Jungle fever

Chapter 25

Heavy rain clouds chased over the dark sky. They piled up, collapsed, bunched up against a high mountain peak, and sloshed back to the valley. Still, it wasn't raining heavily but what brewed together over the jungle would drive humans and animals into their homes and keep them trapped for quite a while.

Secluded from all that, Taiga and Daiki walked deeper and deeper into the convoluted cave. They were long past the third offshoot and now needed to depend on the accuracy of the map. Once in awhile water dripped down from the roof and made the ground quite slippery. Both walked as careful as possible in the dim light that spread from the torch.

"If this is correct, we will soon be in a small grotto. We should take a rest there." The bluenette grunted in approval, highly aware that Taiga was walking really close to him to get more light for identifying the lines on the map. The redhead sighed and put the thin layer of bark away. Grunts and nodding were all he got from his blue-haired companion in the last hours and every time he tried to figure out why it was like this, he got shoved against a wall and the question was kissed right out of him. Resigned, he had given up on asking. The bluenette was completely uncommunicative, very different from what he had in remembrance. But the intensity of the kisses was still the same and so he laid low for now not wanting to get another bump on his back or head from being shoved around. Even if he felt upset and wanted to fight back. The slippery ground, narrow transitions, and useless arguments could be their death down here. So for once, he used his head before breaking a stupid fight and simply shut up. He had time enough to interrogate the pig head later.

Rounding the next corner, a small grotto sprawled out before them. To the left side, it had a tiny basin of water. Everything else was blank greyish-black stone. Nothing comfortable, but they had enough space to rest and Daiki confirmed that the water was drinkable. They refilled their bladderworts and sat down around the torch, which Taiga had laid upon a few small rocks to secure it from getting wet.

The redhead opened his food package and broke one of the small pieces of bread in half. "You want some? I made it myself." The midnight eyes, which had watched each of his moves ignored the offered bread and stared unblinking at his face. "What is it? You're acting really weird. Cut it out!" Taiga had enough of Daiki's stupidity. But before he could rage on, a low growl from the blue-haired male stopped him. "Stop pretending, that you don't know why I act like that. Is it fun to play innocent? What do you get out of it in leading me in here? Will you abandon me once I lose my sense of direction? Did you really think I wouldn't notice that the plan differed from the original one? Since when did you and your rotten clan plan this? What's up Taiga, no comeback? Did I burst your bubble of lies?" With every question, the bluenette had inched closer and was now hovering over the redhead, who half laid on the floor with his shoulder blades and head pressed against the stone wall. Daiki was so intimidating, that Taiga automatically crawled backward away from him. Now he found himself in an even more vulnerable state with his body caged between tanned arms and legs.

The ice-cold wrath, which sprayed from the midnight-blue eyes of the Aomine clan's man hit Taiga completely off guard and he could only stammer out the first question that came to his shocked mind. "W-what're y-you talking about?"

"Yeah, what I'm talking about? He trained you pretty well. All your innocent acting, stumbling accidentally into our territory, and making me fall for you. How long did it take until you had it down in your flesh and bones? Is it fun to destroy families? Is that what you learned from your bastard father? How to pry families apart and let it look like they're at fault themselves? Nee~ is it fun, Taiga?" Daiki had leaned down and hissed the last sentence into the dumbfounded redhead's ear before he bit hard down on the auricle, drawing blood.

Taiga screeched and jerked away from the bluenette's mouth. He clapped a hand over his bleeding ear and stared wide-eyed at the handsome face, which was now twisted in a grimace of fury, anger and murderous intent. He didn't know what to do. Everything hit him completely unprepared. A shiver of fear ran over his back and even if he had such a strong body, at the moment he was paralyzed and could only do so much as suppress a whimper which formed in his throat. His eyes squeezed shut as the tanned man leaned down again. A wet tongue was pressed between his fingers, which still were over his left ear and the tip licked away the blood, which trickled out between his digits. The gesture was almost gentle and goosebumps formed all over his body.