Ai No Kusabi Alternative Ending

Chapter 15

A/N: I have finally finished my whole plot for this story. It was originally just a bunch of smut and BDSM with drama, but I decided after reading a bunch of other Ai No Kusabi fanfictions that the internet has enough of that already. Ai No Kusabi was about much more than a dramatic relationship. Even more than the amazing characters and their relationships was the portrayal of the complexities of love and justice. So, all that is left is actually editing and writing the alternate HAPPY ending. Yes, it will be a long story. Yes, there will be lots more smut. Yes, there will be many new things that are not smut as well. 

As they arrive back at the penthouse, Cal immediately moves to finish preparing dinner. Riki starts to help him, but runs into Iason in the living room. His master sat on the couch with a book in his hand, and turned his piercing blue eyes in one smooth sweep toward him. Riki paused in his moving. 

"Riki, come here. Sit with me." Riki silently walked and sat by him, only to be pulled down so that he was laying on the couch with his head in his master's lap. 

"So quiet. Where did you go today?" Iason asked while running his fingers through Riki's hair. 

"The Salon."

"Why?" 

"The fuck you mean, 'Why?' You've been so damned weird lately, you know that?" 

Iason sighed, "Is it so wrong for me to just be worried about you?" 

"Yes." 

"Answer my question."

"I just did!" 

"The real question, not the rhetorical one."

"I was bored, okay?" Riki huffed, and Iason frowned.

"Am I not enough for you?" 

"Quit trying to get me to confess my love for you right when I get home."

Iason smirked, "I missed you, Riki."

"Well, I didn't miss you." Iason swatted Riki's rear end, and his pet nearly jumped off the couch.

"Ow! Alright fine! Whatcha  want?"

"Tell me about today." 

"Why, because you suddenly feel like being romantic?"

"No, because I will not let you leave until I am sure that you are in no danger of being kidnapped, castrated, and murdered as a result of anyone you came into contact with today." At Iason's serious tone, Riki fell silent and decided he really should stop playing with fire. 

"Well... I went to the gardens, and then the Salon. I ran into this kid named Gabe and a girl named Rea. Gabe looks a lot like me. Actually, enough pets remind me of myself that it's creepy. It's even weirder than when everyone hated me. They're supposed to be the newest pets or something." 

"You seem to be familiar with them."

"No I don't. I mean, kind of, but not really. I ran into Gabe last time when I was trying to buy a drink. He said one of those red-haired elites own him. And the girl's from this silver-haired guy."

"A Ruby and a Platina?" 

"Yeah, whatever." At this point, the only elites Riki feared, or even remembered, were the Blonde ones, not that he would ever admit to it. 

"And how did you come across this information? Last I recall, you 'hated' socializing." 

"How can I not hear when they go around yappin' it to everyone they see?" 

Iason smiled and removed his hand from his pet's hair, "Then we shall save the yapping, as you call it, for later. I believe Cal has dinner ready." Riki sighed and reluctantly got up from the couch, following his master into the dining room. Cal finished setting the table as his masters sat down to enjoy the meal. Making sure they were settled first, Cal also took a seat and began eating. 

"Did anything interesting happen today, Cal?" Although not as sharp as Katze, Cal was always in a subservient position perfect for observation. He was loyal, and kept no secrets from his master, something Iason found extremely useful in furniture. 

Cal thought for a moment before replying, "The pets near the salon today did not seem to recognize Master Riki, nor I." 

"I've only been in this godforsaken place twice as long as you, Cal." Riki retorted with his mouth full. "And I was gone for a while too. It's probably logical since they're all new pets. I don't know any of them either. Not that I really knew any of them before. Plus, Cal, when was the last time you even saw a pet?" 

It was true. Cal's duties had returned to the purely domestic kind - cooking and cleaning - ever since Riki took up a job under Katze. He only ventured out of the penthouse to buy groceries. Riki was the only pet Iason kept in the last half decade, and the only one still. Cal has only been to the Salon a few times before, the most memorable during his training to become a Blondie's furniture. Even though the penthouse's household matters stayed in the household, a few other renowned furniture knew Cal to be the keeper of the home of Tanagura's Syndicate's leader.  

"Don't get ahead of yourself Riki. When was the last time you acted like a real pet?" 

"Not fucking ever." 

"Exactly." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Don't play coy with me. You'll get spanked for trouble before the end of the week." 

"You don't know that." Riki retorted, trying to down play his fear of punishment. 

"Something about your story of these new pets tells me that your prolonged presence here in Eos causes ripples far larger than either of us would admit. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Orphe wouldn't." 

"No, he wouldn't." Iason conceded with a twinkle in his eye. "Especially not if anyone were to cause trouble with the security." At the mention of the guards, Riki rolled his eyes. He had to stay fit and on his feet somehow. These elites just didn't get it. 

"It's not my fault that half a dozen of them still have trouble taking down a mongrel." 

Iason was silent before switching the subject, "If you are so bored, you should attend the next pet soiree. It is for some of the new pets as well." 

"Hell no." 

"You're no longer required to even participate. Humor me so Aisha doesn't bug us." 

"Tell him to bug off then. No way I'm ever going to one of those again." 

"I wasn't asking." Riki sighed and stayed silent. Surely, it can't be too bad if all he had to do is show up? 

Iason once found amusement in keeping such a scandalous pet. But even he had not foreseen the consequences years down the line. Iason never thought much about it, manipulating whoever he needed to do his bidding. Now that he secured something worth more than his fortune and power, the whole class system became entertaining. The elites were simpletons, absorbed in maintaining and raising their statuses. While it once was a cold mind game to him, Riki's presence envelops the pleasure of manipulation so it is now a warmer mind game. Iason smiled. The future of Eos seemed less bleak already, one scandal at a time.