"Then what *what*?" There was no hiding the growing annoyance, especially when Hakkai was clutching "Brave New World" with a grip strong enough to strangle a statue.

"Is he important?" He braced himself for an answer. Tenpou didn't think in terms of affection- more along the lines of lust if anything. So 'importance' was the determining factor of whether you were under the marshal's wing or not. A utilitarian to the core. You had to be advantageous to him or you were gone. Konzen, due to some unfathomable childhood bonding, had gained a permanent spot. One wing, under which Goku could find shelter as well. Which left one other- and it was the more capricious.

If you were there, it was only because you didn't give a damn about what he did with you (as long as you were on top, of course). You were blind. But you were pampered- as long as you didn't pry into his business. You were safe from the dogs biting at your heels because Tenpou's authority was enough to put them at bay a good three miles behind you. Most of all, you had to be ready to be thrown back to the dogs at any given moment. You shouldn't care- either about the dogs or the loss you would suffer from Tenpou's refusal to commit.

Kenren didn't give a damn about the dogs and so when Tenpou said, "Yes, Kenren, he is." he felt like a door had just been slammed in his face: a betrayal he should have expected one time or another, but enough endless nights with Tenpou had the general convinced that it would never happen. The bastard.

"Ah...then you use him like you do me? Or maybe he's even more useful..." his voice dripped with poison as Hakkai could only look on with dismay, if not with a bit of pity.

/You should have said 'I love you' earlier. Such things fall on deaf ears. He's not here, Kenren. I am./ Though not lost to the healer was the damage he had irrevocably done./ I only mentioned his name. One name/. Then came the endless questions- each one cutting into the other bit by bit because after that there was no choice but to be honest. To be otherwise would be a betrayal towards Gojyo, and he had already promised three years ago that such a thing was unthinkable, even when the half-youkai wasn't present.

The situation would have been infinitely easier to handle had Hakkai known Tenpou's character. Cold. Steel. And so he had not realized the weight of his words when he answered the general's question.

"I don't use him." Simple truth. Hakkai believed it to be an innocent confession, or rather, a statement of the obvious. The safest answer he could return because saying 'yes' seemed too malicious and surely, Tenpou Gensui wasn't like that. Right?

Simple enough, but that four letter phrase was sufficient enough to replace an even simpler three letter verdict. It came like a slap in the face, leaving Kenren more pissed than heartbroken. Never in his life had he felt so humiliated, and thank god no one saw this interaction. Made him feel like a petty whore in the court, subject to the interested eye of a man in power. And Tenpou Gensui was a man with power. A lot of it. Who was on top now?