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There was a room in Houtou castle that only he knew existed. He'd had it fashioned when he'd been given carte blanche by the ox-demon's concubine to gear up for the revival. The door to the chamber was well-camouflaged and reinforced so that even if that beast of a stepson -- his bonnie rabbit prince -- got wind of it, he wouldn't be able to penetrate the fortress-like fortification. Nii was certain his secret would remain safe for as long as he needed it to be -- until they'd done his bidding and amassed all of the scriptures, save one.
By day he toiled over his instruments and crunched numbers from the data that he collected on all his experiments drew inferences, teased out significance where, on the face of it there was none. He was the perfect little drone for Gyoumaoh's perfect little whore. No one questioned his loyalty to the cause and that was a pity, really, a tragic, fatal flaw that all villains seemed to share.
But the nights were his to plot and scheme and to check on his little pet project, away from prying eyes. Nii smoked and drank his coffee; perusing the mountains of data that his laboratory produced, smiled lecherously at any and all who dared to approach him and bided his time until that moment of the day when the castle fell silent. It was only then that his footsteps would echo through dusty, unused corridors, the sound reminiscent of the way his geta would clack across the flagstone of the temple courtyard at Keiun, a harbinger of his approach. That is of course, when he wanted to be heard.
Though his lover back then had always been ready for him, a marvel that never ceased to amaze him. He stopping in front of a blank expanse of wall, Nii pressed a button on a recessed panel hidden behind one of the large conduits that snaked along the hallway. The façade of a single cinderblock silently slipped aside revealing a keypad and a retina scanner that emitted a sickly green light. The beam scanned his retinas as his fingers danced over the keypad and the wall parted, a cool breeze blew over his skin.
He stepped into a small anteroom stocked with disposable scrubs and quickly donned them, covered his shoes and head then pulled on a pair of latex gloves and a facemask; no germ could be left behind to jeopardize his years of hard work. He peered through a picture window into the clean room.
"No one here but us ghosts," he whispered to himself before slipping into the larger room.
"How are you tonight, m'dear?" he greeted the silence. "I trust you've been resting well," he added as he approached a large, clear cylindrical tank filled with fluid. The soft hum of equipment was his only accompaniment as he padded across the immaculate floor.
Light glinted off of his lenses as he approached the backlit container. "You look like an angel, as always, darling," he said to the figure floating peacefully in the perfectly controlled bath, gossamer strands of yards-long hair billowing, encircling a body that had long ago been healed of its fatal wounds. Nii's hand reached out and splayed against the thick membrane fingers spread, echoing the lifeless hand on the other side of the glass.
He gazed longingly at the alabaster skin a thrill coursing down his spine. "Everything is going as planned, it's only a matter of time before Kouryuu joins us, he's getting closer by the minute. Behind his mask, Nii grinned a toothy smile. "And then, won't all hell break loose! Too bad you'll be late for your own party," he chortled.
Turning his attention from his lover, Nii walked the perimeter of the room, checking his equipment and satisfied all was in order, he approached the tank again, this time climbing a small stepstool that had been positioned in front of it. He pressed his cloth-covered mouth against the cool wall even with Koumyou's sleeping face and delivered a chaste kiss to the glass. It was his nightly ritual, the last thing he did before falling into bed.
"Nighty-night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite."