure he can clearly see everything I’m doing to you.” 

“Yes, milord,” she responded as she forced herself to retake her position between his legs, spreading hers as he had commanded. 

“Spread them wider and from now on you will address me by my name.” 

Scarlet spread her knees further apart with her face as dusky from shame. “Yes, Lord Hideyoshi.”

He slapped her cheek smartly, “No. My name and only my name. Say it again.”

“Yes, H-Hideyoshi,” Scarlet stammered meekly. 

“There, that’s better.” Hideyoshi smiled charmingly. He put his arms around her, squeezed her like she was his lover and kissed her on the cheek he had just smacked. “You are so adorable.” 

Ieyasu watched as Hideyoshi’s hands traveled lower and lower over her body. He watched her tremble as those hands found her inner thighs and pulled her legs a little wider still. Hideyoshi’s fingers massaged her and traced designs on her skin as they neared her apex. Ieyasu dared not look away this time and swallowed against his own anticipation. He prayed that Hideyoshi would not touch her there but knew those prayers were in vain. And sure enough those fingers found her sensitive flesh and she jerked against his hold when he stroked her, leaving her gasping. 

The worst part was that Ieyasu could feel her soft warm skin against his fingertips as though he were the one touching her. His earlier desire stirred inside him once again, immediate and pulsing. As Hideyoshi continued to tease her with his fingers, Ieyasu moaned along with her. 

“My Ieyasu, does watching me fondle your wife turn you on?” Hideyoshi’s expression took on a devious cast. He slid his fingers lower to find her entrance. “Look, she's already wet for me.” He held up his hand to show off his glistening fingers, then licked them. “Delicious. I think I want to taste more of her.” 

Hideyoshi shoved Scarlet down so she was laying on her back and knelt between her legs drawing her knees up and apart. Her fists clenched the bedding beneath her as she tried to keep herself from resisting. She took several deep breaths and stared at the ceiling which was just as garishly decorated as the rest of the room. 

Ieyasu continued to watch as Hideyoshi lowered his head towards her. He clenched his jaw over his gag. He was so worked up, but he needed to calm down, keep his wits. Hideyoshi hadn’t even taken her yet and he had promised to do so at least three times before dawn. Ieyasu knew he had already given Hideyoshi too much in his reactions. His only excuse was that when it came to matters concerning his wife he had always been quick to lose his composure. 

He tried to convince himself that the scene before him was boring and tedious. It was just another self-important jackass rutting with just another gold-digging whore. A tale as old as time and as interesting as beach sand. It had nothing to do with him, except it was all a lie his heart refused to believe. 

His wife arched her back with fresh tears streaming down her face. Her knuckles were white with her grip on the sheets and he knew she was fighting against the pleasure her body demanded she feel. His body responded as hers did. His heart drummed painfully against his ribs as tension coiled in his limbs making him strain against his bonds. His cock was hard and constricted by his clothing. 

Hideyoshi lifted his head, “Say my name when you cum, my dove. I want to hear you say my name.” He slid his fingers inside her and stroked her hard and fast as he sucked and licked her sensitive nub. 

“Hide… Hideyoshi!” Scarlet screamed when her body succumbed to her crashing orgasm. 

Although he did not cum himself, Ieyasu felt the tension in his body snap with her release. He slumped forward, body swaying, breathing heavy. It was all he could do to keep his eyes where they needed to be. Scarlet was depending on him, even in his pathetic state. 

Hideyoshi crawled up her body, nipping and sucking her flushed skin as he went, leaving several new marks. Everytime she felt his teeth she flinched and everytime she did Ieyasu added another death to his tally. 

“Mmm yes, you are so sweet, my dove. So very lovely,” Hideyoshi cooed, running his fingers softly through her hair once he was face to face with her. Then he looked at Ieyasu. “I had wanted to draw out our first time a little longer but I think I will indulge myself now.”   

He stripped himself of his kimono letting Scarlet see his hard jutting cock before he laid himself back on top of her. He claimed her lips then for the first time, kissing her lustfully. He lifted her hips forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist before thrusting himself hard into her softness. She struggled against his kiss to cry out but he would not release her. She sobbed into his mouth as he took her as powerfully and as deeply as his considerable strength allowed. 

It took a moment for Ieyasu to accept what he was seeing was real and when he did his heart plummeted into hell. There was fire in his chest and he grunted as though he were taking the impact upon his own body. With eyebrows furrowed angrily, his body shook. He had known this was coming, had anticipated it, and yet he still found himself unprepared for it to happen. His wife was being violated before his eyes and he desperately wanted to look away, to deny her suffering and thus his own. In that moment he hated her for allowing this to happen to her as much as he hated himself for being unable to prevent it even though he was right there within feet of their coupling. He wanted to die as much as he wanted to murder. He imagined the glittering gold room painted in the blood of her tormentor and he wished the force of his will could make happen what he could not do with his hands. 

With every beat of his heart he felt a throbbing pulsing pain in his temple as well as an equally painful throb in his loins. He wanted to be the one fucking her. He wanted to be the one she struggled against. He wanted to be the one she called out to. How dare it be anyone other than him between her thighs. She is dead to me! But even as he told himself this he did not look away to let her suffer the consequences of him doing so and hated tears threatened to fall from his eyes. 

Hideyoshi groaned his release and collapsed on his side pulling Scarlet in against his chest to snuggle with her once again treating her as though they were lovers. “You know I’ve fantasized about you so many times but you feel even better than I could imagine. How your husband manages to leave your bed everyday I do not understand.” He kissed her brow and wiped her tears. “You should become mine permanently. I’ll divorce my wife for you if you want,” he offered pleasantly as though he were offering her tea and sweets. 

Scarlet looked up at him completely taken aback. She shook her head vehemently, “I would never leave Ie- Aaaah!” she screamed as Hideyoshi pinched her arm ruthlessly, not letting go. 

“I don’t think you want to finish that sentence, my dove.” His pleasant smile never left his face. “Remember, no other man’s name may leave your lips.” 

“Of course, Hideyoshi,” she whimpered, breathlessly, pain twisting her face. 

He let go of her arm and soothed her freshly bruised skin with gentle caresses of his thumb. “I take no pleasure in hurting you, you know. I only do what I have to. I hope you believe me.” 

“Yes, Hideyoshi,” she said in a voice meant to placate and looked away.

Just let me die and marry him you stupid tart! Ieyasu screamed at her internally even as he tallied one more grizzly death to Hideyoshi’s future. Ieyasu knew if it weren’t for him, Hideyoshi would not be torturing her. He wasn’t known to have a penchant for sadism and none of his concubines had ever complained about being mistreated. She was so foolish. It would have been far smarter for her to accept Hideyoshi’s offer, become his bride or even his concubine. She’d want for nothing surrounded by gold and silk even after Hideyoshi had grown tired of her. He couldn’t fathom why she was doing all this to herself. Surely, he wasn’t worth it.

Hideyoshi took her arm and held it fast as he examined the now lurid purple bruise left behind by his brutal touch. He kissed it softly and lapped it with his tongue as her arm twitched in his grasp. His lips slowly traveled up its length, placing tiny kisses as they went, until he was nuzzling her throat. He sighed against her skin, “You smell so wonderful. It would be so peaceful to fall asleep in your arms like this. I never get a good night's rest any more” Hideyoshi lamented. He relaxed against her and seemed to fall into a light sleep using her as a pillow and pinning her down with his body weight. 

Of course my wife smells good. She always wears the perfume I make for her. Ieyasu thought this as he remembered the latest scent he had mixed for her. It was a combination of jasmine, vanilla and other milder scents to help calm her anxiety. But how the monkey could smell anything through the cloying incense in the air was a mystery. His own sense of smell had faded with the assault on it. 

Then a short time later, the clock struck the hour. Eight strikes, counted Ieyasu. It was the hour of the Ox. Only two hours until dawn. Those two hours seemed like a moment in time and also time itself, everlasting. 

Hideyoshi stirred and Ieyasu cursed the clock for existing.  If it had not chimed the man might have slept till dawn without taking anything more than he had. But now he sat up and looked at his wife with renewed lust and hint of devilry. “I guess there is no rest for the wicked.”

He stripped her of her robes the rest of the way and directed Scarlet to kneel facing Ieyasu again with her knees spread like before. “This time I want you to be the one touching yourself. Show us what you do on those cold lonely nights when your husband is away,” he pouted with faux sympathy. 

Ieyasu thought he had seen her at her most embarrassed, but somehow she managed to turn several shades darker pink than she ever had before. She kept her face downcast but after taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and slowly started moving her hands over her body. He could only imagine the thoughts going through her head at that moment. She was probably telling herself that she could do it for his sake. A lesser woman wouldn’t survive her abject debasement, but not his wife. His wife was a survivor, just like he was. No, that wasn’t quite true. She always survived with her heart intact while his was battered and bruised, nearly unable to function. 

As Ieyasu watched her he noticed her movements seemed unpracticed and awkward and he wondered if it was out of nervousness or if she really never touched herself. He wanted to think it was because he didn’t make a habit of leaving his wife unsatisfied, unlike some worthless degenerates who called themselves men, and so she would rarely if ever need to do such things. 

“She’s so awkward and shy.” Hideyoshi said. He had moved to sit next to Ieyasu as he watched Scarlet perform and now the man casually rested his chin on Ieyasu’s shoulder as though they were best friends watching a play together. “It’s really very endearing and I could watch her like this all day but I was really hoping for something more debauched, more wonton. You know what I mean?” 

Hideyoshi stood up and moved back behind Scarlet. He sat with his legs spread to either side of her and pulled her back against him, with his cock pressed against her lower back. He hooked her legs over his knees and guided her hand with his back toward her apex. “Let me help you, my dove. I want to see you truly desperate with lust.” 

He guided her fingers to find her nub once again and directed them in stroking and circling herself. She stiffened in his arms as she sucked in and held her breath for a few moments. He kept her hand moving until she had no choice but to start breathing again and she relaxed against him. “That’s a good girl. Now while you’re touching yourself I want you to close your eyes and imagine everything I tell you.” 

Scarlet hesitantly nodded when he paused for her response, “Yes, Hideyoshi.” 

He began weaving his tale in a pleasant seductive voice. “Imagine that your lover has just come home from war. He’s been gone for a month and you’ve missed him. He sweeps you into his arms and carries you off to be alone. You're taking off his armor piece by piece slowly revealing his battle hardened body to you. Your hands glide across his sweat damp chest checking to make sure he’d uninjured. The rest of his clothes fall away to reveal that he’s already hard and wanting you. He backs you up against the wall and kisses you ….” 

As Hideyoshi directed Scarlet’s fantasy, her breathing quickened and she moaned. Her fingers quickened in their movement as her hips undulated against them. Just as she was getting close to her peak, Hideyoshi slapped her hand quick and hard, startling her and she cried out more from surprise than pain. “Oh I forgot to tell you. You are not allowed to cum until I say so.” 

Ieyasu flinched with the sound of her being slapped and her subsequent cry. He imagined how shocked she must feel to be snapped out of ecstasy so abruptly. He had never been so harsh with her but he understood well the game Hideyoshi had decided to play with her because he had played it with her before. It was a game meant to make the man feel powerful.  

Hideyoshi started to direct her fingers to stroke herself again. “This time I want you to imagine you are walking along the beach at dusk hand in hand with your lover. There is no one else around and he starts kissing you…. Then he lays you down in the sand with the surf lapping at your feet. He very slowly enters you…” As he described the scene, he slid her fingers down to her entrance and slowly pushed them inside mimicking what he had just told her to imagine.

“He fills you completely and then withdraws and rubs against you with his tip.” He pulled her fingers out and slid them up to circle her sensitive spot several times before plunging them back into her depths once again. Simultaneously, he grabbed her breast and pinched her nipple and she cried out. 

“Your voice is so lovely. Give me more, my dove.” He pressed himself into her back as he brought her closer to orgasm once again, but this time just as she was about to come tumbling down he yanked her hand away and slapped her directly between her thighs again hard and swift. Her legs snapped closed and she grunted in pain. 

Ieyasu watched forlornly as Hideyoshi did this several more times to her. He stopped counting after the fifth. By the end he was shaking and desperate alongside her. Again she weeped and her cries became things of torture rather than pleasure. 

“Please, Hideyoshi. I can’t…” she begged and pleaded for him to release her. 

“What do you think Ieyasu? Is she properly desperate?” he looked toward his bound captive and lifted his brow questioningly. “One more time?” 

Ieyasu growled low in his throat. 

“No?” Hideyoshi said, looking back at Scarlet in concern. “Have I gone too far? Let me give you what you want now.” 

Hideyoshi removed her hand from where she had been touching herself and replaced it with his own. It didn’t take him much time to have her thrashing against him. He held her fast as his hand dug mercilessly into her swollen and tortured flesh. She was so far gone though she seemed not to care about the pain. 

When Hideyoshi finally allowed her to cum her cry tore from her throat loud and guttural like something from the depths of hell itself. Ieyasu had never heard his wife scream like that before and he never wanted to hear it again. It was a mockery of the idea of pleasure itself. Her orgasm which until now had always been a thing of light and joy, had been twisted into something dark and painful. While her body demanded its release, it was not something to be enjoyed. She should never have had to experience such a thing or even know that a person could experience such a thing. 

Hideyoshi took her into his arms and stroked her hair soothingly. “I’m sorry. I pushed you a little too far didn’t I.” He kissed her softly and licked the lingering tears from her face. “Let me treat you gently now.”  

He pushed her back to lay on the bed again, kissing across her face. He nuzzled at her throat and then started a southward journey, stopping to play with her breasts. Nudging her knees apart with his own he made room for himself between her legs and pressed his cock against her. Scarlet groaned. 

“Please, Hideyoshi. I can’t take any more,” Scarlet pleaded. 

“Oh but it’s not dawn yet, my dove. You only need to endure a little longer. However, I suppose I did leave you rather sore just now didn’t I.” He seemed to give this some consideration as he looked down at her. “Why don’t I give you a bit of respite. This time you won’t have to take me. Instead you can satisfy me with your pretty mouth.” 

Hideyoshi flipped them over so she was now straddling him. He put his hands behind his head and waited expectantly, but she sat there unmoving. “Unless you prefer me to take you?” 

This seemed to spur her and she shook her head. She started at his neck and kissed her way down his chest, gradually easing herself into position between his legs as she went. When she reached his cock, she hesitated for a moment but then wrapped her hands around him and stroked him several times before licking the tip where she found a drop of moisture waiting for her. Scarlet licked up the length of him and when she got back to the tip, took all of it in her mouth and sucked, flicking her tongue against his ridge.

Hideyoshi clenched his jaw and his eyes started to close.  Under her attention, Hideyoshi’s breath quickened and he let his hands find her head, gently lacing his fingers into her hair. His toes curled and it wasn’t long before she had him unraveling beneath her. 

Ieyasu remembered the first time she had ever done that for him. He hadn’t been expecting much given her lack of experience, however she seemed to have a natural talent for using her tongue. A chef would know how to taste things well it seems. Gods, he was hard again. Why did this keep happening to him? There should be nothing to excite him in any of this, but he just couldn’t help desiring her even as she was giving what was his to another man.

Hideyoshi pushed her head down onto him as he came in the back of her throat. She gagged on his length and he let her go. He pulled her up and kissed her like he wanted to take back what he had just given her. When he finally broke the kiss he looked to Ieyasu who was panting with a flushed face. “Your husband has been a good boy, watching us the whole time. Should we give him a little reward, my dove?” He shoved her gently to the side and dug under the corner of the bedding to find the knife he kept stashed there. 

When she saw the knife she cried out in protest. “Don’t hurt him! I’ve done everything you wanted!” 

Hideyoshi looked back at her over his shoulder. “Relax. I’m not going to do anything to him. Unless, that is, he resists. But you’re not going to do that are you, Ieyasu? You don’t want to leave the little dove to our mercy do you?” 

Ieyasu glared at Hideyoshi as he rolled onto his feet and stalked toward him, knife in hand, but he didn’t try to struggle or protest whatever was going to happen now. 

Hideyoshi knelt before Ieyasu and looked him in the eye as he slipped the knife under the cord holding his hakama. He pulled the cloth away and then did the same to his fundoshi, releasing Ieyasu’s hard cock from its restraints. He flicked the purple tip with his finger none too gently, and Ieyasu grunted in surprise. “My we are impressive, aren’t we? I guess I can’t begrudge her for marrying you when this is what you’ve been giving her. Although, I think I’ve given her better tonight.” 

Hideyoshi went back to Scarlet and grabbed her hands. “Close your eyes, my dove.” Scarlet looked at him skeptically but then did what he said. “There’s a good girl. Now follow me.” He led her by the hands toward Ieyasu and had her kneel. He placed her hands on Ieyasu’s hips and pushed her head down until his cock was nudging her lips. “Now give your husband what you just gave to me.” 

Ieyasu had kept his eyes on Hideyoshi but now he looked down at her. He felt her lips part and her tongue darted out to test him. Then a moment later her hot wet mouth closed over him and a moan slipped out before he could hold it back. His wife knew exactly how to bring him to his knees. It was a good thing he was already kneeling. As she continued he struggled against his bonds. He wanted to feel her hair in his hands, guide her and hold her while he thrust himself into her mouth, but he could do none of it. He was completely at her mercy in a way he’d never been before. 

Suddenly, Ieyasu felt her pushed against him, almost losing her balance, and she cried out with him still firmly in her mouth. While his focus had been on Scarlet, Hideyoshi had snuck around behind her and had thrust himself into her. She was forced to push back against Hideyoshi, taking him deeper, in order to keep her rhythm as she sucked and licked Ieyasu. 

Hideyoshi took a hard and fast pace against her abused flesh and Ieyasu could feel her body shake with every thrust while she tried to keep her focus on him and his pleasure. He could sense that despite what was happening to her, she was completely devoted to him and his need. She really was loyal to him. Even her betrayal was in loyalty to him and it was a conundrum he had difficulty wrapping his mind around. He hated her and he loved her, hated her and loved her and hated her… He was suddenly cuming in her mouth, jerking his hips, momentarily blinded by his pleasure and he forgot himself as blood rushed in his ears. His eyes closed. 

Scarlet was suddenly wrenched away from him with force. FUCK!! Ieyasu realized too late what he had done as his eyes flew open. He saw Scarlet coughing and gasping for air, choking on his cum in her surprise. Her head was pulled back brutally with Hideyoshi’s hand gripping her hair in a white knuckled grasp. He held her like that as he continued to thrust into her until he had his satisfaction. When he finally released her clumps of her hair stayed in Hideyoshi’s hand. Ieyasu looked down at his crying wife in horror. Her head was buried in her hands and he could see splotches of blood color her hair. 

Hideyoshi casually shook the hair from his hand and clicked his tongue. “You let her down again, Ieyasu.” 

The two men stared each other down. Then the clock chimed. One, two, three, four, five, six. Six times. Hour of the Rabbit. Dawn. If he had just held on to his wits one more minute…

“I guess our playtime is over boys and girls. I am nothing if not a man of my word. Ieyasu, you are free to return to Edo. Let’s not have to do this again,” Hideyoshi said in a light conversational tone. He then lifted Scarlet’s chin forcing her to look into his eyes which flickered momentarily with sadness. “You probably don’t believe me but I really don’t treat my lovers this way. This was a special occasion. My offer stands anytime you want to come back. I’ll treat you like a princess, I swear.” Scarlet stayed silent and Hideyoshi released her.

He went and found his robe and dressed before calling his page. “Get them a change of clothes and then have them escorted out of the city,” he ordered before leaving the room. 

Scarlet finally looked up at Ieyasu for the first time but he couldn’t meet her eyes. He was too full of shame that all came down to the fact that he had failed her. He had sworn to keep her safe and he had failed her in every way. He heard her sigh. He felt more than saw her move behind him and she struggled a bit to untie it but eventually his gag slipped from his mouth and he stretched his jaw. She hummed in frustration that she couldn’t undo his wrists or feet. His struggling had tightened the knots too much. After a moment he heard her make a happy surprised squeak, then his bonds gave way under the blade of a knife. Hideyoshi must have left it behind.

Scarlet went and found the robe she had been wearing to cover herself and Ieyasu fixed his hakama as best as he could before stretching his arms and legs which cramped up on him now that he was free. 

Scarlet came to sit next to him as they waited for the page to return. He sensed that she wanted to say something but he forestalled her, “Not a word.” 

___________________________

The escort left Ieyasu and Scarlet on the road outside Osaka. They hadn’t spoken a word since they left the palace and Ieyasu kept striding forward without stopping or looking back. He was aware of his wife struggling to keep up with his pace. He felt a twinge of regret but his anger would not let him show her any mercy. The longer he stewed the angrier he got. Some of that anger was at her but most of it was at himself. She’d be better off without him. After an interminable silence he rounded on her, shaking in his rage. “Why are you still following me? Surely, even a dullard like you would have the sense to know that after what you have done you are dead to me!” 

Scarlet didn’t even flinch. She just looked up at him sadly. “That’s fine. I can endure your hatred. I can endure anything so long as you live.” 

Her calm soft response was like a punch in his gut. He knitted his eyebrows, wondering how she could be so accepting. “Why? You knew I would have rather died. You knew I would have died a thousand times so that you would never have to suffer such indignity. What did you think you would accomplish by making me suffer the insufferable alongside you?” 

“The only thing that is insufferable to me is living a single second in a world without you in it. If you die, Ieyasu, I will follow after you as quickly as my hand can find a blade. I will not regret what I have done even if that makes me the most selfish, greedy woman that ever lived.” 

Ieyasu’s heart stopped at her declaration. There was no sign of hesitation in her. She really meant to kill herself if he died. His mind could not even conceive of her dying, let alone by her own hand. The thought was rejected before it could be formed. If this is what she felt then he really couldn’t fault her for her actions. They were for her own self-preservation as well as his. “If that is what you intend then I suppose you leave me no choice but to watch you every second of every day so you can not rob me of the pleasure of killing you myself. You will have so much of me that even the greediest wife will become sick of her husband's face.” 

“I never could, Ieyasu.” Scarlet smiled brightly and lovingly at him. It was irksome, sometimes how she could always see straight through him, Ieyasu thought. He still felt pathetic and undeserving, but he could never let her go, especially since she was so determined to stay with him no matter what she had to do to make it happen. 

“We’ll see about that.” He pinched her cheek pretending to be rough. “Now wipe that stupid dullard’s grin from your face. It’s an eyesore.”  

Ieyasu then took her by the hand and pulled her behind him as he continued down the road. This time he slowed his pace for her. After walking a while further, he spotted a man he knew well waiting under a tree. His long silver hair waved in the breeze as his pet snake draped itself across his shoulders. Somehow Hanzo had anticipated his coming. “What do you have for me,” Ieyasu said without a hint of surprise. 

“I’ve left provisions at the inn in the next town for you. There is also a little known private hot spring reserved for your use, your lordship.” Hanzo said without any fanfare. 

“So you can be useful now and again.” Ieyasu looked at the shinobi pensively for a moment. “I have a job for you.” 

“Oh? What is it that your lordship requires?” Hanzo seemed to already be anticipating what Ieyasu’s request would be.

“I want that man dead. I want him to die a very slow, very miserable death.” Ieyasu said with his poison smile.

“So the tanuki thinks he’s ready to take Divine Rule for himself. How entertaining.” Hanzo smirked knowingly. “I know a few concoctions that would accomplish such a thing. He’ll live about a year before he succumbs. Is that satisfactory?” Hanzo sounded like he was arranging a meeting instead of an assassination. 

“Perfect. Do it.” At Ieyasu’s word the shinobi vanished having done what he came to do. He continued to walk toward the next town still holding his wife’s hand tightly. 

“Ieyasu?” Scarlet said tentatively.

“What?” He knew what she wanted to say and wished she wouldn’t.  

“Is that wise? What if you end up arrested again?” Scarlet fidgeted nervously.

“The moment that bastard laid his hands on you was the moment he chose to die. Besides, Hanzo knows what he’s doing. There is nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about.” This was the kind of thing he usually tried to keep from his wife. She was too pure hearted and prone to worry, but he would make sure she had her revenge even if she would not seek it herself. “The only thing you should be thinking about is that we’ll soon be enjoying a private hot spring. And if you think I’m going to let you go in alone you can think again. You are not allowed to leave my sight.” 

“Ieyasu!” Scarlet exclaimed blushing hotly. 

Outwardly he scoffed in annoyance but inwardly he couldn’t help but feel a ticklish joy at her reaction. 

A couple hours later they finally made it to the town with its inn. Ieyasu wanted nothing more than to crash on the floor and sleep but there was something more important for him to do. “Get ready,” he directed his wife.

“Get ready for what exactly?” she asked, giving him a quizzical look.

“Surely even a half-wit, like you can figure it out for herself. Hmm?” 

She seemed to consider the question for a moment. “We’re going to the hot spring?” 

“If you knew the answer then surely you didn’t need to waste time asking the question,” he said snarkily but he looked at her with soft affection. 

They quickly changed into their bathing clothes and made their way to the spring which had been reserved for their private use. Ieyasu quickly stripped his robe off and turned to help Scarlet with hers. After their robes were hung up he turned back to his wife and without warning swept her up into his arms. She squealed in surprise. “Gods woman! Did you have to scream right in my ear?” He scowled at her. 

“I’m sorry. But you surprised me,” she said, flustered.  

“So you intend to blame me for what you yourself have done. Is that what you are telling me?” 

“Well it really is your fault,” she pouted. 

“Brazen little thing aren't we,” he muttered unhappily as he carried her into the awaiting pool. 

Ieyasu slowly immersed them in the hot water. The heated spring water felt incredibly good on his sore muscles after being so tightly bound all night. He imagined it felt just as good if not more so to the woman in his arms. Once they were in she tried to move away from him but he tightened his hold on her. “Did I give you permission to move? You are to stay where I put you,” he said tersely as he found a rock the right height to sit on and balance her in his lap. Once they were settled he took a cloth and started to gently wash her. 

“I can wash myself, Ieyasu.” Scarlet frowned at him. 

“Did I ever say you couldn’t?’ Ieyasu frowned back at her.

“Well, no but..” 

“Then what is the problem?”

“I just couldn’t ask you to do that for me.” Scarlet said emphatically. 

“You didn’t ask me.” Ieyasu rebutted, clearly exasperated. 

“But..”

“Are you telling me that you submitted to that depraved animal touching you in every which way but you would deny your own husband from taking care of you afterward? Object one more time and see where it gets you,” Ieyasu snapped. 

“No. Please, take care of me, Ieyasu.” Scarlet settled against him. 

His ire instantly faded and he resumed his task. He slowly wiped her skin with the cloth in long relaxed strokes. He paid special attention to thoroughly but tenderly cleaning the bruises and bite marks Hideyoshi had left on her. 

Her hair had been pinned up to disguise the spots where her hair had been brutally pulled out and he took it down now to wash it. He leaned her back until her head was half submerged letting the long silky strand float gracefully around her. He loved the feel of her hair wrapping around his fingers as he gently massaged her scalp under the water.  When he came across one of her wounds he gave care to softly scrub the dried blood from her torn skin. While he was doing this Scarlet relaxed against the arm holding her up. “Fall asleep and you’ll drown,” he warned quietly. 

“You won’t let that happen.” Scarlet said with absolute surety that she was right.

“You trust people too much,” he scowled. How could she say such things when he’d let her down?

“Not people, only you, Ieyasu.” 

“We’ll see about that,” he was still scowling but there was affection and worry in his eyes as he looked down at her. Whatever happened he had to make sure he upheld her faith in him.

Once he was done washing her hair he slid his hand down her body to hover between her thighs. It was the last place he hadn’t washed her yet but the most important. “Are you sore?” he asked. 

“Maybe a little.” 

Ieyasu knew that his wife always downplayed her own suffering. She never admitted to being ill or in pain until it was so bad that she couldn’t deny it. If she was admitting to it now she must be in considerable discomfort. He’d have to be extra careful. A cloth would likely be too rough on her delicate skin. “Let me wash you.” 

She didn’t answer him, only spread her thighs just enough for his hand to slip between them. He started by cleaning her inner thighs with the cloth to remove any residue that might be left upon them. Once he was sure her thighs were clean he dropped the cloth and he ever so gently started to run his fingers through her short curly hair at her apex. There were several locks that were crusted with dried semen and other fluids and he took his time to gently clear away the offending substances. 

Once he was sure that her hair was washed thoroughly,  he cautiously parted her folds with his fingers and wiped at her swollen and bruised flesh within. He kept his eyes on her face to gauge her reaction to his touches. Her eyes stayed closed the whole time and she remained relaxed in his arms as he worked but once in a while her eye brows would twitch in a wince. He knew then that he’d hit a sensitive spot and he’d adjust the pressure with which he touched her. He was especially careful around her most delicate spot. It had been thoroughly abused and his cleansing strokes were barely touches at all. 

“Mmmm Ieyasu,” Scarlet moaned when he touched her there. Not a moan of pain but one of lust.

It was a pleasure to hear her call his name in that way after being forced to hear her call that bastard's name over and over again. “I didn’t hurt you did I?” he still asked to be sure. 

She shook her head. “No. It felt good.” 

He stroked her again several more times as delicately and lightly as the first until she was squirming against his hand, then he slid his fingers toward her entrance where fresh moisture, that had nothing to do with the spring water, lubricated her skin. He gingerly pushed two of his fingers inside, again studying her face to gauge her reaction. He didn’t want to feel the pain he knew he would feel if she rejected him now. 

“Mmm. More please, Ieyasu,” she pleaded softly. 

“You are a greedy little thing, aren’t you?” he smiled down at her while continuing his slow gentle stroking of her inner walls. 

Scarlet started to writhe against him. He admonished her to keep still not wanting to accidentally hurt her tender flesh more than it was. She tried to do as he asked but he could tell it was taking her a lot of effort and her muscles flexed and twitched as he continued to pleasure her. She gripped his fingers and begged for him, but he still kept his pace steady, slow and gentle which he was sure frustrated her. Even so he could feel the tension build slowly in her until she finally crested with his name on her lips once again. “IE-YASU!”

He bent down and kissed her intensely as she rode the waves of her orgasm. He felt elation that after all they had been through that night he could still give her pleasure and that she still wanted him to.

He finally broke the kiss after she stilled beneath him. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Ieyasu, please, I want all of you.” 

He looked at her with consternation and shook his head. “Are you so determined to wreck yourself, woman? You’ve had enough. Just rest.” 

She was unhappy about his denial but she didn’t push the issue and he cleaned her of the evidence of her desire. Once he was done he lifted her out of the pool, toweled her dry and wrapped her back in her robe. Then when he was also dressed, she let him carry her back to their room and he was glad that for once she didn’t protest him doing so. 

He laid her in the prepared bedding and snuggled against her. It was getting close to noon and they should probably eat but he was too exhausted to think much of anything other than the warmth and comfort of having his wife in his arms. She easily slipped into sleep and he followed her quickly after, relaxed in the knowledge that their ordeal was finally over. He could return to Edo with his wife, alive and free thanks to her. 

___________________________

Ieyasu walked into Osaka palace. It had been a year to the day since he’d walked out of here with his wife after that hellish night. He was immediately escorted to Hideyoshi’s bedchamber where the man lay at death's door. It was just as gaudily decorated as it had been back then and he fought off the urge to cringe. He was here to pay his last respects to the divine ruler after all, although there was nothing respectful about his feelings toward the man. He’d been waiting for this day and finally, finally it was here. 

The other people in the room filed out, leaving them alone with a click of the door. He looked at the man laying in the bed propped up on a mound of pillows. His breathing was ragged and punctuated by sporadic coughing. Ieyasu had been told that he could no longer speak and spent most of his time sleeping under the influence of powerful sedatives the doctors gave him to control the pain. It really wouldn’t be long before he passed and good riddance. Ieyasu smiled a genuine happy smile to see his enemy laid low. 

Hideyoshi was awake now and staring at Ieyasu as he knelt beside the bed. “Ah Monkey. I bet it’s been a long time since anyone has called you that to your face,” he said quietly. “I’m happy I get to see you one last time before you die the miserable death you deserve. It didn’t have to be this way you know. You could have left my wife alone and I wouldn’t have had to poison you slowly.” Hideyoshi sputtered and coughed. He tried to call out but all that came from his throat were weak moans. 

Ieyasu’s smile took on the poison he was known for as it broadened and he laughed. “I bet the doctors told you you had some rare incurable disease, but the truth is your death is my doing. That expensive medicine they’ve been giving you is actually what is killing you. Isn’t that ironic?” he said, more pleased than cynical. “This is why I don’t trust doctors.”

Ieyasu picked up one of Hideyoshi’s hands as though he were consoling him. In his weakened state he couldn’t resist. “I’ve been waiting for this day to come for a long time. The day when I finally wrench divine rule out of your hands and take it for myself. While you’ve been languishing I’ve been secretly expanding my influence. Most of the members of your son’s regent council are under my control. Your little boy will only live for as long as I have use for him. And that damnable fox of yours, he has no chance to keep your clan from falling back into the field dirt it was made from and I will assure that that rabid animal will be put down along with it. You’ve severely underestimated how disliked that man is by your followers.” Ieyasu watched as comprehension bleed into Hideyoshi’s eyes. He allowed himself to indulge in a bit of sadism as he watched the man’s expression turn from anger to anxiety to despair. 

“So now that you understand the truth of your circumstance, how does it feel to be rendered unable to move, unable to speak, laying there helpless while your enemy takes everything you cherish from you? Oh, I know you can’t speak, but you don’t have to tell me. I remember that feeling all too well. That feeling I had, bound and gagged, while you violated my wife in front of me. But now my wife will have her revenge and she will be my Divine Bride, peerless under the seven heavens, as she and she alone deserves. Our children and our children’s children will rule the land for generations. You, Monkey, along with the Lord of Fools, can look up at me from the deepest hell and see what Tokagawa Ieyasu is capable of and you will weep.”  The fire of ambition and goals realized lit his face. 

“Please, give my regards to Nobunaga when you see him.” Ieyasu said as he patted Hideyoshi on the shoulder. 

He called the doctor back into the room. “I believe it’s time for his evening dose.” He watched Hideyoshi sputter and panic, his smile never faltering, then strode from the room without looking back. Revenge was indeed sweetest served cold.