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Chapter Nine -- Envy, The Green-Eyed Monster

The Circuit Hotel was a pleasant surprise after the depressing greyness of the hospital. It catered to wealthy GMA owners, and as such was equipped to deal with every contingency, from exotic diets to purpose-built accommodation. Sakaki had hired a suite of rooms for himself and Suzu, with an adjoining set of rooms for Miyatsu. These had an interconnecting door, which Miyatsu told Aiko dryly was always kept closed while Suzu was in.

"Sakaki uses a swipe card to come in here," he said, lifting his arms to give Aiko access to the stitches in his side. It was a nasty cut, deeper than it at first appeared, and treated with antibiotics. Miyatsu would have a long jagged scar under his fur once it healed.

"Does this hurt, my Miyu?" Aiko asked. "When I saw you start to bleed last night, I was so scared! I prayed they'd stop the match."

"And forfeit? No, it doesn't hurt much now. Feel it and see." And he placed her hand fully on the stitches and let his feelings flow over her. She gasped as she felt the wound suddenly superimposed on her own side. It was beginning to itch slightly around the edges as it healed.

With a rueful smile, she resisted the urge to scratch, moving her hand away, and the shadowy sensation disappeared. She replaced the gauze bandages with the waterproof ones that she'd purchased in the Hotel shop, as Miyatsu was desperate to take a shower and wash the smell of the hospital out of his fur.

Aiko glanced at the door connecting the two suites as she knelt on the floor to replace his leg bandage. She'd already tried the door; it was locked, and nobody answered the buzzer, so she could only assume that Sakaki was not yet back from his fourth honeymoon.

"Your leg doesn't look too bad," she said, gently touching the shaved fur. Unlike his side, Miyatsu's leg hadn't needed stitches. However, he had reverted to walking on all fours to save putting pressure on the wound. She smoothed the waterproof bandage on. "There! All done." She made shooing motions. "Go and take your shower. I'll order us some food from Room Service."

He flashed her a grateful grin as he slipped off the bed onto all fours, carefully lifted his injured hind leg clear of the floor and limped to the bathroom. Aiko watched the door close behind him with a fond smile. Even thin, bandaged and with large patches of fur shaved to treat his wounds, he was still the sexiest creature on three legs she'd ever seen.

She stood up, gathering the bloodied gauze bandages so that she could dispose of them, when the interconnecting door opened and she heard a familiar voice, slightly irritated but attempting to pass it off as humour: "All right, Suzu, I won't be long. I just need to step in and check on my star athlete!"

The door closed behind him as Sakaki walked into the room and stopped abruptly, staring at the sight of Aiko.

"Aiko! What are you doing here?"

"Your job, apparently. What the hell did you think you were doing, going off and leaving Miyatsu all by himself?"

Sakaki blinked. His gaze fell on the bloody bandages in her hands, and he blanched. "What's happened? Is Miyatsu injured?"

Aiko drew a deep breath, trying to contain her anger. "You don't know? Didn't you even bother to watch the match last night?"

"No, we... um, were otherwise occupied. Is he all right?"

Aiko didn't trust herself to speak right away. She dropped the bandages into the waste disposal, then went to the kitchenette unit and washed her hands. Only as she dried them and turned to face Sakaki again did she deign to answer, calmly but with the simmering anger underneath obvious.

"He was injured. However, he'll live, no thanks to you. You may be interested to know he won the stupid match anyway, but had to spend the night in the GMA Hospital. I was at home with my parents when I saw him collapse in the stadium, bleeding and obviously too sick to have been allowed to fight!"

Some of the anger in her drained off at the sight of Sakaki's worried eyes, the expression too similar to Miyatsu's for her to maintain the rage. "Sakaki, you were supposed to be looking after him! This is a foreign country, he can't speak the language, and everybody he meets is going to treat him like an animal! I trusted you to watch out for him."

"Where is he now?"

"Having a shower. But the wounds he got in the match weren't the worst part of it; he's developed Pershan Syndrome."

Sakaki's mouth opened in a soundless "Oh!" of understanding. "So that's why he was acting so oddly. There were times I could hardly get him out of bed; I had to tell him how unhappy you'd be if he didn't train and lost his matches!"

"Me!" The anger returned in a rush at the thought of Miyatsu too depressed to move and Sakaki using her as motivation. "You said that? How could you, Sakaki?"

Sakaki seemed to realize he'd said the wrong thing. He took a step backward before her angry gaze, then turned on his most charming smile, spreading his hands placatingly. "Anyway, Pershan Syndrome doesn't last long once the master returns, so Miyatsu can have a rest for a few days and be as good as new! And since you're here, your mother must be able to spare you; you can join us for the rest of the tour."

Aiko shook her head. "The vet at the GMA Hospital has marked him as too injured to return for the remainder of the circuit. He got badly slashed by his opponent, Sakaki. With depression making him unable to use his telekinesis, he was lucky not to have been killed. He lost a lot of blood and will have a couple of nasty scars once he recovers. I'm taking him home."

"What? But... but the circuit... Aiko, he can't be that badly injured, not if they've let him leave the hospital! We should get a second opinion!"

"Here's my first, second, and only opinion, Sakaki. We. Are. Going. Home. And you can take the money he's already won for you and count yourself lucky that he didn't die last night!"

"Is that right? May I remind you, Dr Fujimoto, that you are my employee, not Miyatsu's master! You don't get to make the decisions!"

"Are you going to tell Miyatsu you're his master, Sakaki? Because you and I both know who he'd choose, if it comes to that!"

They were facing each other furiously, neither willing to give an inch, when a deep voice behind them said, "Can I have a say in this shouting match?"

They both spun around to see Miyatsu standing on two legs, leaning against the bathroom door frame for support. His fur was damp from the shower, and he was calmly drying himself with a towel while watching them.

"I may not be able to compete anymore, but that doesn't mean you can't still make a lot of money out of the circuit, Sakaki," he continued. "Place a big bet on the Gigantos in next week's match. The only reason she's not at a higher ranking is because she's been holding back through fear of facing me or Sisyro; I've read it in her emotions when we've been training. Since we're both out of the competition, she'll win, no question. And the odds will be excellent, because she's only ranked eighth so far. I'll give you a list of the others I think will win or place. I've got a unique perspective, remember." He grimaced slightly. "I've been quartered in the cages below the stadium with them right before our matches. I know the strengths and weaknesses of most of them, the stuff you human trainers don't get to see."

He dropped back down onto three legs and limped to the bed, where he arranged himself carefully to avoid dislodging bandages and began to dry his long tail, twitching it up to keep the damp fur off the bedclothes.

"And while I'm flattered the pair of you care enough to fight over me," he added, glancing at them, "I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop. I need a meal and some sleep, in that order."

Sakaki looked down for a moment before glancing up at Aiko with a sheepish expression. He gave her a faltering smile, then turned to face Miyatsu.

"Aiko's right, though," he said. He dropped into a chair by the bed and gazed at Miyatsu seriously. "I never should have left you by yourself. I can't excuse it, but it honestly never entered my mind that you'd have such an extreme reaction, Miyatsu."

"You own a Pershan, Sakaki," Aiko said pointedly, not willing to let go of her anger yet.

"Which I've never left alone for a day since she was a kitten, so I didn't recognize Miyatsu's symptoms, Aiko," Sakaki responded quietly.

Aiko glared at him for a second longer, but she left the argument alone. Instead, she crossed to the phone in the corner of the room and dialed Room Service.

Sakaki turned back to Miyatsu. "I'm truly sorry. It's just... well, I often forget that other people will see you, first and foremost, as an animal and that everything becomes more difficult for you because of that attitude. If I'd known what the problem was, well, we're only a three-hour flight from Kyoto. I could have arranged for you to visit Aiko for a day now and then, between matches."

Miyatsu shook his head with a slight smile. "It's a good thing you didn't do that, my brother."

"Why not?"

Miyatsu gazed across at Aiko, who was ordering food using the hotel menu as a guide. The expression in his eyes was so evocative that Sakaki caught his breath for a moment, wishing enviously that Suzu would give him such a totally besotted look.

"Because I could never leave her again, that's why not," Miyatsu anwered.

*

"Rise and shine, campers!"

Sakaki pulled the blinds open abruptly. Sunlight flooded the room as two tousled heads raised from the pillows.

"S'kaki?" Aiko tried to focus. "Wha's up?"

"The sun! I've been awake for hours, making arrangements. We're flying home in my jet this afternoon. So get up, you two lazybones, and pack your stuff!"

Miyatsu swung his long legs out to sit on the side of the bed. He yawned widely, exposing his sharp fangs, then said drowsily, "Brother, your energy at such an early hour is indecent, do you know that?"

Sakaki grinned equably. "You're a cat, you'd sleep all day if I let you!"

Aiko looked at her mate as she sat up. "How are you feeling today, my Miyu?"

Miyatsu leaned towards her and they rubbed cheeks fondly. "Much better. I'll be able to walk on my leg today. And my throat's not sore anymore."

Sakaki shifted from foot to foot impatiently, feeling ignored. Miyatsu was healthy enough, one only had to look at him. A week or two's hiatus, get the stitches out, and he'd be fit enough to finish the circuit. Sakaki still felt resentful about Miyatsu's refusal to compete anymore and about the tongue-lashing Aiko had given him yesterday, though he was careful not to let the irritation show. Although it rankled, he knew perfectly well that if push came to shove, Miyatsu would follow Aiko in whatever she chose to do. She'd often protested that she was not his master, but Sakaki knew better. It didn't matter how she danced around it, Aiko was Miyatsu's master, enough that he'd developed Purshan Syndrome when separated from her.

Sakaki narrowed his eyes, watching them. He'd always regarded Aiko as pretty enough, in a studious sort of way. But suddenly, he was struck by the way her face glowed as she smiled up at Miyatsu. Her eyes were quite beautiful, her face pink-cheeked and radiant with happiness as the pair of them did that ridiculous cheek-rubbing thing again. That drew his eyes to her lips. It was ridiculous that those lips would never be kissed; they were made for it, perfectly-shaped, soft and pink. They should be kissed, and often, by a man who could appreciate them, not some quarter-human hybrid that thought brushing cheek against cheek was the peak of affection...

"How about I make us some breakfast?" he offered, unused to not being the centre of attention as the couple gazed into each other's eyes, ignoring him. He stalked across to the small kitchenette and began getting the leftovers from the previous night's meal out of the refrigerator, rattling the cups and plates louder than was strictly necessary out of pique.

"Oh." It was a simple sound, but Sakaki glanced up at Aiko when she said it. She'd sounded disappointed that he was still there. "We... we don't want to keep you from Suzu," she finished lamely. "It is still your honeymoon..."

Her cheeks were flushed a delicate pink with more than sleepiness now, and Sakaki felt a sudden surge of desire, hastily quashed. He knew they wanted him to leave, and why, and he decided to stay just out of contrariness.

"No problem. She's gone shopping, last day here and all that. I think she said she wanted to get some souvenirs for her friends."

He smiled to himself at having discomfited Aiko. He was, after all, still righteously indignant at her stubbornness in not considering any alternatives to fighting the rest of the circuit. Sakaki had insisted on calling in the best GMA veterinarian in Shanghai "to make sure your wounds are on the mend," as he'd said to Miyatsu. But in reality he'd wanted his second opinion. It hadn't helped that the vet had agreed that Miyatsu should not fight for the remainder of the season to give him a chance to heal properly.

Miyatsu sighed resignedly and stood up. "Ah well. My leg's still too sore anyway."

Aiko giggled, and Sakaki frowned, realizing they'd communicated more than they'd said aloud.

"Come on and have some breakfast, then," Sakaki suggested, "and we can discuss in more detail those GMAs you think I should bet on."

Aiko rolled her eyes. "If you two are going to talk business, I'm first in the shower," she stated, grabbing her bag. "Save me something."

*

Suzu was not at all happy about sharing their private jet with Aiko. She'd always tolerated Miyatsu, keeping her distance and speaking as little as possible to the GMA, trying to pretend he was just like any other animal. But she and Sakaki had exchanged heated words the previous night when she'd discovered her one-time friend and colleague had not only arrived in Shanghai, but was also going home with them.

Suzu was now sitting beside her new husband in the passenger seat, pointedly ignoring him while she flicked through a magazine. The sound irritated Sakaki: flick... flickflick... flick...

She wasn't reading it: she was looking at the pictures, like a beautiful, petulant child. The difference between them and the couple in the seats across the aisle couldn't be more emphatic. Miyatsu was sleeping again as he recovered from his wounds and from the exhaustion brought on by Pershan Syndrome, his seat reclined all the way back to turn it into a snug bed. Aiko also had her seat reclined. Her eyes were closed as she dozed beside him. She held the GMA's large paw in her hand, their fingers loosely entwined even in sleep.

Sakaki grimaced. Why the hell did he keep thinking about Aiko? She had been positively rude to him yesterday, accusing him of not caring about Miyatsu's welfare. What was it about the GMA that she found so attractive, anyway? She'd said he was Sakaki's brother. Sakaki stared across at Miyatsu's face, his eyes searching for any points of similarity but finding none.

Sakaki frowned: he hated it whenever Miyatsu called him "brother." To think he was related in any way to that quarter-human chimera! The idea was disgusting. Miyatsu was a GMA, nothing more. And Sakaki had treated him extremely well; in fact he'd been way too soft with him. None of Sakaki's other GMAs got the sort of privileged treatment Miyatsu had been accorded. Except perhaps for Koneko, he thought, letting his hand brush the fur of the great cat curled up on the seat by his side, and receiving a faint purr and his hand licked briefly in appreciation.

But Koneko was -- uncomplicated. Miyatsu caused complications every time he opened his mouth and showed that he could reason. Sakaki was forever having to rethink everything to do with him.

He should never have let Aiko teach Miyatsu to read and write, Sakaki thought. It had given him ideas above his station in life. And as for them living together and being sexually intimate! The way Aiko carried on, you'd think she believed Miyatsu was somehow human...

Aiko stirred sleepily, opened her eyes to see Sakaki watching them, and smiled at him drowsily before slipping back to sleep. Sakaki stared at her. Nobody had ever looked at him the way he'd seen Aiko look at Miyatsu. Certainly not Suzu, or any of his former wives. The only thing that made their eyes light up, it seemed, was the size of the rings he placed on their fingers or the amount of money he put on their credit cards. And their gratitude for his generosity never lasted very long.

He glanced at Suzu, still absorbed in the pretty pictures and gossip about the latest film starlet. She was the type he usually fancied, bold and curvaceous, classically beautiful, with lots of makeup and flashy clothes.

But suddenly, in comparison to Aiko, she looked -- coarser somehow, unrefined. Like the difference between a plastic bead and a genuine pearl. Sakaki wondered what it would feel like to know the sort of love Miyatsu had, to see such adoration light Suzu's face at the sight of him? Yet on a deeper level, he knew Suzu would never give him that; Sakaki had no illusions about his latest wife, she loved his money and his power. And before this moment, that had seemed enough for him.

Suzu's attention was drawn from the magazine at last. She followed her husband's eyes to the couple sleeping across the aisle.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" she said rhetorically. "Sleeping together like that. But Aiko, she's always had the hots for that animal. She's kinky for furries, if you ask me."

Sakaki drew on a pair of eyeshades and reclined his seat.

Lucky Miyatsu, he thought.