Why must sin taste so bitterly sweet (fyozai)

Chapter 6

He spent most of the school day trying to ward off the irritating thoughts attempting to plague his mind, ignoring the dissatisfaction that lay within him with every passing day. It would be preposterous to assume it was due to the situation with the sinner, such a vile being couldn't possibly have so much influence over his state of mind. He must simply be tired, perhaps bored? Yes, that was most likely it. It was good that he was no longer associating himself with that vile creature. He was thankful that his Lord had reminded him of the creature's sinful nature before it were too late, before it tainted his pure, holy self with its treachery. He just needed something to distract himself with. Thankfully, he had a number of books that would be able to do so.

All would be fine soon enough. He just needed to put it out of his mind.

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Everything seemed normal enough as Fyodor fetched the bread and water from the backroom as usual, stalked past the snoring drunkard as he usually did, and made his way down the stairs to the basement as he normally would. The sight that awaited him as he entered the basement however, was anything but normal.

At first glance, Fyodor couldn't see the sinner anywhere in the cell, though on closer inspection he spotted a humanoid, shadowy lump in the far corner of the cell, which he presumed would be the sinner. He entered and emptied the bucket as he usually did, then went over to remove the sinner's restraints. He had just taken a hold of the restraints on its arms when he paused, noticing the absence of the muzzle secured around its face. He looked around the cell to see it discarded over on the other side of the space. He turned back to look at the sinner with his brow furrowed in confusion, peering over to look at its face. His eyes widened reflexively as he took in the sight, a steady stream of silent tears ran down the sinner's face, its expression remained mostly unchanged and blank despite the tears, but its eyes seemed just a little more cloudy, a little more distant than they usually were. He removed the restraints from the sinner's arms wordlessly, placing the bread and tankard down in front of it before he crouched down beside it.

"What is wrong with you?" Fyodor asked, his face unmoving but his voice laced with a slither of concern. "N-nothing that concerns you." It responded, its quivering jaw ruining the smooth sound of its voice, denying Fyodor its silky texture t̶h̶a̶t̶ h̶e̶ h̶a̶d̶ m̶i̶s̶s̶e̶d̶ f̶o̶r̶ s̶o̶ l̶o̶n̶g̶ . Fyodor looked down at the shaking form of the sinner, unsure of what to do. In that moment, he could feel his subconscious subtly trying to take over. At a loss for what else to do, he allowed it, his hand naturally finding its place in the head of brown curls, stroking them softly and gently in a comforting motion, pulling the sinner's form towards him and resting its head on his lap. He could feel the tears starting to soak into the fabric of his trousers as it lay there, the sensation going mostly ignored as he focused on the soft locks between his fingers.

"That man. The one with that has the stench of a drinking den." The sinner began after a while under the soft touch. "Yes, Osamu." It came out softly now. "He- he tried to kiss me. "It was barely a whisper, but it struck through Fyodor's mind like an arrow writhing with fire. He had tried to kiss the sinner? To kiss Osamu? Truly? "I believe he was drunk. Said I was, to quote him, 'pretty as a lady.' Someone yelled for him from above before he could do much though." He muttered with a wince. Fyodor could feel something personal was there, as if it weren't really the near kiss that was bothering it the most, though he wasn't quite sure what that something truly was. The sinner buried its head in the soft material of Fyodor's trousers even further, seeking comfort and receiving it. He decided to allow it for the time being, considering the situation h̶e̶ w̶i̶s̶h̶e̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶y̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ s̶t̶a̶y̶ l̶i̶k̶e̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶ f̶o̶r̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ . He allowed the sinner to remain there as it ate, though he did sit it up a little more to ensure it didn't choke. He replaced its restraints once it had finished after he took the muzzle upstairs to wash off the mouthpiece that had collected grime and dirt from the floor. The sinner returned to the corner, curling itself up as tightly as it could as Fyodor turned towards the cell door to leave. "I'll ensure it will be dealt with accordingly. I promise." He told it solemnly as he stood unmoving in the doorway, offering a glance back at its shivering form before leaving the basement with purpose in his steps.

Fyodor exited the basement to come face-to-face with the man, sleeping blissfully unaware of the dire mistake he had made, his lips distorted to form a snarl as his fist clenched around the tankard still in his hand. Before he knew what was happening, his fist had hit the man's face with a satisfying crunch as he felt his nose shattering under the sturdy metal of the tankard. The man awoke with a moan of pain as his eyes frantically searched around the room, trying to figure out what was happening, his pupils going wide as he saw a thin, shard-like piece of metal coming his way, accompanied by a fist. The key lodged in between the fingers of Fyodor's other fist sank beautifully into the soft gelatinous tissue of the m̶a̶n̶ creature's left eye. He drew his arm back before thrusting it towards its face once again, sinking it into one eye and then the other again and again and again.

Breathing heavily, Fyodor stopped his assault, stepping back to admire his handiwork as blood fell in crimson streams down the creature's cheeks, its body falling limp on the ground as it finally lost consciousness, causing the blood to pool in a small lake around its face. "You should pray the Lord decides to have pity on you, vile, wicked creature." He growled out, his voice dripping with venom. He gave a final sharp kick to its head before leaving the building to inform his father of the situation.

His father was immediately suspicious when his son appeared before him at work, and even more so when he had explained the situation to him. "And how exactly did you find this out Fedya?" He asked, his voice cold and stern, laced with his evident suspicion. "The sinner seemed damaged when I went down to the basement, so I commanded it to explain. I asked the man, and he confirmed he had done so himself. I admit I acted in rage, but I felt it was necessary considering the importance of the sacrifice to the upcoming ceremony." Fyodor responded with an audible gulp, his body tense and stiff as he awaited his father's response. After a minute of tense silence, the man simply gave his son a nod before he went off to fetch somebody to deal with the man and the mess he had caused. Fyodor let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding before leaving to return to his home and change into his uniform for school.

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Fyodor returned to the basement the following morning with a slight spring in his step. He sat beside Osamu and told it all about his day just as he used to, asking it questions about itself as it ate the strawberry jam-garnished bread he'd brought for it that day. It was rather hesitant at first, but it soon relaxed and fell back into their normal routine, albeit cautiously. Once it had finished, Fyodor took the tankard and stood from his place by the wall, turning to look at the sinner. "That creature is now with the Lord, being judged for its actions, a creature as depraved and twisted as that one is beyond redemption. It will surely burn in the flames of hell for eternity for its sins." He tells it with a rare, soft smile gracing his face. "Thank you." He hears the sinner whisper, feeling his smile grow ever so slightly wider as it did so. He restrained Osamu over in its corner before leaving the cell. As he left up the stairs, he felt eyes following him once again h̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶ g̶l̶a̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶y̶ w̶e̶r̶e̶ b̶a̶c̶k̶.