Escape artistry

13. Izuna on stage (now)

I had never been more aware of another human being in my entire life.

They were hundreds in the audience, their eyes on me, a man in a dress doing something I had only gotten five days training to do, but even so, I could see only him. It was as if I had latched my soul onto him and just hung on.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Tobirama asked the audience and I blushed.

He then turned his back to me, which I knew from the training was my cue to help him off with his jacket. When I did, I brushed with my fingertips against his neck; a very conscious move from my part.

I heard him purr at my touch.

He then offered his wrists for me to tie. As I did, he stepped so close to me he had his mouth to my ear. A whirl went through the crowd and I was suddenly worried. His shows were known to be sexy. I mean, I had seen it myself last Saturday, hadn't I? But even if some would certainly find his proximity to another man hot, there was bound to be those that didn't.

I tried to ignore my worries and I did as I had been taught to tie the knots and pulling them tight.

"Harder, gorgeous", Tobirama said so only I could hear.

Even if I had considered the fact that this could be part of his stage persona, I couldn't help but shiver with pleasure at his words. Come to think of it, if it was only an act, why would he murmur into my ear? His microphone was turned off for the tricks so if he was playing a role, it was now for me only, and that didn't make any sense.

But the prospect of this domineering and confident man being the same shy mathematician who had kissed me the day I turned seventeen didn't make it worse, exactly. In fact, it was incredibly erotic.

I pulled the ropes as tightly as I could, causing Tobirama to chuckle. Even underneath his oversized white shirt, you could see his muscles play as he freed himself from the rope I had tied. I blushed when I remembered I had actually seen those muscles bare last week. I bound him in several different ways, with ropes and cuffs and bands, and he escaped them all expertly. 

Then, it was time for his main trick. The one when he would be bound up and thrown into the water tank with the knife at the bottom, and then appear with the knife in his mouth.

Tobirama took the microphone and spoke into it.

"What do you say? Shall I ask my lovely Izuna to take my shirt off?"

The audience screamed and wolf-whistled. But I could definitely hear some exclamations of disgust among them.

I decided I didn't care. How could I? He had just called me his Izuna, and I had to hide my face in my hands to hide my blush. The audience, at least the part of it that liked what was going on between me and Tobirama, whatever that was, screamed.

"You're so fucking cute when you blush", he murmured to me while holding the microphone to the side. Then, he spoke into it again. "What do you all say, shall I challenge him to maintain eye contact with me throughout the procedure?"

The audience roared, and I felt my knees weaken. Tobirama, however, looked incredibly comfortable and also very pleased with himself.

"Who do you think will struggle most, me or him?" he added, causing the audience to laugh heartily and even I couldn't help a little smile.

He put the microphone on the floor, came to me and looked down on me with his arms slightly out.

"Undress me", he said.

I swallowed and bit my lip. But as I had been challenged, I looked him into his eyes.

I was shivering in my dress, despite the heat from the stage lamps. I forced my hands to stop trembling before I lifted them up, endlessly slowly, towards the upper shirt button of Tobirama's crisp, white shirt.

From then on, I was only aware of the audience as background noise. All of my senses were directed at the tall albino in front of me, just as he focussed only on me. I saw his Adam's apple move as he swallowed when I undid the top button. Then, tracing my fingers over his skin, I moved on to the next.

Tobirama was as still as a statue before me, as if someone from the antique world had sculpted him just for me. I saw his abdominals ripple underneath my touch as my fingers moved down button after button. Finally, all of the buttons were undone, showing off his hips and the black belt he used to hold his trousers at least somewhat in place, and I had to do everything in my power not to release his eyes to look at his erection, which I could clearly see out of the corner of my eye.

"Did I pass?" I asked him in a murmur.

"More than well", Tobirama answered, his voice dark, his face set in stone.

He made to turn around so I could remove his shirt, but I stopped him with a hand to his chest.

"Don't move", I said.

He got an amused glimmer in his eyes, but he did as he was told.

"Topping from the bottom now, are we?" he asked.

"Who said I'm your bottom or top?" I asked back as I took a turn around him and took off his shirt, to the audience's glee.

Then, I was given a thick rope from one of the other assistants, and I took it.

I bent down then and took the microphone, which wasn't in the script.

"Wait..." I said into the microphone, smirking at the audience. I looked over at Tobirama, and saw he had raised an eyebrow, curious as what I would do. "I am supposed to tie him up, but..." I turned to the audience and winked. "I can't do it with this long dress now, can I?"

The audience cheered.

And with one swift movement, I unbuttoned the one button that held my dress together, making it slip off, revealing a body black-and-gold ombre sequined bodysuit underneath.

The audience stood up. They actually stood up for me. I glanced over at Tobirama and to my great satisfaction, I saw his hand had flown to his mouth.

I ignored him, started tying him up.  My hands moved flawlessly, as if they had been born to do this, to tie up my childhood best friend.

When I was done, I put a hand on his shoulder, and he bent down for me so I could whisper into his ear.

"Be careful in there", I murmured. "Last time you were in that tank I was losing my mind for you."

Without looking at his reaction, I turned on the timer, took my dress and went backstage to let Tobirama have the stage to himself for this trick. I found a private corner where I took off the bodysuit and put the dress back on over my naked body. When I was done, Tobirama appeared as he should, knife in mouth, hands stretched out, all wet and hot.

But he looked... Different than last time. Like a hungry predator who only wanted to get out of there.

When he gestured for me and the other assistants to come out on stage and take the standing ovation of the crowd, I ignored his heavy gaze on me. I could sense he was breathing heavily, and I knew it wasn't only due to lack of oxygen in that tank.

Then, he went backstage to let us take the final bow, and I took the opportunity to take a very, very long time to finish on stage to make him go mad with lust for me.