Chapter Text
A warm feathery touch gathers a loose pink tendril and softly gathers it behind a reluctant languid child's ear. "It's time to sleep, Anya-san," a gentle soprano whispered.
"Mama, we still… have to… save… Pa…pa…" the child responded, her words elongated and slurred until they faded along with the child's unconsciousness.
A soft, heartfelt giggle escaped the raven-haired woman's lip as she tucked the child along with her favorite doll, Chimera-san, encompassed between her small arms. "Good night, Anya-san."
Erasing the sounds of her steps and presence as she made her way to her daughter's bedroom door, Yor Forger paused to gaze at her daughter once more. Hearing her daughter's gentle breathing, an unfeigned heartache possessed her being accompanied by an unbridled need to be a better mother had crossed her thought. Her body throbbed with guilt as a slender hand reached for the light switch and switched off the light. Another throb pulsated as she gently turned the knob and exited her daughter's room.
Yor was lost in thought as she reflected on their eventful day at the Ostania Zoo. A silent tear dangled beneath Yor's right eye as she recalled her failure of being an attentive mother. Anya always had a habit of disappearing once Yor's eyes had been taken off of her. She sniffled and sighed as she recalled the stern conversation she had with Anya after the dog adoption convention regarding her disappearing behavior, and how she felt completely useless for being unable to properly vocalize her concern to her daughter. She had thought she had made herself clear given Anya's unadulterated and tearful apology--all of which were genuine responses; however, unbeknownst to Yor, breaking her mother's heart was the cost of assisting a certain Westalis Spy in an earth-shattering mission under the pretense of "attending a ground-breaking medical research trip."
Oh , Yor mourned forlornly, if Loid were only here .
RING-RING-RI-- Yor quickly answered the phone before the chime had completed its tertiary beat as to prevent waking Anya at a late hour. In her giddiness of the serendipitous timing, the name that left Yor's lips was filled with restrained excitement, "Loid-san?"
"Oh?" a bass cadence teased from the other line, "Is the wife already missing her dear husband?"
"Oh! Shopkeeper, I apologize. I thought my husband would call when he arrived--"
" Good evening. I have a client for you, Thorn Princess ."
Upon hearing the all-too-familiar secret pleasantry, Yor's maternal distress and marital fluster vanished instantaneously and was obnubilated with motionless ruby eyes and an unconcealed menacing aura.
"Under normal circumstances, you would serve this guest at his abode tonight, however, this particular client is known for his mercurial and paranoic practices ." Taking her silence as a tacit acknowledgment, the Shopkeeper continued, "Instead, I'd like you to prepare for your performance ."
"Performance?" the assassin echoed with hollow cadence, slightly taken aback by the semantic.
"Proximity is of the essence. It is imperative that you master the art of seduction promptly. I suggest you reconvene with your senior: Klaus Krause."
"HAH?! K-Klaus-senpai?" Yor exclaimed. She never thought to hear a certain name break through her impenetrable façade and reflected into her voice, "S-shopkeeper?!"
"Krause will be returning to headquarters tomorrow morning. I will be expecting you to join us as well."
"Yes, sir."
A sudden click from the receiving line signaled the conclusion of the sudden briefing. Yor, on the other hand, remained stationary and dazed with the Forger house phone cradled between her neck and hand. Her mind remained fixated on the aforementioned person of interest and she found herself growing flustered as several gauche memories emerged in her reminiscence.
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Klaus Kraus had probably been in his pubescent years when Yor Briar was taken under Garden's mantle. He was an exceptionally talented assassin despite being three years her senior. Klaus, at the time, had towered over her at 5 feet 1 inch tall (155.4 centimeters). He had ivory skin with dark chestnut wavy hair, full brows, a pair of alluring silver eyes, a Greek nose--reminiscent of Greek statues and painting--and a triangular jawline. Anyone who had ever come across Klaus Krause would always mention his physique, often dubbing him as a literal work of art . This in turn resulted in his codename : Mirage .
When young Yor Briar had been introduced to him, she had also been spellbound by his beauty. His impression alone aroused an unfamiliar emotion within Yor Briar the longer she gazed at him--another popular experience that many victims, civilians, and colleagues shared.
Although Klaus was never used for comparing, belittling, or competing against Yor during her earlier acclimation and competency into the assassin's creed, she did perceive him on a golden pedestal--after all, he was often paired with her in her early assignments. It was during these times together that Yor developed fondness for the protégé. However, the extent of that fondness was never fully explored, let alone developed.
After Klaus had gained confidence in Yor's quick-learning and malleable resilience in their fieldwork, her promising potential was reported to the Shopkeeper. This had inevitably dissolved the Yor-Klaus paired assassination assignments and made their reunions to meet outside of Garden assignments difficult since.
The next time Yor crossed paths with Klaus Kraus was when she was 16 years old. At this age, Yor was 5 feet 7 inches tall (170 cm) and with fully-developed, voluptuous feminine assets. Her senior, 19-year-old Klaus, had shot up to 6 feet 3 inches tall (192 cm) with an athletic build. It was obvious that the senior assassin maintained a model-like appearance to align with his aphrodisiac reputation. His wavy, dark chestnut was grown to medium-length with the fringe appearing slightly slicked-back--as if he had just run his fingers through his hair prior to their reunion--to create a voluminously messy yet sexy frame around his gorgeous sculpted face. His silver eyes appeared more mature and intense, but they had immediately softened as soon as they had found scarlet irises.
The Shopkeeper had organized their reunion for developing a new skill involving Yor's alluring physique and weaponizing it through the art of seduction--a signature approach that perfectly connotated with Mirage himself.
Their training had taken place in Klaus's apartment penthouse at Berlint Central Park. The penthouse had been lavished with exquisite commodities from marbled hardwood floors to glass walls--all of which reinforced and heightened the exsquisite mirage experience. At the entrance, the pair were greeted with a luxurious lounging area while to their immediate left was a kitchen fashioned for master chefs. Klaus took ahold of Yor's hand and led her passed the kitchen and up a hardwood stairwell leading to the second floor.
Following the ramp and onto the end of the pathway stood two large mahogany doors. With a turn of their bronze knobs, Yor was greeted to a dimly lit bedroom with a queen-sized round bed centered at what appeared to be an intricate, large metallic divider. To the left of the bed was an open-hot tub, that appeared to accommodate for two people, which was positioned directly in front of glass windows. To the right was a wide, round, leather upholstered stool that stood beside a small black table that was adorned with red apples. To the back right corner of the room, passed the metallic divider, appeared to be a large walk-in closet.
Awestruck that such an environment existed, Yor Briar's brazen curiosity galvanized her to break free from her senior's hand and explore the room, her growing anxiety completely abandoned.
"Klaus-senpai! This is amazing!" Yor revered with astonishment. "I can't believe this is your home!"
Klaus chuckled amused by her unabashed nature, "It's for the pretense after all."
Suddenly, Yor stopped in her tracks, realization dawning on her behavior. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't be running around and exploring your bedroom like this!"
"It's fine," the dark-haired assassin insisted nonchalantly, "after all, it wouldn't be Yor Briar without you getting excited about the new environment before commencing our assignments now would it?"
Yor felt her cheeks inflame down to her neck.
Her senior took this opportunity to approach Yor and pat her gently on her head for a few seconds before offering his hand to her. "Now, shall we begin?"
With his hand in sight, suddenly the pent-up anxiety that Yor had abandoned moments ago returned with a violent vengeance. She felt her body stiffen while her small lips formed a tight line to illustrate her symptom--a feature that Klaus Krause knew all too well.
"Don't worry, I promise I won't do anything else other than what's necessary for your training," he coaxed earnestly. "I know where we stand."
Yor blinked several times. Where we stand … "Right," she muttered as she stretched out her hand to hold his.
Klaus had first guided her to the upholstered stool and gently guided her to sit down. "Before we start, Yor, I just want you to know that what I am about to do will be a bit invasive of your space."
Yor swallowed nervously before croaking her consent, "Right."
"I will give you verbal instructions and I require your cooperation and consent to use your hands during this training."
"Y-yes, Klaus-senpai."
Klaus gently placed his hand on his colleague's jet-black scalp, "And if you feel that you cannot perform any of these, please let me know."
"I will do my best!" Yor psyched herself.
"Good," her senior smiled. "First, I'm going to put my hands on the outside of where your thigh is." His long, ivory hands planted themselves on the plush seat as he had described. This resulted in his head leveling with the female assassin's. "Now, notice that if I moved my hands closer to the back of you," his instructions were followed by his actions, "I'm much more closer to you."
So close! Yor felt his breath tickle her lips, igniting a growing heat from her face. She had leaned back subconsciously while her hearing had been drowned out by her accelerating heart.
"Come on, Yor," her senior pouted, honeyed voice laced with feigned injury, "I promised I wouldn't do anything more."
"Oh!" Yor's scarlet irises lit up, his sarcasm damned by her compassion, "I'm so sorry. I should really take this seriously!" Yor realigned her body back to her normal position which brought her lips mere inches from her senior's sculpted full lips; a distance that was responsible for her deepened crimson complexion.
Klaus could only chuckle at her adorable and unadulterated reactions. "Now," he pulled away and offered her his hand, "it's time to switch. And while we're at it, I want to show you this nice trick before leading to this position. Excuse me--"
After pulling Yor to her feet, Klaus took ahold of both of Yor's dainty hands and guided them around his neck. The gesture brought Yor to stand on her tiptoes and within very close proximity to her senior assassin. Conscious of her ample bosom, Yor arched her body in a way to prevent said body part from connecting with his chest.
"It's okay, Yor. There's nothing wrong with this position. It's just a hug," Klaus reassured. He dropped his hands from hers to encircle them around her back to match his instructions. "Just two assassin friends hugging."
"I-I see!" she stuttered affirmingly. However, her body seemed to rise to new temperatures.
"Okay, while we are in this hug position, you are aware that you can have your victim move, yes?"
"O-oh?" Yor had felt slightly disoriented after experiencing her senior's aphrodisiac effects in their current predicament. She willed herself to focus on her male assassin's instructions and meta-analysis to momentarily disrupt her spiking temperature and alleviate a bit of the heat.
"All you need to do is to keep your feet on the outside. When you move, they move, such as so." He illustrated it with his action, and Yor noticed that her body had compensated by stepping backward to prevent her fall. "Notice that you don't have a choice but to follow?"
"Ah, I see!" Yor chirped.
"The key is that your balance is firm and that you are taking the reigns. You should be able to do it regardless of who is your partner given your strength. Go ahead and try it."
Following his instructions, Yor turned her attention to their feet and placed her feet on the outside of her superior's. She checked her balance before taking two tentative steps. Her senior responded in kind. Then, she attempted again with a few more confident strides, her partner following on tempo.
Yor grinned and giggled at her newfound skill before looking back up to senior, their close proximity no longer posing a hindrance. "It feels like we're dancing! The Berlint waltz, was it?"
"Close!" chirped Klaus, "It's actually tango."
"What's the difference between waltz and tango?"
"Waltz maintains a box-step throughout the entire dance and couples should never be maintaining a frame like we have." He shifts his gaze to their connected sternums. This earns a returning tint to the female assassin's features, much to her chagrin--this does not go unnoticed by her tutor. "Tango follows the box-step routine, however, it's all about control and tempo that will set the tone. Almost every tango dancers maintain the frame we have for better control or connection. Even your steps were inspired by the tango outside steps."
"Amazing!" praised Yor, "You must have learned a lot of dance styles since we've last seen each other!"
Klaus offered a humble smile, "I dabbled here and there, but I would say tango is my favorite! I'm sure one of these days I will be training you how to dance the tango and more."
"Most definitely! I look forward to learning more from you!"
"Likewise! Now, let's transition back to our task at hand. Go ahead and try leading me back to the chair using your peripheral vision, and try your best to keep your eyes locked on mine."
Yor obeyed his instruction along with the changes. Although it was merely a repeated action, staring into her male companion's gaze had caused the atmosphere to feel a sudden change. "You're doing great, Yor. Keep it up!" Klaus praised with a velvet voice. In turn, his junior responded with a reserved smile.
Despite her steady progress, their tangoed steps felt drunken over time--not that the Thorn Princess had experienced a drunken state at that age--but rather, she found it extremely difficult to break her gaze from Mirage even with the suggestion to use her peripheral vision for spatial awareness proved to be difficult. More specifically, her positional awareness faded from her conscience the longer she locked eyes. Instead, what had replaced her mind was how his usual gentle silver eyes were replaced with such feral intensity that it made her feel like she was a prey captured by her predator. Enraptured in his fervor, Yor sensed the air grow thinner and hotter and she began feeling lightheaded. She wondered if his previous victims also shared the same experience as she had.
THUD.
Yor had been too focused on identifying her experience dancing with Mirage that she had completely forgotten to pay attention to where she had led them. Her right foot had been in the process of its next step when it was interrupted by the stool whilst in midair resulting in Yor's imbalance.
Fortunately, her partner was well-prepared for his junior's clumsy tendencies--albeit a serendipitous accident that saved both their necks, both literally and figuratively. As soon as Yor had lost her footing, Klaus had craned his neck to his left shoulder to assess their distance and landing area on the cushioned seat. He quickly assessed his most optimal position and tucked Yor closer to his chest before turning to his left at a 90-degree turn. This quick maneuver insured their upper torsos landed on the cushioned seat.
"Yor, please pay attention," he chastised disapprovingly.
"I'm sorry, Klaus-senpai," Yor answered feebly.
"Are you okay though?"
"Y-yes! Thanks to your quick reaction!"
"We ought to work on your ability to catch your fall considering how much of an accident-prone you are. At least, it'll be your foolproof to falls or self-damage," he mused lightly, although his tone also strongly implied that she took his suggestion seriously.
"Y-yes, sir."
"Now, where were we?" Klaus rolled another 90 degrees so that he could guide Yor's back to the cushion while he planted each hand on either side of her head. "Since we're in this position after you tripped, you might as well learn this variation too."
"Y-Yes!" Yor squealed.
"From this position, you get a new angle of your client. You can also change your elevation by shifting your weight from your hands to your elbows." Klaus exchanged the weight in one of his hands to his elbow and repeated the same action to the other side until his face was a hair's length away from touching hers. "See how close we are?"
Yor felt his hot breath tickle her face and down to her neck. She felt like she was nearing boiling point and wasn't sure if she could function for the remainder of the lesson. With the boisterous pounding of her heart drowning her ears, the Thorn Princess failed to hear Mirage's next set of instructions. Instead, the female assassin began to mumble unintelligibly, when she suddenly felt Mirage's nose pressed against the jugular dip of her neck and draw a line to the lower lobe of her ear. In the midst of this administration, she felt his lips graze her neck along with his scorching breath. The action immediately resulted in sending Yor over the edge with a high-pitch squeal followed by an involuntary reaction that launched her senior right off of her and toward the ceiling.
"Y-Yor?!" Klaus stammered before he could register that he was in the air. His junior's reaction had taken him by complete surprise, but also something he anticipated, considering their years together. Fortunately, the Mirage was able to recycle the Thorn Princess's strength as leverage to gently bounce him off his bedroom ceiling and land several feet away from her.
It had taken a few seconds before Yor had fully registered what she had done. Sitting upright suddenly, the female assassin scanned the room for Mirage with a momentary bated breath before she finally found him land before her several feet in front of her. Horrified, began to apologize profusely for her actions, "Klaus-senpai! I am so sorry for what I have done!" She stood up suddenly to offer a low bow, "I also failed to communicate my discomfort even after you told me to! I'm so, so sorry!"
As Klaus made his way back to where his junior stood, he placed his hand on her head and gently ruffled it. "No harm, no foul," he answered nonchalantly. However, in the recess of his mind, Klaus thought that had it been anyone else outside of the Garden, there was no guarantee of their survival.
The Thorn Princess raised her head to meet her senior's gaze beneath her lashes, guilt and fluster still evident on her complexion. Mirage took this as a cue to retire for the evening, " Should we call it a day?"