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Warning(s):

This chapter features some rape and violence. (Although it's merely a tool to be used to build up to something else later on). I'm pretty sure that's not gonna stop most of you, but just to give you some fair warning. Besides that, the usual warning of bestiality, sex, yaoi, and other weird generally weird shit applies.

I also rewrote and added some parts to this chapter, due to some useful crits I got. Remember, criticism only makes me stronger, so I can better deliver the goods. If you're not happy, I'm not happy.

**The Scent of his Mate

The Revenge of his Mate**

Ten Years Ago

Keep pushing someone, and sooner or later, they're going to start pushing back... Even if they shouldn't.

"Runt." He'd been considered as such ever since all the other Ronsos his own age had begun growing noticeably bigger and stronger than he. While most of the elder Ronsos treated him fairly and with impartial respect, the majority of his life had consisted of the constant taunting and mocking of all the Ronso youth.

"Runt". "Little Ronso." They called him by these names more so than they did his actual birth name. "Kimahri"... a word in the ancient tongue of the Ronso which meant "Dauntless." He who cannot be intimidated or deterred; fearless; intrepid; bold. An appropriate name, as Kimahri would spend his entire life being confronted by those who would seek to erode his will and his pride... mostly, from his very own peers.

While mostly civilized, Ronsos' did nevertheless had a certain degree of pack mentality... a hierarchy upon which the stronger was deemed dominant, and the weaker would submit. The problem for Kimahri, though, was that he was at the bottom of that barrel... no matter how low one Ronso was on this primitive social ladder, the entire rest of the Ronsos could take some comfort in the fact that they were not the lowest... no, that position belonged to Kimahri, and they never let him forget it.

No matter how much he tried to pay it no mind, the mockery and the contempt he was constantly showered with by others frustrated him to no end. By his early teens, Kimahri had realized that if he wanted any kind of respect, he was going to have to earn it... he was going to have to prove himself. Despite his smaller size, and despite the regular teasing by other Ronsos as they spoke of the futility of it, Kimahri exercised and trained constantly.

It was not easy. It was never easy. He continually lagged behind others as he struggled to build his strength and sharpen his skills in hunting and combat. During practice sessions with the other Ronsos, he was always pushed around, knocked down and laughed at. But it all only strengthened Kimahri's resolve... he refused to resign himself to being inadequate.

But the weeks turned into months... the months turned into years... and Kimahri still could not catch up to the others. No matter how far he progressed, no matter how hard he tried... everyone else seemed to be at least a few steps ahead of him. His frustration gradually increased further and further over the years, and the storm of insults and derisions from the others never seemed to lull.

While Kimahri was the lowest of the low on this scale, two fellow members of the Ronso tribe, Biran and Yenke, were respectively considered the first and second. They were huge, towering Ronsos, prime examples of physical excellence, whose sheer power and combat skills were widely respected and feared throughout the tribe. Over the course of the years, while Kimahri lingered behind, these two hulking monsters time and time again asserted and proved their sheer dominance over all other Ronso. They were hailed as the pride of the Ronso people, the greatest warriors of their generation.

And they certainly never let anyone forget about it. Biran was a fantastically proud and arrogant creature, who not only reveled in the admiration and adoration of others, but expected it. Pompously, he wore only the finest armor that the tribal craftsmen built specifically for him, along with the most perfectly adorned and decorated ceremonial weaponry.

Biran's superiority complex and arrogance would only seem contemptible and distasteful if only others Ronsos, as well as fate itself, didn't keep feeding it. Besides the unyielding acclamation for which the others bathed him with, Biran was born with a majestic-looking palette of ebony dark fur covering most of his body, highlighted by golden-blonde manes on his head and shoulders. That, and his tall and sharp horn, gave him an almost regal appearance, befitting his ego. Biran even wore a tight, beige loin wrap, whose thinly veiled real purpose was to hug his bulge as tightly as possible, so all could know that Biran was indeed as gifted below as he was above. Furthermore, Biran's mate eventually turned out to be none other than Yenke, who was second in esteem from the tribe only to Biran himself. It seemed as if Yevon himself had decided that nothing but the best was fit for this mighty, heroic, peerless Ronso.

So this was exactly the person that Kimahri should NOT have lost his temper to.

There was a shortage of food that particular month, and the tribe's reserves were starting to run out faster than expected. Several hunting groups had been dispatched to gather sustenance. Kimahri himself had been hunting some fiends on a remote part of the slippery slopes of Mount Gagazet, this time going alone rather than with a party. That suited him far better, as he could hunt without the snickering and callous remarks of others. A shameful part of him also admitted to himself that if he screwed up again, then it was better that no one see it happen.

Perhaps it was a negative attitude like that which caused him to ineptly bungle a kill... a cornered ice hound. He'd had it pinned between two large boulders, and the only means of escape was through the path that Kimahri blocked. He'd held his spear at the ready, prepared to impale it through the neck of the fiend as soon as it got close enough.

He'd done this several times before... so how could he have failed so pathetically at that moment? When the hound made a lunge for Kimahri, the little blue Ronso brought his spear up and brought his right foot foreword to deliver the finishing blow.

And he'd tripped.

The hound slammed into his flailing body hard as it made its escape. Kimahri went plummeting down into the snow while the fiend went dashing down the mountain faster than Kimahri could have ever hoped to catch up to. At that moment, he was incredibly grateful no one had been around to see such an embarrassment.

Then, he heard a duet in the form of thundering laughter, echoing loudly over the steep cliffs of the rocky mountainside. Pulling himself upright instantly, he saw that both Biran and Yenke had been watching from a cliff up above. Gritting his fangs at the miserable luck the fates had once again bestowed him with, Kimahri at first tried simply to look away and leave. But, with the swiftness and agility for which he was renowned, Biran leapt from his position several yards downward and landed in front of Kimahri.

"Can't even defeat little hound, weakling Ronso? Biran knew runt was pathetic, but not THAT much." The ebony-gold creature scoffed with contempt. Yenke landed right next to him, intent on joining in on the fun his mate was clearly having.

"Hrrm. Maybe should kick runt out of tribe and let hound join instead. Less shame brought to the Ronso people that way." Kimahri had been dealt worse insults over the years, although the aggravation with his own lack of progress had been grating at his nerves these past weeks. It was not easy to stifle the growl he felt rising in his throat, but that much, at least, he was able to accomplish. Instead, he simply kept his head down and moved to go past them.

"Can't hunt. Ronso cubs are starving, yet runt cannot provide for them." Yenke continued with a guttural guffaw as Kimahri walked past. "Little Ronso should throw self on spear... then runt could become meat. Only way Kimahri could ever feed other Ronso."

"Hrn." Biran concurred. "Little Ronso make stringy meat, though. No one want. Feed to cubs only if cubs being punished."

Somehow, someway, that just did it. Something in Kimahri's mind snapped, as if the years of abuse and torment had all caught up with him in a single instant, managing to completely overwhelm his temper. He spun around, spear raised, teeth bared and snarling. Biran and Yenke were both clearly surprised by this action... not because they were in any way scared or intimidated, but because what Kimahri had just done was issue a challenge.

The runt of the pack had just directly challenged the alpha. The two bigger Ronso were only briefly stunned that Kimahri would actually attempt such a thing. And the smaller Ronso was too enraged to realize what an incredibly stupid thing he'd just done.

Finally, Biran's lips twisted into a wicked, most malicious grin. Yenke laughed aloud at the absurdity of it all. Crossing his arms, Yenke merely took a single step back while his mate stepped forth to meet his challenger.

"Weak... not smart either." Biran rumbled. That comment provoked Kimahri to make the first move, lunging wildly at the larger Ronso, with his spear raised and with the mightiest roar he could muster.

The fates did indeed seem to smile on Biran, because for all of his arrogance, lack of tact and cruelty, the larger Ronso had been exactly right... Kimahri's challenging him had not been smart. Not in the slightest. Within less than a minute, Kimahri had been pummeled into the ground, his spear snapped in half, and his feline nose bleeding profusely into the snow that his muzzle was planted in. Biran stood with a single clawed foot placed victoriously on Kimahri's back, not having received so much as a scratch during the exchange.

A challenge from one Ronso to another is not meant to be a fight to the death... merely a means to see which Ronso was stronger... the dominant. A formal challenge ended only when one Ronso surrendered with a sign on submission to the other. At this moment, however, Kimahri was not quite in his right state of mind... handily beaten as he now was, all the pain and all the humiliation experienced over his entire life coursed through him, blanketing his mind with seething, irrational hatred.

He was furious... furious at himself, for his weakness, furious at the other Ronso for the way they treated him, furious at the elders for looking the other way, furious at Biran for being so perfect, and, above all, furious at Yevon himself for cursing Kimahri with such powerlessness.

"Submit, whelp." Biran reminded him with a stomp of his foot, having lost patience in waiting for Kimahri to submit all on his own. But at this moment, Kimahri was determined not to... never to give it to him.

"No." Kimahri spat, managing, through some means, to sound strong from his defeated position.

"What??" Biran demanded. "Kimahri defeated... Kimahri submits!!"

"Kimahri d-does not." An admission of surrender was the one thing Kimahri held that Biran didn't have. Even if by withholding it, he was committing a severe taboo in Ronso culture, he refused to surrender it. Without it, Biran couldn't technically be declared the winner of the challenge. It was the very last shred of dignity left in Kimahri... the fact that Biran wanted it, and needed for Kimahri to give it to him was the only thing the little Ronso could hold over Biran's head.

A solid kick to the ribs robbed Kimahri of the air in his lungs. A massive roar from above indicated how quickly Biran had gone from amused to pissed.

"Stupid little runt!" He snarled hotly. "Cannot fight anymore... cannot even move! Kimahri is beaten. YOU WILL SUBMIT!!" An incoherent wheeze was Kimahri's answer, although even this wheeze was negative and defiant in tone. Enraged further, Biran reached down and picked up Kimahri's battered form by the horn on his head.

"You shame all Ronso!!" Biran roared right in his face. "Too great a coward to admit defeat in the challenge YOU make?!" Even being held aloft limply as he was, Kimahri still glared back boldly.

"Kimahri... not... lose." He growled out. Howling in outrage, Biran punched Kimahri right in the face. Hard. The little Ronso very nearly blacked out from the sheer impact, but barely held on with hazing vision.

"Lose now?" Biran threatened, his fist poised for yet another blow. Struggling to find his voice again, Kimahri nevertheless managed back:

"N-No." He was expecting another punch, but Biran held it back, enraged to the point where he was shaking without control. His teeth were clenched so tightly, it was amazing that they didn't shatter. For all of his shortcomings, Kimahri had managed to surprise and get the best of Biran. The ebony Ronso looked over to his mate, who bore the same expression of enragement at Kimahri's stubborn refusal.

Rather than punch him or beat him, though, the infuriated Biran clasped his free hand around Kimahri's throat and squeezed. In an instant, that changed everything. Kimahri's eyes went wide, and he was weakly struggling in Biran's grasp like a captured bass in a fisherman grasp. The rage Kimahri had had in him was abruptly replaced with fear... it suddenly hit him then that Biran could kill him... by failing submit like a defeated Ronso should, Kimahri had effectively renounced all rights and protection offered to him by common honor. He perhaps could have died with some measure of dignity, but... having his air supply cut off like this, and feeling the walls of his throat crushed against one another sobered him up very quickly. Gone was that blind tantrum he'd been in... in his newfound state of lucidity, Kimahri struggled desperately to gurgle out a surrender.

"Yenke think the runt finally understands, mate." The grey-furred Ronso observed from his position as amused spectator to this gruesome scene. Hearing his mate's voice, Biran released the pressure on Kimahri's neck, allowing the blue Ronso to take in a desperately needed breath of air.

"Submit?!" He demanded in such a raging voice that Kimahri knew he was on his last leg of Biran's mercy.

"S...ss...submit. Kimahri... submit." The blue Ronso whispered out. Finally satisfied, Biran unleashed a victorious roar, though he still held firm on Kimahri's horn, suspending him there. The sacred Mount Gagazet was made aware that day that the indomitable Biran had racked up yet another victory. Yenke leisurely strode up to Biran and, in an affectionate gesture commonly seen between mates, rubbed his face against Biran's shoulder.

Biran and Yenke had an excellent, mutual relationship. Dominating an opponent and emerging victorious over them was an act that usually aroused the huge Ronso... and Yenke always became fantastically turned on watching his mate overpowering opponents and ruthlessly battering them into submission. Yenke would routinely "congratulate" Biran on his latest conquest with some wild fucking... but this was a special occasion. Something different was in order.

"Hmm... Kimahri managed to unleash Biran's fury." He said in a teasing voice. "Rare thing. Biran make quite a bit of effort for merely beating smallest Ronso. Surprising that the little runt got you, mate?" Biran turned to frown at his Yenke... but somehow, took those words constructively, as opposed to an insult. Despite his ego, Biran carried some measure of respect for Yenke, aside from being his regular fucktoy.

".........Yes." Biran finally concurred. "Runt gave Biran for more anger than runt is worth giving anger to. We make this victory more... rewarding." Still held up by his horn, Kimahri's vision was slowly coming back into focus... but what his vision came to focus back upon almost made him wish that it had stayed hazed.

Biran was getting rid of that tiny little beige loinwrap that he wore, which so tightly reminded all of his potency. As is the case with most Ronsos, the heat of the battle had aroused him somewhat, and Kimahri became one of the rare few being who ever got to see that thing unsheathed. Even by the standards of Ronso, notorious for being the most well-hung of the civilized species in Spira, Biran's ebony piece of meat was considered large. While only halfway erect, it stood defiantly against the raging winds of Gagazet, as even the mountain's freezing cold air was unable to stop or even slow the hot blood pumping into it's veins.

Yenke casually brought his hand up to his mate's cock and began stroking it, helping to arouse Biran to his full potential. Both were suddenly looking at Kimahri with those same cruel, malicious grins. The smaller Ronso was at first too stunned to even respond... Biran was now making a sound that was like some sick combination of a pleasant purr and a threatening hiss. Quickly, Kimahri found his voice.

"W-wait..." He barely managed to whisper out, though in response to this objection, Biran unceremoniously pushed his head down, forcing him to his knees.

"Runt makes more trouble than he worth." Yenke spoke in a most condescending voice. "Will now suffer consequences." Turing back to Biran again, Yenke finished stroking his mate's cock to it's peak level or engorgement and gave him a seductive lick to the face. "Which part do you want, mate?"

"Biran will punish his insolent mouth." He said simply, forcing Kimahri's face closer still to his powerful member, while Kimahri tried to resist with what little strength he had left.

"Good." The gray Ronso smirked, moving around to behind Kimahri. "Yenke take ass. Ronso little, must be tight." With practiced quickness, Yenke unfastened his own loin coverings, revealing a penis that had become excited at this dark prospect with little encouragement. He made sure his victim-to-be watched as he stroked himself to an erect state, unveiling a weapon that was almost as frightening and deadly as Biran's. Panic quickly overcoming him, Kimahri struggled to free himself, mindless of how badly beaten his body was. Nearly every muscle felt exhausted and bruised beyond use, so there was little he could do aside from wiggling slightly when Yenke's went behind him hands roughly grabbed his thighs and forced him into position.

"S-Stop!" Kimahri snarled at them, fear and horror now lacing his voice, much to his two captors' delight. "Kimahri submitted! You cannot...!" Another solid punch to the face effectively shut him up. And with his horn being used to brace his face against the blow, the bone connecting his horn to his forehead ached painfully.

"Biran and his mate are the strongest. We does whatever we want, weak little runt." Biran hissed. Kimahri couldn't believe this was happening... in that moment, he was once and for all convinced that he was damned. Life amongst the Ronso had never yielded any happiness in his life... Staring at the twitching cock of a Ronso he knew to be pitiless and cruel, it became clear to Kimahri that Mount Gagazet was not where he was meant to be. Whether fate had decided that or he, he knew now that he had to get away from all the shame, pain and humiliation. "You bite, and Biran make it even worse."

But only after he endured this one, last injury to his pride. Kimahri's face was shoved roughly against Biran's swollen member, its head being jabbed against Kimahri's tightly closed mouth. Snarling, Biran pushed one of his clawed fingers against Kimahri's temple, digging into it painfully.

"Open mouth, runt... or Biran makes a brand new hole to fuck you with." It became a choice between the worst humiliation he could think of... or death. This is what he'd been reduced to. Behind him, Yenke ripped off his loincloth, un-shielding him completely.

But he had to survive. Knowing what was about to happen, and how he was now helpless to do anything to stop it, all Kimahri could now think of was the future. He'd leave the Ronsos... find his fate elsewhere... become strong on his own... and one day, he'd return, to take his revenge for this. Revenge for the humiliation... revenge for the pain... revenge for everything. But to do all that, he had to first survive.

And so, he opened his mouth.

His face was suddenly slammed into Biran's tuft of golden pubic hair as his ebony cock rammed down into Kimahri's throat. The blue Ronso gagged and struggled to accommodate his mouth toward the invading dick, but Biran's firm grip on his horn didn't leave Kimahri with much freedom of movement. All he could do was spasm, cough and sputter in his bid not to choke on the monstrous appendage.

When it seemed as though he'd found a comfortable zone amidst this horror, though, he was reminded quite painfully that Yenke was behind him. Without a shred of pity, the other massive Ronso pulled Kimahri's tail up painfully and slammed his hard cock into Kimahri's young, virgin hole. While not as big as his counterpart, Yenke's thick pole ripped into Kimahri as if a glowing ember had been jammed into his sphincter. The nerve endings within him lit ablaze as Yenke introduced his sheer power to Kimahri. The young Ronso made some sort of yelping noise, but with Biran's cock in his mouth, all that came out was more gurgling.

Biran hissed in lewd satisfaction... Kimahri's spastic mouth, with all of his coughing and muffled yelping, felt fantastic against his demanding cock. It was not merely a matter of physical satisfaction for the mightiest Ronso, though... knowing that Kimahri was experiencing utter shame and humiliation was where he truly derived his pleasure from. Without giving the Ronso any sort of chance to adjust to the double penetration he was receiving, Biran slammed his hips into Kimahri's face while simultaneously forcing his face to bob back and forth via his vice-like grip on his horn. Already sore, the bone in his horn was becoming agonizingly pained.

"Make you like this, little runt!" Biran gutturally snarled. "Many Ronso would be exalted to be fucked by Biran's cock! Such an honor should make you cum rivers!"

Yenke, meanwhile, was equally ruthless... his claws dug into Kimahri's hips, brushing them with his raw strength, and piercing them with his sharp fingernails. Without any consideration for Kimahri's threshold of pain, he'd rammed the entire length of his mighty dick into the smaller Ronso's untouched passageway on the very first thrust. And each successive thrust battered equally unsympathetically into Kimahri's rectum.

"Love it, don't you?" Yenke mocked. "Hrrgh! Little Ronso not nearly as tight as expected!" He growled between thrusts. "Must not be the first time Kimahri gets demonated!"

"No surprise. Hound probably fucked little runt before we get chance." Biran replied, as drool and precum drizzled obscenely out the sides of Kimahri's abused mouth. Kimahri was no longer in control of his body. He was completely helpless before the rough assault he was receiving... and not in the same way that a mating worked. A mating was supposed to FEEL right. It was supposed to be the most fulfilling experience a Ronso could have. This was rape in it's worst form... they were destroying everything that was supposed to be good and empyrean about mating, yet leaving behind the lust, and only the lust. None of the warmth. None of the joy. Damn it all, despite all the pain, and despite how loudly all of his instincts were screaming that this was not right, Kimahri could feel his own loins forcibly reacting to what was being done to him, and feeling a pressure building within him that he was helpless to stop.

Until it finally happened. His body betrayed him with an orgasm, and he shamefully shot his seed down into the bloodied snow below. Biran and Yenke had shed both his blood in a battle of strength, and his sperm in a battle of pride.

"Look, mate." Yenke snickered from his vantage point. "The little Ronso couldn't last long. Barely even started!"

"Cannot even be a good bitch." Biran snorted.

It went on like that for what seemed like forever to Kimahri. For the first time, he came to appreciate the superior endurance of the two larger Ronsos, as each one violently rammed into into both his orifices with unheard of vigor, never seeming to tire. They didn't stop after his first cumming, nor the second, nor the third... He felt like a piece of Al Bhed machina, being pistoned and pumped into with machine-like endurance and mercilessness. Never before in his life had he felt this helpless... surrounded by the chorus of grunts, growls and snarls, his already defeated body was beaten into a submission beyond all submissions. Near the end, he was so weakened and unable to respond as a result of their ruthlessness that it was almost as if they were raping a corpse. Limply, he lay in their grasp like a piece of meat, as they tenderized him in the cruelest of ways. And just when Kimahri didn't think it possible, it got worse...

Biran finally came. He snapped his head back and roared with a fury that could shake the Farplane itself. Kimahri's mouth was splattered with a generous helping of Biran's potent seed. And as Biran whole body tensed up with this intense orgasm, so did his grip on Kimahri's abused horn.

A snapping sound occurred. Kimahri's face fell, flailing cum dripping out the sides of his mouth and into to the snow. But Biran still hadn't let go. He was still holding on to Kimahri's horn.

The broken half, at least.

Everything fell silent. Even Yenke, though not finished yet, stopped suddenly. Kimahri lay there, utterly defeated in every conceivable way, unable to so much as nudge his face. It lay sideways in the snow, his mouth drooling out Biran's seed as it moaned in agony.

"Pathetic little Ronso too fragile to even be fucked proper." Biran observed, fiddling with the horn in his hands. Yenke, huffing in disgust, pulled the rest of himself out of Kimahri and let the rest of the battered Ronso drop.

"Hmmph. 'Pathetic' too good a word for him." He snorted.

"Better name?" Biran knowingly asked.

"Hmmm..." Looking down on Kimahri, the blue Ronso appeared half dead, the only sign of life being the heavy breathing. "...say, 'hornless'." His mate smiled in approval.

"Hornless... yes... Biran like." With his foot, Biran placed his toes underneath Kimahri's chin and forced his head to look up. "Hornless." He repeated more firmly, making sure Kimahri saw the broken-off bone in Biran's hand. Kimahri's eyes went wide seeing this.

"N-NO!"

"Yes, hornless." Biran chuckled. "Biran keeps this. Keepsake of Biran's victory today." It was the greatest satisfaction of all to see Kimahri's eyes squeeze shut in horror. Biran flicked his foot away and dropped Kimahri in smug disgust. "Leave now, mate. Leave Hornless and his shame." Yenke, however, elicited a whine.

"But Yenke not finish..." He spoke in a mock pouty voice. "Hornless not very good." Biran stopped a moment to consider this... he looked between Kimahri's helpless body and his mate, still bearing an erect, unsatisfied dick. After a moment, his eyes came ablaze and shot over, speed blinding, and threw Yenke to the ground right in front of Kimahri. Biran quickly pinned him with a growl, while Yenke squealed in delight.

"Watch, Hornless..." Biran rumbled, not even looking at the young Ronso. "...Biran will show you what a proper mating looks like!"

Kimahri did not look. That night, he just kept his eyes shut with his whole body injured beyond movability. He lay there in the snow, listening to the wild roaring and screeching as Biran fucked Yenke with a ferocity that only the strongest Ronso could. It lasted hours, and even after they'd finished and left, Kimahri still lay there, refusing to open his eyes and look the cruel world back in the eye.

No fiends came by to attack or feast on his beaten body... apparently, he was even beneath their pity. The next day, Kimahri had finally recovered enough strength to move, though barely. He'd limped his way down the mountain, avoiding the Ronso tribe... he could never face them now... not like this. As far as things were now concerned, the affairs of the Ronso had nothing to do with him... he hobbled his way down the mountain, no longer able to hold his head up high, even after he'd healed enough to physically be able to. There was nothing left for him here.

Fate, as it would have, though, had something else in mind for Kimahri. For as he neared the bottom of the mountain, he encountered another battered creature... a human, bloodied and injured even worse than he. Near death, in fact. Despite everything, Kimahri still held a sense of basic compassion for his fellow living creatures and did what he could to help the man. There was nothing he could do, though. The man's wounds were already fatal.

But that man, in his dying breath, made a single request to Kimahri. A request which would change his life forever... to find the daughter of High Summoner Braska...

**Present

If generous, it could be called ridiculous. If anything else, then it was called pathetic or insultingly sad. Ragged, heaving breaths came haggardly outward as Tidus, his whole body, even the very sword he held firmly in his hands, shuddered with every one of his huffs. Kimahri, meanwhile, stood before him, spear in arms, appearing as if he'd barely expended any energy at all.

"Watch your left side." The Ronso's voice was it's usual gruff and neutral self. "Now come."**

Taking in one long breath and blinking a bead of sweat out of his eye, Tidus raised his sword and charged the Ronso, as instructed.

To say that the last two weeks had been "interesting" would have been understating things so horribly that it should have been considered criminal and punishable by high law.

Exactly fourteen days ago, Tidus, along with the rest of summoner Yuna's loyal guardians had mounted a daring rescue operation to save her from the clutches of the Maester Seymour and the other corrupted officials who lead the once benevolent following of Yevon. They'd overcome near-insurmountable odds, demonstrating fortitude and bravery worthy of the greatest heroic tales in Spira.

But it came at a great cost... on that day, most everyone learned or experienced things that forever changed their lives. For most of them, Wakka, Lulu, Yuna... it had been learning the truth about how the path of Yevon had become so perverted by its hypocritical, backstabbing, self-interested leaders. And now, because they'd dared to rebel, they'd suffered excommunication from the very religion they'd so thoroughly devoted themselves to before now. But for Tidus...

The moment that forever changed his life happened a little bit beforehand. The fact that he'd been able to concentrate on his mission and execute it so well had been something of miraculous in nature, considering what had happened less than an hour before they'd landed in Bevelle...

Kimahri had grabbed him and fucked him senseless.

It was such an absurd thing to say. It was such an absurd thing to remember. It was such an absurd thing to even think that it ever could happen... but that's just what it did. It was no dream, no nightmare, and no fantasy... it was the reality of the situation.

**With a snarl, which was at least as best as a human could manage, Tidus swung his blade with all of his might at Kimahri. He wasn't holding anything back... he was fighting as if he truly intended to kill... because that's exactly what Kimahri had told him to do.

The Ronso brought his spear up and, with seeming effortlessness, blocked the shot. Bringing his own body weight foreword in a sudden thrust, the Ronso pushed the blade away from him with immense force. During the earliest days of these training exercises, that counter-maneuver would have sent the human reeling back on his ass, but Tidus was improving. Instead, the boy wisely took the momentum Kimahri had sent into him and used to spin around in place, his water-blade arcing wide behind him before bringing it across swiftly onto Kimahri's other side. It was an impressive recovery that had taken less than a fraction of a second, and would likely have killed any opponent...**

...any opponent that wasn't Kimahri. However fast the human was becoming, the Ronso was remained faster.

He might have assumed it had all been a dream if not that he'd been awakened by the warm water that the airship's built-in shower had been sprinkling him with... and, also, if not for the fact that he'd awakened in Kimahri's arms, who was stroking his body gently with a lathered washcloth. The Ronso had been bathing him in the shower, alongside himself, washing off the various bodily fluids they'd respectively accumulated in their mindless fornication. For only a brief lapse of time after regaining consciousness did the human lay limply in the Ronso's hold, mind drawing an absolute blank in response to what had just happened, and what was happening right now.

The human mind, by nature, has a hard time accepting things that it considers impossible, even right after said impossibility had just happened. So it took a second for Tidus' mind to catch up to the rest of him, his aching loins, those excruciatingly vivid and lewd memories, and the fact that clawed hands were gently exploring and massaging against his sensitive muscles. And when it did... when the ramifications of everything that had just happened, and what was happening right now finally hit him, it hit him hard. In the same manner as if he'd suddenly seen a ghost pop out of nowhere, Tidus jolted forth with a loud yelp, slipping out of a surprised Kimahri's grip.

And, in doing so, abruptly became aware of a debilitating soreness in his neck and thighs.

And slipped.

And fell.

Kimahri's arms, sopping with his cleansed wet fur, whipped out and caught the tumbling boy. With yet another light chuckle, a rarified gesture which Kimahri was gifting Tidus with quite frequently now, the Ronso hefted the human back up and, in an almost casual manner, resumed cleaning, his free hand ministration firmly over the boy's semen-covered body. Ironically, Tidus was now clutching stiffly onto his arm as though the Ronso's large, blue body was the last little bit of a ledge overlooking a massive cliff.

"No danger." Kimahri quietly assured him. "Be calm."

"But..." Tidus sputtered, a gesture which he, on the other hand, was gifting Kimahri with quite a bit of late. "Wh... you..."

"Shhhhh..." The Ronso interrupted. "Confusing, I know. But for now, we must prepare." At that moment, Tidus felt a familiar, ethereal warmth enveloping his body, and knew that Kimahri was using a healing spell on him. Like... well, like magic, the pain and soreness in his neck, legs, thighs and abused anal passage were quickly and effectively washed away.

"P-prepare?" The boy stammered still with uncertainty. Kimahri hummed an affirmative response.

"We are mates, yes... but guardians, too." He reminded the human. "Should reach Bevelle before long. Must get ready."

"W-Wait!" Tidus snapped, angry, despite everything, that Kimahri was acting so casually about this whole situation. "What d'you mean, 'mates'?! Why did you...?!" He trailed off, still too much in shock to even dare verbalize the act that they'd just committed. The act that he, eventually, willingly engaged in. "What... what happened??" His angry voice died down quietly, completely at a loss as to what on earth that power was that had overwhelmed him and had made him give in to Kimahri's salacious demands. "What the hell did you DO to me?"

Kimahri answer was as patronizingly dismissive of Tidus' mild hysteria as ever... placing his fingers on Tidus' head of bleach blonde hair, he gave the boy some affectionately light scratching, like some sort of pet.

"Kimahri did not do anything to you." He mouthed smoothly. "Nothing that you did not want Kimahri to do, anyway."

"I...!" Tidus gritted his teeth. "I never wanted that! You... you did something to me! You, put a spell on me, or... I..." As Kimahri seemed almost bemused with the boy's silly indignation, he playfully silenced him with a single finger over his pink lips.

"Kimahri mate you... but Kimahri only awaken your feelings. Did not create them. Kimahri not the one that made you like it."

"What? I..." The human babbled, mind reeling. Kimahri was claiming innocence with regard to those feelings Tidus had experienced... which left only the possibility that Tidus had generated those entirely on his own. But that was something so off, so completely unheard of, that he couldn't bring himself to accept it and babbled on in denial. "I...but, I..."

"Will make you understand." The Ronso promised, with a gentle rub of his muzzle against the boy's cheek. "But later."

"But..."

"Yuna." The Ronso repeated. "She may be in danger, and we must protect her...yes?"

"I..." Oh, God, Yuna! Between everything that had just happened, Tidus had completely forgotten about her! "Yeah, but...!"

"Then focus." Kimahri firmly interrupted, beginning to adopt his more formal, cold method of speaking. "We swear oath to protect her. Cowardly to go back on it. Kimahri did not mate a coward."

How the hell had he turned that around?? Kimahri was the one who'd snuck up on Tidus, pinned him down, then licked and sniffed him all over before fucking him half-blind! And now Tidus was the one getting patronized for inappropriate behavior? God, not a thing today seemed to be making any kind of sense!

Except... except that Kimahri had indeed still been right about one thing: Yuna. Tidus had always put Yuna's needs and protection beyond anything else, including his own personal problems, and that wasn't about to change... even if he was utterly flabbergasted and astounded by the seemingly out-of-nowhere ass-pounding Kimahri had just given him. Yuna was still in danger, and he was still alive. Of course he was going to drop everything and save her.

Frankly, Tidus was in no small way irritated that Kimahri had chosen such a narrow window of opportunity to such a thing (to say the least of having done it at all)... enough time to actually perform the sinfully pleasurable deed, but not enough time to allow for any immediate repercussions. He was like some brilliant mastermind, who'd timed his crime perfectly so the law couldn't come after him on some technicality.

"You... you!" Tidus glared at him, unable to think of a malign harsh enough to call him, before turning away angrily and shaking out of his grip. "Don't think that this is over... we ARE gonna rescue Yuna. But you... don't think for a second you can just... just do that to me and walk away scott free, dammit!"

Another deep, throaty chuckle. Oh, Gods, how he was coming to hate that. The Ronso seemed only entertained by the little human's anger and silly little threats.

"You are right." Kimahri said, leaning in with a wide smile that could be classified as an oxymoron in nature, given that smiling so wide clearly displayed the Ronso's set of deadly fangs. "It is not over." His courage fleeting about at fast as it had bubbled up, the intimidated human backed away against the shower wall, much to the Ronso's amusement. "Hrmph. Tidus did not think this will be to be the only time he and Kimahri will mate, did he?"

"Wh-what?!" To say that Tidus could have appeared even more freaked-out than he did right now would have been a filthy lie. Like a man staring down the barrel of a gun, he flinched when Kimahri brought his hand up to cup the boy's chin, forcing them to make perfect eye contact.

"You are mine now." Kimahri repeated again with a firmness in his voice that reflected his grip of the human. "Mine today... mine forever." Tidus had known since childhood that it was a most unwise decision to look an animal directly in the eye, as many took it to be a primeval form of challenge. And while Kimahri wore clothes and communicated like a civilized being, Tidus was now well aware that there was still plenty of raging animal in that giant, blue lion. So Tidus and his booming heart were effectively silenced by the confrontational gaze he was being given that left no room for arguments.

Satisfied that the human was showing no signs of dissent toward the authority Kimahri was laying down, the Ronso released the human's chin while gently brushing his fingers against his face as his hand retracted.

"Now. Clean up. Get dressed. Very soon, we fight. Kimahri meet you on the bridge." Tidus couldn't think of a single logical argument anymore, because apparently, they'd left logic behind in the fiery, smoking ruins of the Al Bhed home. Rather he just offered a blank stare and a blink, which Kimahri accepted as the closest thing to an affirmative response the human was capable of. With still a cocky smile on his leonine face, the Ronso opened the stall door and exiting, leaving Tidus there with his crippling befuddlement.

**The human sashayed his blade left and right to repel the quick spear jabs the Ronso was sending his way. Kimahri noted carefully the boy's footwork, defenses and the position of his arms... no question could be raised with regard to his progression, as mere days ago, he'd been swinging that sword around like a baseball bat. His combat form and his finesse had taken wide strides out from the pathetic, murky depths from where they'd emerged.

But what of the boy's strength?

Their respective weapons dancing for a few moments longer, Kimahri waited... waited... waited for the human's left side to open up. Despite all of Kimahri warnings, somehow, that was something Tidus just seemed to have trouble with. In a quick movement, Kimahri stepped to the side, and the human brought his blade up to defend, though he'd once again curled his wrists wrong. In such a stance, he had no power with which to parry Kimahri's next move, which sent the sword flying out of his hands.

Having been taught to act on his feet, Tidus made a dive for the weapon. Unfortunately, Kimahri simultaneously made a dive for Tidus. With a yelp of surprise, the human was tackled to the ground, and when they'd stopped rolling in the grass, he found himself securely held in Kimahri's bear hug.**

"Left side." The Ronso, in a mockingly patronizing tone, purred over the sound of Tidus' heaving pants.

In truth, it was probably a good thing that immediately after the whole business in the shower room, Tidus, Kimahri and the others had mounted their assault on Bevelle. Despite the danger, Tidus was exceptionally grateful to have an intense event, like being shot at, to take his mind off what the fact that he'd just lost his anal virginity to a three hundred some-odd pound man-lion.

The whole episode in Bevelle had taken two days. Early on, they'd bungled an attempt to sweep Yuna to safety at the altar and had ended up on a disjointed chase through the inner bowels of the Bevelle temple, which in turn had culminated with all of them getting captured and thrown in separate, elaborate Via Purifico prisons. After a night of fighting their way out, they'd barely survived a final assault by Maester Seymour as the infrastructure of Yevon came crashing down around them.

While serving in part as a distraction for Tidus, during the adventure he noticed several odd little, and not-so-little changes in Kimahri's behavior toward him. While mostly still cold and stiff, the Ronso had been the first one to help Tidus force open the door to the chamber of the fayth, giving the human a wry little smile. Shortly thereafter, once they'd been captured, Kimahri had gone completely berserk when the sentries had tried separating the two, placing them in different dungeons. It had taken six strapping guards to hold down the raging beast, and even then they'd barely kept him restrained.

When finally the two groups had made their simultaneous escapes, Kimahri's first act had been to give Tidus a rather obtrusive inspection, grabbing him and forcibly looking over his body for any wounds. The only injury Tidus had sustained was a slight gash on his shoulder, and seeing that, Kimahri looked PISSED. If he, Wakka and Rikku had not reported that they'd already slain the serpent Evrae, Tidus was convinced that the Ronso would have angrily dove back into that dungeon to rip the monster apart.

Naturally, the whole affair had left the entire party drained, both physically and mentally, by the time they'd finally escaped all the way into some remote part of Macalania woods. Wakka, Lulu, and especially Yuna were all in a state of shock and depression that the leaders of the religion they'd devoted themselves to all their lives had become corrupt and perverted. Rikku, while happy that Yuna had been rescued, still mourned for the home they'd lost in the raid. Auron... well, Sir Auron was his usual, unflappable self. Tidus, as he habitually did, had spent most of the night trying to cheer everyone up, most particularly Yuna. Offering her some words of comfort in that pond, he'd happily managed to resurrect that smile on her face.

She'd walked back to the campout where everyone else was. Tidus had stayed behind, floating in the pond, feeling the exhaustion of the day's events finally catch up to him and wanting to soak them all away.

No such luck there. From his resting place in the water, Tidus very suddenly felt something clamp around his suspenders and was deftly hefted up into the air. With a startled yip, the human found himself thrown and suspended over a wide, blue shoulder.

"What... what the...?!" Brief bursts of a question trying to form spurted out of his mouth as he stared down the furry back of no uncertain Ronso. It also didn't help matters that he was being steadied with a bulky hand firmly planted on his ass.

"You don't sleep alone." Was the gruff, blunt answer. Being draped over a particularly high shoulder, staring down at Kimahri's buttocks, tail, and back end of his legs with every step, that response didn't provide nearly the information needed to justify the situation.

"I... hey, let go of me!" Trying to obtain some leverage to wiggle free, the human anchored his hands on Kimahri's rather bulging shoulder blades. Kimahri's hand clamped harder down on his ass, alongside a warning growl.

"No." Once again, Tidus found himself between a rock and a hard... well, a hard Ronso. Rock hard, if memory served. With little recourse available to him, he slumped down in surrender, watching as the trees went by.

"What... what are you going to do??" He asked, despite being pretty sure he wouldn't like the answer. To his surprise, Kimahri turned his head back to him and smiled.

"Kimahri proud of his mate." This time, his voice came out more pleasantly. "Fought well. Make Yuna smile again."

"Um...?"

"Hard battle fought. Mate tired. For tonight, we rest." The Ronso continued.

"Uh... okay?" Tidus liked the sound of that, but it still wasn't quite the explanation he wanted.

"Mate sleeps beside Kimahri."

".....wh...huh? What?!" With an almost smug grin, Kimahri turned his head back around.

"Kimahri thinks you use that word too much."

"I..." With a deep breath, Tidus gathered the complete sentence in his mind. "Kimahri, I don't understand why you're doing all this!"

"That..." He said, while shifting Tidus into his arms. "... is because humans think too much. Need to feel instead."

"Feel...?" Now in a part of the woods not too for off from where the others had camped, Kimahri cradled Tidus in those powerful arms that could so effortlessly manipulate his weight. Kimahri usually slept away from the group, as outside of his guardian duties he was a rather solitary creature... at least up until now.

"Think this is wrong?" He asked.

"Um...yes." Tidus replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Thank Yevon they were far enough away from the others, and that Yuna thought he was sleeping over in the pond that night... Tidus would've died if they'd all seen him like this!

"This feel wrong?" The Ronso then asked as he bent down and sat on the grass, leaning against a tree with Tidus secured comfortably in his lap. The boy almost felt like a lapdog in this position. Did this FEEL wrong? Stopping for a second to consider how it felt, Tidus became aware of that voice in the back of his mind again...

Did he think this was wrong? Of course... this was the weirdest, most absurd thing he could possibly think of. And this was coming from a guy who'd been sucked through a temporal vortex a thousand years into the future. But did it feel wrong... No. Somehow, being held firmly by Kimahri like this just FELT... not just okay, but right. It scared the hell out of him, but it wasn't a repellant kind of way. Still...

"Yes! This is completely wrong!" Tidus hissed. "Now let go of me!" The human was REALLY coming to despise that smile the Ronso kept giving him. It was like Kimahri could somehow perceive right through Tidus falsities and inhibitions and see the very core of him.

"Kimahri's mate such a liar." The blue Ronso dismissed in bemusement. Settling back, Kimahri slowly opened his mouth, expanding it wider and wider, showing off his considerable jaw size and dagger-teeth. Tidus was initially alarmed until he realized that Kimahri was only yawning. Making only a slight squeaking sound, the Ronso closed his mouth, licked his lips a few time and slowly closed his eyes. Tidus watched with some fascination just prior to being pulled against Kimahri as he leaned back further back into a sleeping position. "Will have to teach you respect and obedience."

"H-hey!" Tidus winced when he felt Kimahri's one hand shift over to his shoulder, the same one where the scars from the Ronso's bite still were. Between two of his thick fingers, the Ronso expertly pinched at a certain nerve. "E-ey! What are...y-you...?"

"Sleep." Kimahri said casually as Tidus felt lightheadedness overcoming his conscious state. Unable to fight back the peaceful darkness, his mind was only able to utter one last thing before blacking out.

This is fucking ridiculous.

**"This is fucking ridiculous." Tidus moaned, venting his frustration at having been once again defeated with humiliating ease and finding himself coiled in Kimahri's python-like grip.

"Not ridiculous." Kimahri insisted. "Making progress." The boy was impatient. Kimahri remembered being that way once in his younger years. Tidus simply huffed at his latest indignity and waited for something. After a few seconds, he looked to Kimahri oddly.

"Are you... gonna let go?" He muttered.

"Try to free yourself." Kimahri suggested.

"What? I... I can't..."

"Try." Kimahri insisted again. With a sigh, Tidus attempted to break away from the Ronso's constricting arms, but it seemed just as equally fruitless as the dozens of other occasions where he'd tried to do that.

"I can't." Tidus repeated.

"No..." The Ronso returned. "...But still becoming stronger. Before, Kimahri held mate with no effort. Now... Kimahri must use some effort to hold." Imparting this little bit of encouragement on the boy, Kimahri was pleased to see him reluctantly nod.**

"So... um, are you gonna let go?" Tidus asked again when Kimahri's arms still didn't grant him precious liberty. Kimahri's response was yet another one of those fang-filled grins and pulling the human in closer, making certain that a particular stiffness he'd developed over the course of this rather arduous training session was felt.

Tidus meeped, and Kimahri purred. The boy was all sweaty again, and that wonderful, tantalizing scent was once again whiffing off of his body in droves. Gods, the Ronso absolutely could not get enough of it! He leaned in and nibbled on the boy's ear while his tail maneuvered around to stroke at the boy's bare feet. Kimahri knew, of course, that these were just some of the sensitive spots that he could use to quickly entice his human, given how sharply the scent of arousal came off of him when Kimahri applied these little ministrations. Tidus, as usual, whimpered and grimaced a little, like a shy little boy not yet accustomed to receiving lascivious attention like this.

Kimahri was astounded at how amusing he always found this little human. Smiling as he began licking and biting away at the sweet, sweaty back of Tidus' neck, Kimahri fed his quickly growing lust. It was ironic... normally, the Ronso was the awkward, socially inept one while Tidus was always so beaming and infectiously outgoing. But when it came for sex and eroticism, the boy suddenly became reluctant, shy and nervous, almost seeming guilty, while Kimahri was the forthcoming, unashamed and unreserved one. No matter how often Kimahri had wildly and proudly pounded screaming orgasms into the human's quivering little body, he always appeared so self-conscious and sheepish whenever the Ronso would show him affection.

To be honest, Kimahri dared to say that he thought it was cute... and yes, even sexy, as the boy's reluctance only encouraged him. He rather enjoyed playing around with the bashful human, inciting yips and surprised gasps out of him as he teased the boy's nerves with his hands, mouth and tail. And it was always immensely satisfying when, at the end, he'd have the boy wailing and begging like a good little bitch should.

THIS was how it was supposed to be. Two being who'd bonded to each other in ways words couldn't describe, who could mutually illicit powerful feelings of euphoria from one another. There was no greediness, nor selfish taking of pleasure at the expense of the other. No hate... no...

No. He wasn't going to think about that again. It had taken years before the nightmares forcing him to relive that moment had stopped. He wasn't going to let the memory of his humiliation intrude on this moment and ruin the bliss between him and his mate.

It was nothing like that. Kimahri gave the boy exhilarating pleasure, just as the boy gave it back, even if not understanding entirely.

"Much stronger now." Kimahri hummed as he began working Tidus' pants off. "Mate twice tonight."

"Twice?!" Oh, there it was again. That skittish look that Kimahri loved. "I... I can't take...!"

"You can." Kimahri interrupted with a slow lick to the cheek. "Little human getting stronger. Endurance better." The pants were taken off, and Kimahri's hands firmly braced against the boy's two pale ass cheeks. "Show Kimahri how strong you are."

"But..."

"Kimahri did not mate a weakling." He effectively silenced all objections with a harsh tone, and with a large finger inserting itself into the boy's puckering hole, he readied him for what would doubtlessly be an exhausting, but immensely rewarding night.

The Next Day

The group had just recruited the Aeon Yojimbo to Yuna's repertoire of summoned monsters, at the expense of most of their gil. Their next destination was Mount Gagazet. Tidus somehow picked up that Kimahri seemed unusually anxious...

Being "mated"... over the past several days, Tidus was beginning to grasp what that meant, aside the frequent sex. Kimahri didn't explain much about to Tidus when asked, on the basis that a mating was something that wasn't so much about words and technicalities as it was about feelings and instincts. All Kimahri had told him was that it was important that Tidus "feel" it, as opposed to try to logistically decipher it. Being human, Kimahri acknowledged that Tidus wouldn't comprehend it as easily as the Ronsos could, but helped him by "showing" him... which mostly consisted of mindless fucking.

Thankfully, Kimahri had at least the decency to drag him off to secluded locations whenever he decided he wanted it. Apparently, the Ronso acknowledged that Tidus was still not quite comfortable with the whole concept and didn't want the others finding out about it. Although there was a noticeable difference in Kimahri's general disposition toward Tidus, most everyone probably thought it was simply the growing camaraderie the whole team was developing over the pilgrimage. Kimahri had stated that although he didn't think what they did was any of their business, he also wasn't ashamed of it, and that Tidus shouldn't have been either.

But Tidus wasn't quite "there" yet. Hell, he wasn't even sure where "there" was!

To say that mating was the Ronso equivalent of a marriage was a generalization that would score both nods of approval and scowls of indignation, depending on what kind of person you made that remark to. They were similar in many notable ways, yet dissimilar in many more notable ones. Marriage beheld itself by a set of rules and conventions that those entering into it voluntarily agreed to. It was something that was accepted of their own free will, and yet, also something that could easily be broken or walked away from.

Setting aside such romanticized notions as being "Unable to live on without the love of your life", marriage was a bond between two people, but it was a bond that was based on emotion. The choice to be together, stay together and be with only each other were all choices made voluntarily. And it was fallible.

Matings, on the other hand, weren't based on these impulsive emotions so much as they were based on instinct. Matings weren't guided by the heart, because the heart and romance had very little to do with it. It was pure, primal instinct that guided mates... and that is why it was a custom applied only by Ronsos, for the most part. Though they were sentient, civilized creatures, capable of the same kind of intelligence and logic as the humans, the Guado and the Hypello, the Ronso were a race that also maintained a strong rapport with their most basic, primal nature and instincts.

Kimahri had been helping Tidus understand this... he helped by arousing and bringing to life Tidus' own most primal and basic instincts... impulses so base and savage that they'd all but been wiped out by his "civilized" upbringing in Zanarkand. Their bond wasn't based on emotion or thought, but on pure, primal urge. They simply had a physical NEED for each other... something which nature had instilled in the both of them.

There were "rules" regarding this arrangement, but they were hard to put into words. For example, it was established pretty early on that Kimahri was in charge, and expected Tidus' obedience. Tidus hadn't been so quick to give it at first, but Kimahri had found ways of disciplining Tidus and "making" him obey. Never by actually hitting him or anything, but by dominating him erotically... forcing Tidus to concede and submit if he wanted the orgasm that the Ronso was so masterfully keeping him just on the edge of.

Luckily, Kimahri wasn't that demanding outside of their carnal trysts. He mostly demanded that Tidus eat more and become stronger, and personally trained with him most nights.

And while Tidus hadn't quite gotten the whole handle on the concept yet, somehow, Kimahri was able to understand Tidus better than even Tidus knew himself. He could always seem to tell when the boy was distressed, tired, lying or aroused. And the control he had over Tidus was absolutely frightening... it was like the Ronso knew all of his weaknesses, both sexual and otherwise, and manipulated them expertly so that the Ronso could get whatever he wanted out of him. Tidus wasn't sure that part worked both ways, as still found the Ronso to be mysterious and enigmatic... aside from the recently learned fact that Kimahri had a LOT of repressed sexuality underneath that stony façade, and was perpetually horny. He'd also picked up that Kimahri very obviously liked the way Tidus smelled, as their sexual encounters would be highlighted by Kimahri happily passing his nose all over Tidus' body. On nights were Kimahri was planning on screwing the human (Which was about every second night), he'd leave the human with explicit instructions not to bathe that day.

The young human still hadn't quite gotten used to the whole idea of..."being" with Kimahri. It was as if he was still in some kind of denial stage, despite having performed on at least ten occasions some of the most intense, lewd acts he could ever have imagined with the hungry Ronso. Doubtlessly because there wasn't a whole lot of time to think in between the times he was either getting his brains screwed out or working on this pilgramage journey with Yuna. And also because it was something he couldn't deny... he simply lost control whenever the Ronso made his advances.

Arriving at Mount Gagazet was a little more exciting an exploration than usual, because now they were meeting... or, rather, confronting the Ronso tribe... the people whose customs and culture Tidus was being absorbed into. It actually made him a bit nervous... if these people knew, what would they THINK? Even their party hadn't been made aware of what Kimahri and Tidus were doing, because the boy was still too mortified to tell them, and the Ronso didn't see it as being any of their business.

But just the same, there was no time to think about such things. It wasn't a social encounter... the Ronsos from all over the mountain had surrounded them. They were the enemies of Yevon, and therefore the enemies of the Ronso. Thankfully, Maester Kelk held his people back while he and Yuna negotiated... neither of them wanted a fight.

But someone else DID. Out from the sides beyond, a callous voice boomed at them.

"Hornless returns in even greater shame than when he left!" Turning around, Tidus recognized those two Ronsos they'd encountered before... "Did not think that was possible."

Biran and Yenke. They'd had a few run-ins before, and it had nearly come to blows between them and Kimahri. The only time besides when the two of them were alone and intimate that Tidus ever saw Kimahri break away from his neutral, calm face was when he was around them. He became... seething. Fire burned in his eyes at the sight of them, and it spoke of immense hatred and bad blood between them. Clearly, something had happened in the past that Tidus hadn't been made aware of, but if it was something that could actually made Kimahri mad, then it had to be bad.

"You have problem?" Kimahri hissed, making a good effort of restraining his rage.

"Problem? No problem." Biran chuckled. "Biran likes good laugh he gets when see how much further Hornless Ronso has fallen."

"Shamed Ronso... shamed Yevon... what will runt shame next?" Yenke offered. Seeing Kimahri, Tidus knew that these two were getting to him. Kimahri didn't just look angry, it looked like he was trying to restrain blind rage. Still, the Ronso held in his enmity, despite the provocation of the two larger Ronsos.

"Had to ally himself with humans... humans to protect little Kimahri. He..." Abruptly, Biran trailed off in the middle of his taunting and his head twisted around over at Tidus. His nostrils flared, as he was taking in some kind of scent.

That's when it hit him... Ronsos and their superior sense of smell! Kimahri could actually smell it when Tidus got aroused... so there was a damn good chance that these Ronsos could smell Kimahri all over Tidus.

The boy's heart jumped, and Kimahri growled, not at all liking the person he hated above all others eyeballing his mate. Ignoring him, the larger Ronso brushed him aside and walked over to where Tidus was standing, staring at him with a frown. Snarling, Kimahri stepped protectively in front of the human, but Biran, being taller, was able easily enough to crane his head over Kimahri and scrutinize whatever it was about Tidus that had somehow caught his interest.

Biran caught sight of the telltale bite marks on Tidus' shoulder and neck juncture, visible just slightly under the boy's collar. Seeing this, Biran suddenly slapped a paw over his face and burst out in booming laughter that echoed over the mountain range. The entire group, the Ronsos, Yuna and Kelk turned over to where the commotion was, as Biran roared with mocking laughter, as if he'd just seen the funniest thing in the world. Tidus' face went completely red.

"Couldn't even find a proper mate?!" Biran bellowed between laughs. "Biran would be more impressed if little Ronso mated a fiend! Skinny little human was the best thing Kimahri could..." Tidus' breath held firm in his mouth, fearing to death that Biran was about to announce their mating to the entire group. He'd have died of mortification at that moment.

Luckily, Kimahri seemed to have his back. The large Ronso's mockery was brought to an abrupt and violent halt when Kimahri shot foreword and sent his fist ramming into Biran's stomach. A round of gasps and tense battle stances were adopted from human and Ronso alike, as this action may have just broken the fragile truce they had for the moment. Doubling over, Biran coughed a few times before looking back up and seeing his people ready to fight. With a roar, he commanded them all to halt.

"NO!!" With the immense amount of respect Biran maintained, despite not being the leader, the other Ronsos did as they were told. Amongst the deadly silence, Biran glared at Kimahri, who returned the favor with a steely gaze. "Runt will pay for that."

"Kimahri challenge." The blue Ronso growled out through tightly clenched teeth.

"Stupid little Ronso... forget what happen last time?"

"Never forget." Kimahri placed his spear in the battle position. "NEVER FORGIVE!!"

Quickly, everything stopped when everyone backed away from the three Ronsos. It was understood that this wasn't an act of hostility toward the Ronso people... this was personal, between Kimahri, and Biran.

Tidus, too stood back, huddled together with his friends while Kimahri roared out a battle cry as he charged the hulking Ronso.

************

A/N: Jeezits... 11,000 words this time. Sorry to leave you hanging here, but this is going on for just too fucking long. I had to stop it somewhere, because there's lot of ground to cover after this.

I myself am pretty surprised at how much plot and... well, angst this chapter ended up with... I'd imagined just writing a simple scene where Biran and Yenke just go up to Kimahri and rape him for no other reason than that they're complete assholes, but in the middle of writing it, more and more detail came pouring out of me. I felt that there needed to be more of a legitimate reason as to why they were provoked into doing that (although most of it still stems from said assholery). I realize that contrasts somewhat with the previous chapters, which were pretty much mindless smutfests, (and also because Kimahri got cut down several notches).

This chapter was mostly a buildup, though. Next chapter will feature a return to said mindless smut, and smutty smut smut smut. Also Biran and Yenke get their comeuppance... in a manner of speaking.

I'm assuming that's cool with everyone?

Bioxz.