Disclaimer: Togainu no Chi and all associated characters and material belong to Nitro+chiral. I claim no ownership.

A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed my last story! Your encouraging words mean a lot. I hope you enjoy this one just as much. It's a little sentimental and crazy, just the way you like it. This one's for kinkbingo; "body alteration/injury".

What Use Am I
By: SigSig

His fingertips moved as light as feathers across delicate, pale skin and soft whimpers were issued from past lips that could no longer form words. This one felt different, unlike the rest. After countless failed attempts, it seemed only natural that one must prevail as a success... yet that thought had seemed so uncertain after he tried time and time again with no success. Time had proven to be the answer, though.

Finally, laying beneath him was the most obedient slave.

The boy's lips were parted slightly and he breathed heavily through his nose, his breath hitching each time Arbitro grazed his fingers over his pink nipples. They were still a little red, no doubt sore from having been recently pierced. They were clean and fairing well though, and the cool metal looked so nice against his skin. Even better were the sounds he would make when he'd twist one of them.

His eyelids had been sewn shut, but they still struggled to open as if he'd be able to see anything even if they did. The little effort made Arbitro grin with how cute it was. His long eyelashes fluttered uselessly against his cheeks. He moved up a little and bent his head to place a light kiss against one of his empty lids.

Another small gasp escaped the boys lips and he fought to keep his hands beside his head. Arbitro didn't have him bound, didn't think it would be necessary while he had him in his bed, now that he'd proven his obedience.

Arbitro knew that things would be different with him from the moment he laid eyes on him. It was proven sometime later though, when he'd chosen to test him. It was natural for them to fight him at first. Usually, it took time and the administration of some medication to get them to a point where they would bend to his will, but this one had been pliant from almost the beginning without any struggle at all. Maybe time really was what had done it; being in a cell with others like you, who knew what to expect and what to do if they wanted to live – but it had to be with the right combination of things as well.

Disposition was a key factor. The others would normally fight. The first time, they treated him like an assailant. He was their master. He had zero tolerance for disobedient dogs. If they bit him, they were gagged. If they insulted him, they were blinded. Eventually, it reached a point where those were the things that became preliminary. No man would ever become his dog if a trace of their humanity were still intact, after all.

This one smiled as he had his eyes gouged and stuck out his tongue to lap up the blood that pooled down his cheeks. He bared his throat for his knife and not once made a sound. In fact, he couldn't remember what the boy's voice sounded like, nor if he even spoke a word before then. Perhaps he already expected that words would be useless for him, hearing what the others who still maintained theirs had to say.

What he did know was that this boy was a failure in Igra. Then again, that would be like expecting a show dog to become the champion in a dog fight; he was obviously unfit for it. The small, lean body that quivered beneath him was much better suited for laying spread out on top of his sheets. His beauty was only wasted in a tournament of death where he didn't even possess the strength to defend himself.

His boys had apparently discovered him when they were out on one of their hunts for those who disobeyed the rules of the game. As their story went, he was curled against himself in complete fear and was about to be raped by a group of men strung out on Line. Had they not disposed of them, Arbitro was sure he would have done it himself. The thought alone of someone other than himself touching this precious specimen was too much to bear.

The time he held his face in his hands and told him he belonged to him and no one else, the boy had cried and smiled brightly through his tears. That had been the only time had had seen him shed a tear and it was out of gratitude. And then he'd found himself with an armful of the boy, covered by him completely as he was tackled to the floor and given a tonguebath.

He couldn't escape the feeling that he had done him a favor. All along, that was what he told the men who were to be his slaves, that he was doing them a favor, but he'd never felt like he was being kind for it. Certainly, he was being kind, in that he was affording them another chance at living. Otherwise, they would have probably been killed or had much worse done to them in the first place. But with this one, things felt different. It must have been his overwhelming, genuine gratitude that had changed it.

He sat back for a moment just to watch him and the boy wiggled around after a moment, begging him silently to continue

"You're so lewd," he murmured, obliging his request by finally taking his cock in his fist. He released him after just a few hard strokes, making sure to give him just enough to tide him over and keep him wanting more.

Leaning over to the bedside table, he felt around until his fingers curled around what he was looking for. The boy tilted his head and followed the sound, raising his eyebrows questioningly, unsure of what he was supposed to be listening for. Arbitro held the small knife up and watched the way the light from his lamp glinted off of its clean, reflective surface.

The flat of it was touched to his belly and the boy yelped; possibly at the cold feeling of it, or from the realization of what it was. The worried furrow of his brow spoke of the latter. Gently, Arbitro brushed the hair out of his face and cupped his cheek.

"You know I won't hurt you. You're my most beautiful pet now, after all. Mine and only mine." The boy sighed and turned in his hand to lick at his palm and fingers. "I want to mark you, so that even when there's no collar around your neck, everyone will know that you belong to me."

He didn't need his approval, never sought it from any of his slaves, but it was nonetheless reassuring to see it so easily given from the willing dog beneath him. He silently touched the tip of the knife against his skin, just beneath his left nipple and gave it a light tap to let him know where he was going to start. The boy hardly braced himself, just laid there expecting what was to come. Arbitro let his hand guide itself from his starting point to the last piercing on the opposite side, his eyes on his pet's face the whole while. While he started stoic, as the blade sunk into his flesh, his teeth dug into his bottom lip and his head turned to press into the pillow. He fought desperately to make no noise, but a few breathy whimpers slipped from his throat and his fists curled and tightened hard at his sides.

When he lifted the knife, he allowed him a moment to catch his breath. He breathed hard and ragged, yet, Arbitro noted with some real curiosity, his erection had not flagged at all. Pleased by this, he wrapped his fingers around him and indulged him for a moment; just long enough to see him lift his hips off the bed for it.

"Good boy," he praised, letting go again. He wasn't finished quite yet. "This one might hurt a little more."

The tip of the knife was set under his right nipple this time and followed the opposite path as the cut before it. Where the two intersected, the boy actually cried out, but did nothing to stifle his cry. He only fisted his hands in the sheets and straightened out his knees. When the blade reached its destination, the boy lifted his hips and shuddered with his orgasm.

Arbitro sat back on his legs in no small amount of surprise.

As soon as his wits returned to him, he got up from the bed and raced to the bathroom to return a moment later with a wet rag to clean him off. His pup was still sprawled on his bed, looking rather sated and pleased.

"You..." he muttered, feeling like he was going crazy. "You're really something else. Who knew? I think I've found a pet who enjoys this just as much as I do."

Pausing with the cloth against the bleeding X, he leaned over his pet and brushed their lips together in a sort of kiss. The boy licked his lips enthusiastically in return, a happy smile spread wide over his face.

"You're amazing. The best."

He hadn't quite decided on a name for the exquisite creature yet, but at that moment, he knew he'd found his most loyal dog.

His Kau.