Work Text:
That secret, shared under the lamplights.
A Fukigen na Mononokean fanfiction.
The sun beats down on the back of his neck, onto the cobbled pavement under his feet. If Ashiya squinted, he could almost delude himself into thinking he could see its rays. As if solidifying into the golden sands that fall to his feet, like fiery mist on his skin. A haze of light burning into his eyes through unrelenting blue skies, melding with his own breath.
Unbearably warm, burning his aching throat and tongue.
One of those days where one woud like to sit around and don't do anything all day. Ideally.
Really.
"Agh!"
Really, would't it be nice to have a day off for once in his life?
Ashiya leaps to the side quickly as the screeching approaches at a frighteningly close pace and the youkai shoots back up into the sky with decaying wings and the lifeless eyes of darkness under the sun. Made of the shadows itself, so out of place in this perfect hot summer's day.
It grasps at his ankles, cold and slimy. And he shudders.
"...Gross!! Get off, get off, get off!!'
Sufficiently freaked now, his fingers glow and there's a glimmer of glowing thread in the air, connecting his thumb and the handle of a blunt metal weapon.
As the jutte flies into his hand, he slashes at the darkness and winces at hears the screeches in his mind as they recoil and he tries to leap up to the rooftops.
And the sickening jolt in his stomach as the youkai from earlier, he sees it out of the corner of his eye, it shoots up and grasps at his back-
"Careless." Says the voice, suddenly close to his ear.
His back pulled against a solid chest that's warmer than he thought, hands grasping under his shirt.
"No, no no..!"
He swipes the jutte at the figure behind him and it provides enough leverage to kick him off, straight in the gut. And Ashiya manages to land back on the rooftops with a minimal semblance(?) of grace, glaring fiercely at the person he kicked to the roof opposite him.
"Urgh...that actually hurt, you brat!"
"Good!" Ashiya yells at him, standing up. He feels chills at the back of his neck, the base of his spine, stabbing fiercely at his heart until he could barely breathe, the panic intensifying as he watches the man hold the charm up in his fingers, a charm that used to be placed directly over Ashiya's heart.
One of the few things protecting him. And it disintegrates into fox fire with a snap of fingers, even as they shudder from the released karmic energy and shock the youkai's hand. Revealing sharpened claws as nails, tattooes winding down that pale arm, and the fox fire extends down his arm protecting him from the aftershock.
Golden eyes meet Ashiya's blue, steady as always.
"Tsk, what's with this childish scrawl. You've been making charms for how long now? Do you make all of them with crayon or have you finally moved up to ink and pen like the adults?" Abeno says, a taunt to rile Ashiya up as much as he felt.
"Sh-shuddup! It's enough to ward off your troops, Abeno-san!" With the expected result.
At this point, Ashiya's thoughts are a mess, a rush of heat, he could almost hear the cicadas wings of his childhood. As if his mind is melting from his head along with the sweat.
And this fight really isn't helping any. Even after being in this place for so long...
Focus, Ashiya Hanae! He slaps his own face with both hands and glares at Abeno.
One charm burnt, but he feels the warmth of still more on his body.
You can still 'win'.
To prove his point to himself, Ashiya whips out another charm from the pocket in his sleeve, and takes a moment of satisfaction in hearing most of Abeno's troops hiss and flinch.
Of course, Abeno himself, doesn't look the least bit threatened.
"Curse of Enlightenment." He reads the hurried scrawl on the paper, and even as he says the words, there's mockery on his face. "That's supposed to scare me? Does someone with a five-year-old brain like you even know how to use that thing?"
"Shut up!! Take this!"
Again successfully goaded into attacking, Ashiya crumples the charm in his hands and it devolves into wisps of white light, pointed attacks at the youkai by Abeno's side.
"...! It's not the Curse of Enlightenment...! "Fall back!" Abeno clicks his tongue, irritated again, always irritated as he meets those eyes. Just a simple diversion, and a trick Abeno himself is all too familiar with.
"...If you're complacent with only these trinkets, it's a miracle you haven't been caught by our troops before!"
"Rrgh, it's not like you're totally unaffected!'
And Ashiya lashes out suddenly, he drags his leg to the side and lashes out a kick that unsettles some of the sparkling opium dust of the rooftops, kicking up a cloud between him and the youkai troops.
Blinding them, they shriek as the enchanted powder scalds their eyes.
"Capture the human!"
"Cursed human!"
"Grab him and skin him alive!"
"Find him and drain his heart!"
Clamoring cries that hurt his ears. The opium clouding their senses, hot on their tongues probably, like it had been on Ashiya's.
He'd think by this point he would have been numbed to the taste, the scent of it.
"Of course he doesn't have the good sense to go far." Abeno mutters, almost as if to himself. Certainly, not loud enough for the other youkai to hear. He doesn't move because he already knows.
The boy has bells tied to his leg after all. Well...it's not like most of the youkai could hear or see it.
He still doesn't move as he feels the jutte pointed at his neck, even though his skin itself feels like crawling away from the spiritual energy the metal was blessed with, a slimy, poisonous cold in this fiery heat.
When they feel the aura of their commander fluctuating, they whirl around and hiss.
"Commander!"
Panicked screeching, hissing as they spot Ashiya behind him. The boy himself frowns, as he starts to feel the effects of their panic, their fury. Whispers, compulsions in his mind grow stronger and stronger, the more frantic the youkai became. Their oppressive aura, strengthened by their rage into a bloodcurdling sensation almost makes him let go.
Almost.
"Don't move!" Ashiya demands, his voice still somehow steady. "Don't move or I'll finish him off in one blow! I''ll really do it!"
As his wrist starts to shake, he feels the grasp of sharpened claws.
"In one blow, huh?" Abeno murmurs.
Abeno looks at him then, his gold eyes aglow. The jutte drops out of numb fingers.
Ashiya yelping in pain at the shock of supernatural energy from Abeno's fingers to his arm.
Like fire...no, like lightning, zapping his mind, his senses clouding.
So close.
The tantalizing smell of opium from Ashiya's clothes, fire on his throat and tongue.
His senses clouding.
"Keep dreaming, brat."
His hand lunges out one second, and Ashiya feels the lightning the next. The harsh sting of pain, undercurrents itching through his pain, pain then irritation, pain, irritation, maddening-
"You, you you y-you!!!!" Stuttering the word out through a leaden tongue and disbelieving eyes, Abeno glances back at him. It's only now that Ashiya realizes that their positions had reversed, Abeno the one trapping him now. Red twine binding both of Ashiya's wrists together, he feels against his back, the pallid heat of body temperature, it's strangely similar to those of humans. Even as Abeno inches closer to the scent of the maddening opium, a jolt of lightning from clawed fingers to the bared spot over Ashiya's heart.
His voice, cool as ever, belying the fire in his gaze.
"I'm merely paying back in kind."
Abeno's troops fan out in front of him, leering at Ashiya's trapped form.
They're close...
"You should take this seriously if you don't want to die!"
They barely even the chance to glare at him before brilliant glowing streaks of light fly in the air and collide with their beings, making them dissipate with pained screams.
Like the sun through shadows. A triumphant grin on Ashiya's face as he stomps down on the tiled roof.
The sweet ringing of the bells of his anklet with the movement of his feet and the ground underneath glowed with the unmistakable light of a human-drawn array.
And before any of them could react, the burning light reaches them, incinerating their bodies with the mere touch of it.
Half of Abeno's troops, wiped out already.
Ear-piercing screaming ringing through the summer air, clear and painful as glass, but of course, that cheerful loud voice reaches him even then.
"You shouldn't underestimate me either!"
Another flash of lightning as the jutte is summoned back into Ashiya's bound hands, Abeno barely flinches as it rushes past his face.
Drawing blood from his cheek.
He barely notices it, even.
"You should take this seriously, Abeno-san." Ashiya repeats, with that grin, looking so pleased with himself, almost to the point of cockiness, holding the jutte in the air. With drops of Abeno's blood.
"Or you'll die before I do!"
And Abeno merely wipes the wound on his cheek, feels it dissipate under his fingers.
"Ashiya Hanae, of the human clan!"
"Abeno Haruitsuki, of the Tenko clan!"
"If you continue to get in my way-"
"A fight is what you'll get!"
The bell rings softly again, clinking along Ashiya's ankle with the force of his leap and Abeno leaps forward in tandem.
A mess of black in the sky surrounding him on all sides, youkai forces, sinking everything to darkness and gloom, a chaotic painting of black against this pure blue.
Still weak. Direct attacks were still far too weak, especially since he's still struggling with the twine. So he switches targets taking care of the troops by Abeno's side.
He jumps from roof to roof in a flurry of wind, the youkai hot on his trail.
The clink of their chains heavy and chaotic, while they screech and cry and lunge at Ashiya, with greedy claws and animalistic forms, then folding like paper under Ashiya's weapon and the cry of his bell, the light of his arrays.
"A purveyor of many weapons."
Ashiya hears this, a soft murmur as if not meant for him, as he breaks the chains of a youko. The youko shrieks and vanishes back into the light, and Ashiya swipes at the empty air behind him. Abeno had already vanished by that point. He appears in front of him again, seamlessly tracing Ashiya's footsteps against the roof tiles. The clang of Ashiya's jutte against his dagger, and he grabs Ashiya by the throat.
"But a master of none!"
A hunter in black, dressed in a gakuran so oddly reminiscent of the uniform of humans past, and a blood red haori of elegant flowers.
From the left, a Tengu grasping for his body.
On the right, Nekomata.
A flurry of color, sensation, information recognized in Ashiya's mind as it kicks into overdrives as those fingers squeeze down on the flesh of his neck, just a bit.
The color of sunlight in the eyes of this youkai, hunter clutching at the neck of his prey, human. A startled gasp rending through his throat and he stares at those eyes.
So vibrant. Unlike-
Focus!
"...!"
A gasp, and he clutches at that hand. Fire in his own eyes.
"I-It's still enough to beat you!"
Quickly, before Abeno has a chance to react, he claws a seal on Abeno's flesh with his own blood. A hidden pinprick of his finger drawing blood wherever it traced.
"Ow! You-!"
And Ashiya chomps down on the handle of the jutte before Abeno could do anything, tugging him closer, closer.
With a high-pitched shriek, light floods either side of them both. The youkai groan and recoil in fear and it's all the time Ashiya needs.
The screams fade into whispers as the youkai disintegrate under his weapon. But Abeno continues to look at him, gaze at him in surprise, abject horror almost as he hears the whip of paper in the wind, from the rooftops of houses, ropes made of paper puppets grasp at the troops still lingering behind Abeno.
"Pull!" Ashiya chokes out, the desperation seeping through.
And the shikigami fly, pulling the youkai to the pre-made arrays he had scattered around town.
Arrays already ctivating by the ringing of his bell as he stomps on the ground.
Abeno merely stands there, facing him through the burning light and he sees Ashiya hunched over, out of breath. And he stares straight back, as the holy array takes care of most of his pursuers.
The shikigami chain and arrays were a new measure against the youkai and one that Ashiya had greatly underestimated, effect and cost-wise.
Like this, foolishly vulnerable to him.
"You'll go to this much lengths?" Abeno asks, soft as the wind, "Just to protect this village?"
"...Village?"
Caught off guard by the question, Ashiya pauses. The walls of light flicker, just a bit.
"You're calling this desert a village?"
"A desert you're protecting with the price of your life."
"That....I was assigned here!"
Most of Abeno's troops were destroyed.
"...! Abe-"
With a wave of Abeno's hand, unseen forces destroy the shikigami chain and his troops fall back out of Ashiya's array fire. And uses the ensuing confusion to break through the arrays themselves, shattering them like gleaming glass.
"...Eh...?"
And he leaps off the rooftop, dragging Ashiya back down to earth with him.
"Abeno-san!"
His feet alight on the street before they collide with the ground and he uses the force of his stride to tug at Ashiya, pinning him against the wall of a winding, narrow alleyway.
Out of sight and almost out of mind.
With no eyes upon them.
The blood-red haori flutters gently in the summer wind as Abeno leans in.
His fingers still grasped at Ashiya's collar.
Abeno could feel the strain of it in that shuddering body, that human weakness.
Uncaring with the opium-laced fingers that dig into the skin of his hands.
The scent of it that catches his breath, traps it in his throat.
"How long are you planning to lie?" Abeno asks.
"I'm not!"
"With such fruitless battles amidst uninhabited sands? You may be an idiot, but you're smarter than those that pretend to be protectors. More desperate. ...No, you're definitely an idiot."
"Stop calling me that!"
"You're taking me for one, aren't you?"
"Hgh..!"
"Streets so well-worn by human feet, buildings by human hand. Buildings that house the humans you love and protect. The presence of humans, everywhere you look."
"...! No!"
"How long are you going to lie to me?"
"I'm not! I'm not lying!"
Ashiya says, grabbing on to the strands of his fraying lie, his voice starting to crack as he fights the new, inhuman impulse pounding through his mind the longer he stares at the glimmering gold of his eyes.
"I'm not!"
"This door near me. If I stepped through this door, would I find dust and decay? The sands blowing through these forgotten ruins? Or maybe...humans?"
Fear, breaking through that defiant gaze.
"Your friends...family. Sleeping through the dangers outside, and vulnerable-"
"Don't you dare!"
And now anger again, he claws at Abeno's hand, placed over his rapid, beating heart.
And that's what it takes to reverse their positions once again!
With a heavy thud against the well-worn wall, Ashiya glaring up at Abeno, fire in his eyes, the blessed metal of the jutte buried in Abeno's side.
"Don't you dare hurt them!"
"Are you going to stop pretending now?"
"Stop saying those kinds of things!Why-?!"
The question, suddenly lost to the summer winds as if he's unsure of how to continue, how to ask.
"You're not really helping your case."
And Ashiya freezes at the fingers that press themselves on his neck, against the pulse of life there.
With those unsheathed claws. Poison from his claws.
Pressing into his skin.
It pulses in Ashiya's chest. And it's a little harder to breathe.
That fear, displayed clear as day on this human's face. Fear..and sadness, deep as a bottomless well, deep, deep sadness.
His heart, it aches.
"The more you drown in those lies and try to drag me in..."
The barest hint of beast-like slits in those beautiful eyes.
"The more you risk your chances of coming out of our encounters alive."
"Alive?" Ashiya laughs, shaky, shuddering laughter. "You want me alive?"
Abeno keeps quiet. He was expecting another retort.
Well, it's fine.
He'd distracted Abeno for long enough.
"Like hell...I'm going to die now!"
And with that, the seal he'd traced on Abeno's hand starts to burn.
"...Ugh!"
And Ashiya leaps away suddenly. Abeno barely has the time to register what's happening when Ashiya jumps back into the darkness of the alleyway.
Then...he notes the glint of a silver strand in the darkness behind Ashiya's back.
And Ashiya raises his hands. To push Abeno out of the way, as the silver thread that reveals itself between the both of them-
"...! Wait-!"
Finely snaps in two. And Abeno hears the clicks, the whirring, it's all that he has for a warning even as he curses and yells to the skies.
"Fall back!"
The scurrying feet, their flapping wings, the youkai hasten to heed his command, as the ground, the sands itself started to glow.
Not just isolated areas of the town.
The very earth itself.
It shuddered and shook and glowed and Abeno was forced to leap back himself.
He sees Ashiya look up at him as he recedes, higher and higher. With a shaky grin.
Until he's finally high enough to see the gigantic, outlandish letters of a holy circle, so large that he could barely even see its full incantation.
He could barely even see the town anymore, wrapped in its golden light.
"Ashiya!"
And as if with the flip of a switch, the light disappeared.
And so had the entire town. Gone in mere seconds.
"The human's presence has been completely erased, Abeno-sama." One of his troops says in a gloomy monotone, "The relocation spell has taken full effect. The ruined city has disappeared."
"Understood. We should fall back while there's still light. The opium concentration in this region has been increasing significantly over the last few hours." Abeno looks at them all, "Even without his presence, the presence of it will make it difficult for our troops to recover the longer we stay."
"Yes, sir."
The seal on his arm, it burns dully.
And Abeno looks down at it.
It burns in time with his rapid heartbeat.
That thread that Ashiya had pulled in front of them...sharp like a guillotine wire.
The mark of the human, ever contemptuous, from the back of his hand. Lines spreading out to his wrist in a strangely crude pattern, resembling a fish net.
"Abeno-sama! Your hand-"
"...Leave it."
"Sir?"
"A spell of this caliber will not affect me for now. I will visit Koura later."
"...Yes."
They have no business here now, now that the ruined city had disappeared, back amongst the wilderness.
Now that he had disappeared.
The flowers in the seal bloomed ever still, stinging the top of his hand, peeking through the crude, shaky net of lines. And Abeno was speaking the truth.
Crude and novice as it looked, it would never hurt him.
"This is your answer?" Abeno asks to no-one, as he touches the crude, simple seal.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Eh? What's this?"
"A charm that's easy to use."
"Oh. Can you make more of these for me?"
"No way." A hint of childishness in that stoic, calm voice, "You're supposed to learn how to make these."
"Ehhhhh"
"You expect me to make these for you the rest of your life?"
Ashiya huffed and studied the paper talisman closely. "Curse of...why are you using complicated kanji for this, are you intentionally being mean to me?!"
A hefty sigh. "Enlightenment. That means Curse of Enlightenment. It's a simple charm that draws on the fears of the youkai it strikes. Every youkai has a mythology associated. With their myth comes weakness, with their weakness comes fear."
"Huh. Isn't that kind of obvious if I use this?"
“It only works on the middling flesh-eaters.”
"...Ugh, quit saying that so easily."
"What. It's the truth."
"You do realize I'm human right?"
"I can smell it on you, yes."
Panicked sputtering, "S-stop saying things like that! It's weird!! Humans don't say it!!"
"Says the person who constantly calls me 'handsome' and throughout the night-"
"No, no, nononono! Stop that!"
Unceremoniously, Ashiya shoved a hand in front of that mouth.
In this room, the heavy scent of opium and incense mix. Shut away from the world, human and youkai can talk like ths.
As Abeno stares at him, Ashiya sighs and does manage a grin.
"...But thank you, Abeno-san. I'll definitely learn how to use this."
"Don't be complacent with just that. Learn how to make proper seal charms first."
"Seal charms?"
"You weren't paying attention?"
"Uwah, Abeno-san!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll listen this time!! Promise!!"
He did learn quickly...
He's even started to use those charms against him.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Ashiya.
That voice whispers, quiet and low in his mind. Ashiya grumbles and rolls around.
So uncomfortable. The crunching on the ground follows, sounds close to his ear.
Ashiya...
Why is it so uncomfortable? So warm? It feels like there's a lump in his throat, lead in his heart.
And a sudden huff in the air makes him pause.
"Hanae!"
And the sudden sting on his forehead, making him wince. Opening his eyes almost immediately.
Gold filling his vision, making his heart stutter.
"Hanae!" The voice repeats again. A different one.
Ashiya blinks, "...Nee...Nee-chan?"
The girl sighs, "Finally awake? Good grief."
"Awake? I was asleep??" His eyes were closed. And he's lying on the ground. And he doesn't remember why. "What happened?" He asked, more urgent.
And receiving another flick to the forehead for his trouble.
"Ow! Hurts!"
"Calm down." His sister said, as he winced, "You're still weak from the move."
"The move? The..." And he looks around.
The gentle glowing light of the array underneath him, quenching his strangely parched throat, soothing the ache in his weakened muscles. His own magic, flowing back in him, slowly starting to sustain his weakened body.
"I...that's right, I made the town move." The weight of those words makes him remember what happened, "That's...how is everyone?! Are they okay?!"
"They're kinda shaken up but everyone's okay. The townspeople did a headcount in the market district. I'm more worried about you, Hanae!" And sis pulls him into a hug.
Ashiya could feel her trembling just a bit.
"You worried me so much when I found you out here! I...thought..."
"...Sorry."
"I don't forgive you!" Sis huffs. And squeezes him tighter.
"Uh..."
"You have to be more careful than that!"
"Okay."
"Don't strain yourself this recklessly!"
"Mmhm."
"If I find you passed out in another array, I'm going to march to the elders myself and have you kicked out of the troop!"
Kind of terrifying. He pats her back soothingly. "Alright, nee-chan."
"I'd feel more relieved, then!" Sis says.
"...I know. I'm sorry."
"As long as you understand!" And she finally withdraws, looking at him carefully, "The mayor is asking for you...are you okay now? You need to report the move..."
"Mmmm, mostly." Ashiya hesitantly gets to his knees, and from there to his feet. He tries a cursory leap, and stumbles, "Agh!"
"Hanae!"
"Mmmfine! I'm fine!" A sheepish grin from Ashiya as she helps him steady himself, "I just have to avoid jumping for the time being."
"...Hmph. Too bad for you, no rooftop shortcuts to take. You'll have to walk on ground like the rest of us."
"Yes, yes." Ashiya sighs and draws his palms together in a praying motion.
Pray to the gods and thank them for their help.
Those who walk between human and youkai, walk a fine line.
Offer prayers, and remain forever grateful.
"Oh did you change the opium mixture, Hanae? It smells different."
The sweet scent of incense wrapping around his body.
The array shuts off then.
"Are you helping mom with the flower shop tonight?" He asks.
"Mmhm. Meet up with Saga and Fusshin before dark okay? It's gonna be really hectic today!"
"Got it. Thanks, nee-chan."
A reassuring squeeze of her hand and Sis smiles.
It's still shaky.
And Ashiya's heart feels a guilty tug.
"Be safe." He says to her.
"I should be telling you that!"
Stay safe, nee-chan.
And I'm sorry.
It's an apology he means.
I'll try to be safe.
A promise that he probably can't keep.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The city of Tokyo, 20XX. Humankind itself had fallen to the tyranny of the youkai.
The stories conflicted as to where they came from, how they were summoned. What most people knew was that they had appeared after three great tragedies that shook the world.
First, an earthquake that led to mass destruction, the reckless loss of life.
Second, the mass murder of all figures in power, with new 'heads' reinstated. Human puppets of eldritch, otherworldly beings that have long sold their humanity for their own gains.
Third, a flood that seemed to have drowned the world around Japan. Or at least closed them off from the world around them.
All three disasters followed one after the other, and all of them led to the eventual deaths of over 3/4ths of the human population in Japan.
The remaining 1/4th in desperation scattered all over the lands. But even then, as if in support of this takeover, Nature herself seemed to reject their footsteps, their touch.
And in the past 10 years, the 1/4th of the population had long reduced to 1/8th, that cling to the fabrics of life.
Neo Tokio, the heart of the human refugees, remains one of the only few sanctuaries in this life. And Ashiya Hanae, one of their most powerful protectors.
But even then...he still remained no match for their most elite forces.
For Abeno Haruitsuki, one of the newly reinstated commanders of the Hyakki Yagyo.
Even now.
"Aaaaashiyan~"
"Ah!"
A slap on his back startles him, and he's back in reality. As Ashiya blinks confused, Fushimi's grinning face enteres his vision.
"F-Fusshin..."
"Feeling better?"
" Go easy on him, Fusshin. He still looks worn-out." Saga says, behind him. A soft reproach that Fushimi somewhat heeds; he moves back a bit.
"Oh, Saga. I'm fine, don't worry!" An energetic grin that fools absolutely nobody in this vicinity.
"You went to see the elders, Ashiyan?"
At that, he visibly deflates and groans, "Yeah...and that drained me out again." Ashiya says with a sigh, "They're sending out signals right now to the other human sanctuaries and telling all of them to move, just like us."
"Isn't that a rush job?" Fushimi asks bluntly and Ashiya winces. Just a bit.
"They're placing the blame on me." Ashiya plucks at his sleeve sulkily, "I told them we needed to move earlier! The elite troop attacked me today and almost found out about the entire town!"
...That wasn't a lie. Abeno knew, since probably a long time ago. Maybe even when they first met again in these sands.
"What other choice did I have?"
"Mmnn, it's a problem." Fushimi agrees.
"An...elite troop?" Saga blinks, "Isn't that really dangerous?!"
"I got rid of more than half of them, but the general..." Ashiya grimaces.
"Mmmm...then Ashiyan's choice was a good one!" Fushimi declares brightly.
"Are you going to be okay for today? You're worn out, right?"
"Of course!" Ashiya smiles brightly at Saga.
Tucking his shirt carefully, covering his heart.
The skin over it still feels cold.
"Let's go!"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
An hour after sunset, the drums beat.
Loud, deep thrums through the air that shook the core of the town itself.
From the corner of every street, every alleyway, wherever they stood, people sang a victorious song, a song in mourning, of celebration, love and loss.
It could be heard.
The soft glare of the lamplights as they flicker to life, and the scent of opium in the air from the smoke machines.
Colorful banners flaring wild under the night sky.
An hour passes before the cheering starts. The music.
Echoing from every corner, raucous, as people decked in pretty, gaudy clothes, dance on the streets.
Laughing, shouting, cheering, grieving, crying.
Emotions pouring out into one small, congested square.
The humans were still here.
They were alive.
They're here and they still celebrate the end of a valiant battle and the beginning of their new lives.
And Ashiya wouldn't miss this festival for the world.
So that he can see what he was protecting.
"Once more!"
He leaps from rooftop to rooftop alongside his friends, waving colorful banners. People look to the rooftops and cry and laugh in joy as they see the boys nimbly dancing over the tops of houses, in a strangely fluid kind of battle dance.
"Everyone! Look to the sky!"
Ashiya stood in the center of the square, his battle garb still dusty from the morning's events. Tired as he was, he grins as he sees the citizens look at him, whooping and cheering as they spot him and he raises his arm.
Beautiful star-like fireworks followed, with a wave of his hand, illuminating his flag in the warmth of their light. Children watch in awe, breathing in the scent of flowers enchanted to mask the opium dust, and the dangerous smoke.
"Hana-chan!!!"
"Waiii, so pretty!"
"Hana-chan, thanks for the flowers!"
"Thanks for visiting...hm?"
At the corner of his eye, he spots it. At the edge of the crowd...
Quietly, he lowers his sleeves to his sides and shikigami flit away from his fingers.
And he quietly starts to walk-
"Ah!"
"...!!! Crap!"Ashiya breaks out in a run and barely manages to catch the woman as she stumbles away from the man's grip.
"Are you okay?!" Ashiya looks behind and blinks, "Mai nee-san?"
"Hana...hana-chan? Oh, you're here?" Mai smiles a bit at him, and it's strained, "Thanks for catching me. I'm okay, don't worry."
Ashiya looks at the man in front of her, never taking his gaze away as he asks, "Is everything okay, Mai-nee-chan?"
"Ehh, everything's fine. He's just a client from my old flower house, and we met while we were celebrating so..."
"Your old flower house?"
"...Yeah." Her hands start to pull at his sleeve.
"..."
"You're interrupting our conversation, you know." The man says in a pleasant tone.
"Am I? Sorry. Mai-nee-chan is like an older sister to me, you know~" Ashiya says, cheerfully.
"I noticed. You're quite close." A smile. "I'm envious."
"Mmhm...if you want to pretend to be close, try not to grab her in public you know?"
And Ashiya stands in front of her.
"Or surround her with people in the open street."
"Hm? But there are crowds everywhere~"
"...I've been to Mai-nee-chan's place before, and I've never seen any of them."
"'Mai-nee-chan's place'...I see humanity's savior knows how to enjoy himself, as any man does."
There's a trace of a blush on his cheek and Mai tugs at his sleeve again. "Hana-chan-"
"You followed her all the way here?"
"...Hm?"
"You followed Mai-nee-chan all the way here, after you drove her out of that town yourself?"
Ashiya had dropped all niceties now. But then again, he never was good at pretending, either.
"..."
The men come out into the open now, and the leader says, "My...has that pretty little mouth told lies about me again?"
A chilling smile.
"You shouldn't lie so to your customers, you mere whore."
"The 'mere' whore you obsess over, day and night so." Mai couldn't help adding. She knows he's aleady angry now.
"Stay behind me okay?"
"...Be careful, Hana-chan. I don't want you to get hurt."
Ah. Even as she says this, Ashiya sees a flash of silver from the corner of his eyes.
"Watch out!"
He leaps back, dragging the girl along with him, just barely avoiding the man with the knife. The man clicks his tongue, breaking composure "You can't dance forever...!"
"Urgh...!"
One of the men rush forward towards Mai.
Another flash of silver.
And Ashiya's in front of her in mere moments.
"Hana-chan!"
Silver draws red, for mere moments. Just a second, a sting of pain.
The very sight of it...makes Ashiya pale.
"I'm fine! You're not safe here! You have to-!" Ashiya freezes up.
He sees the human...standing behind the knife.
His opponent is a human this time...
One of them, two, five to the side.
Five more behind him. And the leader.
Ashiya's eyes sweep from left to right.
"Stand back a little, okay?" Ashiya whispers to Mai. His cut already starts to sting.
"Hana-chan?"
"I'll have to break a path through."
Ah, he should have called Saga and Fusshin over here.
But...the festival was for them, too.
There's still a bit of regret in his step even as he dodges yet another knife attack, then grabs the attacker's hand and twists it, who then groans in pain and drops it.
Knife get! That's a weapon he can use now.
Though, he should still keep his weapon attacks to a minimum.
The banner behind him flutters gracefully in the wind as he moves, whacking it in the gut of the man in front of him and dropping it, doing a backflip to another would-be attacker and kicking him in the back, before falling back to avoid more slashes to the face. With a spring in his step, deftly folding into a cartwheel, before leaping in the air.
"Gugh...!"
And stomping directly on the man's face, kicking him directly in the path of another man trying to attack Mai.
"Aagh!"
"Mai nee-san, move left!"
"O-okay!"
And just barely avoided another blow, to her face. Ashiya purses his lips.
Really! Would trying to attack her like this make her like you?!
He hits another man in the gut with his jutte, pulling her along with him and sidestepping a blow.
A flash of movement behind him. He grits his teeth and pulls her closer.
"Don't move!"
"Hana-chan! No, behind you-!"
Some blows couldn't be avoided when you protect someone. Ashiya already knew that.
He smiles at her, a placating, comforting one and thinks, Ah, I'll have to apologize to her later. And braces himself.
But the blow never came.
He just hears the man groan in pain.
"Wh...who are you?!" Mai asks, clutching onto Ashiya, her arms clawing around his back. Belatedly, Ashiya realizes, she's trying to protect him from the blow.
And Ashiya looks around.
Red fills his vision and his world stops for a brief moment.
A beautiful, dignified, warmer red that he knows like the back of his hand.
His heart leaps in his throat.
"A-"
"Move!"
Ashiya finally registers that word and grabs Mai's hands, pulling her out of the way again.
"Kyaa!"
The red surges forward, he can see the golden glow around his fingertips.
"Wait!" Ashiya cries.
Don't kill them...!
There's a halt in those graceful movements for a brief second.
"...! Tch!"
The battle is over in mere seconds.
With one single strike to each assailant.
One by one, they fall.
And with a sigh, Abeno meets Ashiya's eyes.
"Have the gods cursed you or something? You seem to attract trouble wherever you go."
"..." Is Ashiya's eloquent reply. Behind him, Mai sneaks out and remarks, "How cool..."
At that, Ashiya finally feels a strained chuckle rise in his throat at the absurdity of this entire situation.
And Abeno's eyes fall on her.
And Ashiya stumbles a bit.
Perhaps it was the aftereffects of the heat of battle, but his chest...feels strangely tight. The thudding of his heartbeats, rampant.
"Hana-chan?!"
"I'm...I'm fine." Ashiya reassures her. Of course, the words are losing their ability to convince after the first ten times. She stares at him, worried and is about to ask again when Abeno's voice interjects.
"Is she alright?" Abeno asks. With a head tilt towards the girl. At that, Ashiya seems to gain some semblance of awareness back and he looks over her for injuries.
"I'm fine, Hana-chan. Don't worry." She smiles. Still marred the worry on her face, "But you're injured!"
"This is..." Ashiya glances at Abeno and smiles back at her.
With a deep breath, ignoring the strange stifling feeling in his chest.
"It's fine. You should go find the Madame and tell her you need to hide for a little. Enjoy the festival from inside for now, okay?"
"...Alright. Invite your friend to watch along, too!"
At the word 'friend', Ashiya winces slightly. Luckily, she doesn't seem to notice this. Bowing with a smile, she leaves.
"..."
And Ashiya whirls around, looking at Abeno. "Abeno-san!!"
"Loud."
"Oh sorry...wait, what are you doing here?!"
"I followed you here." A simple answer. Sounding a little irritated, but mostly disinterested.
Abeno looks around the area, noting the lights, the fireworks, the cheering.
"But...the relocation spell!"
"It worked. The only problem is, mine worked better."
"Yours?"
Abeno looks back at him.
And before Ashiya could even blink, he's suddenly incredibly close.
Staring into his eyes.
"This seal." He taps the area over Ashiya's heart through his shirt. And it leaps as the skin burns under his shirt.
"...Wha-!" And even as he peers down his shirt, he sees red bloom on his chest, flowers unfurling directly over his heart. "Abeno-san! You-!!"
"You left one on me too, so we're even."
"Mine's only on your hand though!! Yours is-"
"Haven't I seen everything already?"
Ashiya just stares at him, dumbstruck.
"...."
"..." Abeno coughs, and looks down, "Anyway, as long as you bear this seal..."
Abeno pauses just then, narrowing his eyes at Ashiya's sleeve. The one soaked with blood.
"Normally, wouldn't they treat their saviour better?" He asks. His expression seems frighteningly cold.
"They?"
"The humans here."
"Ah." Ashiya looks down at his arm, "It's...just a flesh wound. I'm fine. They wouldn't hurt me that badly."
"Badly?"
"As much as youkai do." Ashiya points out.
"...Are you sure? That man clearly wanted your end, right then and there." Abeno says, in slight disbelief. When Ashiya purses his lips and keeps quiet, Abeno scoffs, "Reckless degenarate."
With a flourish, he pulls something out from under his sleeve.
A sash?
"Use this."
"Eh?"
"To cover your wound." It's a pale red, similar to the haori Abeno wore.
When Ashiya hesitates, Abeno snaps, "Oi, five year old! You forgot what blood does to youkai?"
"Okay! Okay!!" And Ashiya takes it, pulling his sleeve up.
Abeno's eyes follow his movements, as he staunches the bleeding.
"Does it really get that bad? You've injured me before..." Ashiya couldn't help asking.
"..."
With the wound wrapped up, Ashiya pulls his sleeve back down.
"Why are you here?" Ashiya asks.
With the sleeve falling back down, he feels the hilt of the knife he snatched earlier slide into his fingertips. His other hand, slowly, subtly, making its way to where the jutte hung on his belt.
It's just a guarantee...just in case.
"Show me."
"Huh?"
"Show me around this town." Abeno says. He folds his hands.
Ashiya's seal, hidden from view.
"I want to see exactly what you're protecting."
"...What?" Ashiya blinks, "Why?"
"Just show me!" Abeno says, impatient.
"O-okay! Alright! Just don't..." Ashiya takes a deep breath and glares, "Don't you dare think about hurting them."
Abeno scoffs, "I'm in no mood to drag you or them into more petty battles."
With that, he turns around and heads up the street.
And Ashiya blinks after him before he thinks to pick up his banner and plod along after, dumbfounded.
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What was this strange turn of events?
"It's brighter than I realized." Abeno murmurs, "These lamps, at night."
"We have to make them bright. Otherwise, it's hard to see through the opium smoke." Ashiya's explanation trails off. Abeno gives a slight nod in response and hums.
....No, seriously. What was this strange turn in events?
The commander of the youkai troop, 'the elite of the elite', stood shoulder-to-shoulder by him, in a town full of his 'prey', calmly asking him for explanations of their closely guarded secrets, their way of life.
And he, Ashiya, giving up whatever he asked, dumbly, hopelessly plodding along as they move in the crowd. An absolutely surreal situation.
...
That's kind of the norm for these two though.
The dream-like atmosphere of this festival didn't help any, either.
"I thought...youkai couldn't tolerate the scent of it." Ashiya murmurs.
"The opium? Like I said before, most can't." Abeno wrinkles his nose. "In such high quantities, though..." He murmurs to himself. Ashiya doesn't hear this part though, lost as he was in his gloomy thoughts.
Of course, Ashiya had to get stuck with the one who can. Of course. With his luck.
Uuuuuugh.
As Abeno looks around, Ashiya sneakily takes a peek at him.
...He's dressed differently.
Unlike what he normally wore as a commander, he'd opted for a more traditional, 'dressed down' look. A red haori with traces of the design of flowers at the edge, over a teal kimono.
And that conspicuous green medicine box attached to a strand and on his neck.
The clothes he wore when they first met.
"That uniform still remains ill-fitting on you." As if picking up on that line of thought, Abeno pipes up suddenly. Ashiya huffs, "We can't all be ikemen that look good in every type of style, Abeno-san."
"Huh?"
"Style, style! Like right now, you're carrying that super hot festival intellectual type of aura you know!"
"How ridiculous."
"Girls love that kind of thing you know!"
"Do they now. I'm not interested in such things."
"Being an ikemen is unfair!!"
Talking about such stupid things, they walk along the festive streets. Enemies of the battlefield, and they act like nothing but teenagers.
Ashiya just huffs again and looks at Abeno from the corner of his eye.
...But really, he was an ikemen. Unfairly handsome, so much so that it was sinful! Did it come with the territory of being youkai...though it wasn't all of them, most of the human-like ones did look really good, but he was on a whole different level.
To match the sun shimmering in his hair and eyes, large, glossy tails encircling around his body, luxurious gold and blood red.
They were warm to the touch, and Ashiya knew that. Though again, he felt it through bound fingers and wrists-
"..."
Ashiya's pace, slows just a bit. He peeks at Abeno again-
"......"
And he resists the urge to slap himself upside the head.
Focus, dammit! He's still youkai!
It's a miracle he even remembers that though.
"..."
He feels his heart tighten just a bit. The loud, formerly-pleasant sounds of bells ringing, on his foot, in the air, seemed to grate on his ears now.
The banner obnoxiously heavy on his shoulder.
And for some reason he's acutely aware of how empty his stomach was. When was the last time he ate?
But it's not like he can go to the stalls with-
He freezes and looks to the side again.
"A-Abeno san?!"
Wait, where was he going?! The stall!! Aben0-san, they don't sell human meat in human stalls, Abeno-san!! Ashiya runs after him, catching up as Abeno picks something up.
A candy...apple?
"Two of these, please."
"Sure. That'll be..."
And Abeno looks at Ashiya expectantly.
"..."
Is. Is he expecting Ashiya to pay up?
...True, it's not like he has human currency on him. Ashiya squints back at him before he sighs, "How much, jii-san?"
"Oh, Hana-chan? Is this your friend?"
"A-ah, yes."
"How rare~" The old man smiles at him, "Then, please have it free of charge."
"But-"
"You need to enjoy the festivities too. Those two boys, Saga and Fushimi, they said you need to take some time off every once in a while."
"Oh." Ashiya flushes a bit red, embarrassed. He's very much aware of Abeno watching him closely.
"Here, here. Please help yourself."
"Thank you." Ashiya smiles at him. Abeno takes the apples and hands one over to Ashiya as they walk away from the stall.
"For me?"
"...You expected me to eat two of this?" Abeno says with disbelief in his eyes, "I don't even know what this is."
"Ah right. It's a candy apple. Like a dessert."
"Huh." Abeno looks at it, before taking a careful bite, "...Sticky."
"Yeah." Ashiya blinks, "Wait, you can eat this?"
"It's not like all of us eat humans." Abeno scoffs. Then frowns. "It's...getting stuck to my teeth."
"Oh, that happens."
"Urgh."
Ashiya looks at his own apple before he takes a bite.
Sweet things on an empty stomach, it just makes him feel more uneasy.
He sees the flash of red tongue between sharp fangs, sharp enough to pierce and bruise through skin. Quite deadly, were the fangs of a youkai.
And he remembers the last time, he'd been trapped under them.
"..."
He does lightly slap his cheek then, when Abeno doesn't look.
What's wrong with me?!
Maybe it's because they haven't been this close in a long time. They mostly met on the battlefield and they could hardly be close together under the prying eyes of Abeno's troops.
And they parted under...those kind of circumstances.
While Ashiya bit into his own candy apple, Abeno murmurs something.
"You're quite close to those townsfolk." Abeno touches the back of his own hand, as if scratching an itch.
"Ah, yeah. They're taking care of my sis and my mom, so they know me pretty well too."
"Not to mention you're their 'saviour'."
"..."
"There are more of you?"
"Of me?"
"You're the only one who fights in the day." Abeno points out, "My men haven't seen any backup of yours."
"...That's..."
"Are you the only one who's 'gifted' to fight us?"
"..." Ashiya looks away.
"And if you die, there's no one else to take your place."
"...It's not like that would happen."
"You won't die?"
"I can't." Ashiya says, quietly, "Not yet."
Abeno falls quiet, seemingly considering this. Ashiya watches as he wipes syrup from his lip, and opening his mouth.
"Mrgh. It's getting stuck on my fangs." Abeno says, grumpily. It honestly sounds surprisingly childish coming from him.
They've stopped by a wall of lanterns, and on the sides, red-colored pinwheels, creating a strangely hypnotic sensation.
In the soft lamplight, Ashiya sees those fingers, tracing the shape of those sharp, strange fangs in that open mouth.
It's frighteningly easy to forget who he's dealing with. With Abeno disguised like this, like that...day...
Even as he sees the fangs, the tails, eyes glowing with unearthly power, how could he forget so easily?
Abeno, who was a youkai, who could have ended him at any moment before, even then.
"Abeno-san."
"Yes?"
"...Why are you here?'" Ashiya asks again, "Really?"
In the heart of the town, he asks this.
If Abeno reacts badly...If Abeno lost his composure....so many people would be in danger.
He's seen for himself, what youkai claws do.
What youkai fangs do.
The blood.
His wound stings.
His heartbeat falters, then picks up. Faster and faster. Like the beat of the festival drums.
His chest aches.
Even though his heart whispers that Abeno would never do such a thing...where does he get the confidence to think that? How could he-
Abeno raises his arm towards him and Ashiya tenses.
And as if gracefully plucking a flower, Abeno pulled out a pinwheel from one of the walls behind him.
"..."
Ashiya doesn't relax.
Abeno's hand rubs the arm holding the pinwheel.
"Everything here is..." Abeno looks at Ashiya, then looks away, "...Strange."
"Strange?"
"Like an illusion. Something that shouldn't exist."
The pinwheel spins, gently, in his hand.
"You and this town you protect. In this world, both of you shouldn't exist."
"It's supposed to be that way." Ashiya says. His voice is low, and barely steady, "We were supposed to make you believe that."
"You said the same thing when we met back then."
Elegant fingers press against the thin, breakable handle of the pinwheel. Ashiya could almost hear it, anticipate the snapping sound.
"Especially with how it could be upset at any moment. With your actions."
"Are you threatening us?"
Ashiya asks. Slowly. Carefully. Even as it felt that the bond of...
...Honestly. What could you call the bond between them at this point?
But if it would break...
He doesn't want that. Right...?
The heat of the air on his neck, his back, dripping in sweat.
The thrum of the drums.
The chime of bells.
Voices approaching where they stood.
From the corner of his eye, he can see the parade approaching.
Those beloved humans that he-
Abeno's face folds into a scowl and his hand reaches out again.
And grabs Ashiya by the collar.
"...!"
Before Ashiya could react, he's pulled him into the shadows of an alleyway, the banner that had been balanced precariously on his back, dropping where they once stood with a heavy clunk.
Déjà vu? Ashiya thinks, somewhat dazed.
But...it's not like he could fight back. He doesn't even want to.
His bones weighed heavy in his body. He could barely even stay awake, with no one to watch him.
It was too soon. He'd expended himself far too much and-
The hand grabbing at Ashiya's clothes tightens.
He's so tired of this.
The seals over Ashiya's heart, Abeno's hand throb in tandem. And Abeno sighs heavily.
"You...didn't pay attention did you..."
"Huh?"
"...I
That same jolt of pain with every thud. And his eyes widen.
Close to his ear, Abeno's voice falls in a hushed whisper.
"The charm I taught you."
He's barely even registering those words through his pounding heart.
A jolt of pain over his heart, and one of Abeno's hands twitch, as if in response. The smell of incense and opium entwining.
Is...this?
Is this how he dies?
"So you are afraid." Abeno says quietly.
"...O-of course, I am." Ashiya says. Laughter bubbles up in his throat, strained. Somewhat deranged, "I'm terrified."
"You're afraid of me?" Abeno asks, softly, as Ashiya grits his teeth.
His hand clutching tightly at the wrist that holds him up.
"I...can't die, Abeno-san. I can't die, I-"
He confesses, it's almost as if a dam broke through his chest.
A soft rebuke with the venom of all of Abeno's anger laced through.
Scary.
It scares him.
"You see me as a beast, then?"
You're only a human.
Cold words on that day.
From a person that Ashiya almost called-
"Then what else am I supposed to do?! What else am I supposed to feel? "
Ashiya yells back. His voice on the verge of breaking, of drowning in this chaotic din.
His emotions, roiling.
He could have died today, in the afternoon.
He could have died back then.
He could die now.
Had he made a mistake, he could have died long long ago.
Each quiet realization, hitting him like a ton of bricks.
Emotions intertwining through the link of the charms.
Abeno's placed on the hand placed over Ashiya's, over Ashiya's heart.
Anger. Sorrow. It hurts.
His nails digging into Abeno's skin, hard enough to draw blood.
"We're not even supposed to exist in this world!"
Illusions of something that's long disappeared, that dying age of mankind.
The life pulsing through Abeno's veins, it pulses with the power that caused the death of Ashiya's kind.
And there's a strange expression in Abeno's eyes.
That face, so strangely close and-
" ...??!? Mmph-!"
He couldn't say anything more.
Those lips on his, the warmth of a body pressed against his on this sultry summer's night. Beautiful eyes staring back at him for the briefest of moments before his eyelids fall.
Their pupils had been reduced to slits.
A confusion of sensations, before he realizes what was happening.
Ashiya's heart jumps in his throat, he could barely breathe. His hand drops from Abeno's wrist and clutches at his kimono, trying to push him away, in vain.
His rage.
His sorrow.
Everything pushed away, with force, into a corner of his mind.
The pulse of his soaring heart, sapping him of his strength.
Their scents mixing together...so warm.
Strangely comforting.
Ashiya's aware of the heat crawling up his neck. The way his mind starts to fog after a few kisses, with his lungs straining for air and his lips, his tongue growing numb with a sweet kind of sensation that made him feel-
Until he feels the sharpness of fangs on his lip again, the taste of blood.
Ashiya could feel the shudder that goes through Abeno's body and he withdraws, just a bit. Still so close.
"A-Abeno...san..."
"Shut...up." His breathing laboured, staring at Ashiya with a ferocity that Ashiya had never seen before, "Stop talking."
There's a drop of blood, Ashiya realizes, going down his own lip. One of Abeno's fingers touches it and he can't stop a shudder of his own. "Wait, wait-"
"Don't say anything else."
The warmth of his tongue chasing the red, for just the briefest of moments.
The hand on Ashiya's cheek, strangely tender, his thumb brushing the streak of red away.
They stare at each other. So strangely reminiscent of the times they'd stared each other down. Enemy to enemy.
Ashiya's heart is pounding, the air between them felt strangely heated to his skin.
Why...?
But when Abeno leans in again, Ashiya's eyes do close this time. And he can't find it in himself to resist.
One more kiss gradually giving way, to one more. One more...
Abeno leans in more, trapping Ashiya more against the wall.
It feels...
A blush, creeping up on the back of his neck, his ears, an emotion, an intensity unfamiliar to him. His breath, his words fading on his tongue.
Abeno's hands pinning Ashiya's wrists to the wall.
Abeno draws back yet again. Just a little, this time.
And Ashiya inhales sharply as he feels Abeno's lips trace from his own, down his chin, down his neck...
Over his heart..
And the sharpness of fangs over his skin.
"...Ow...!"
It hurts, when Abeno bites down. And he thinks he hears a low sound.
Almost like a growl.
"Abeno...san?!"
Was he...going to be eaten?!
The threat of danger snaps Ashiya out of whatever imminent daze he was in, and he pushes at Abeno's chest. His heart beating wildly, echoes of it trapped in his throat, his ears, he barely even manages to choke out,"What are...you doing?!"
"...Rgh..."
Abeno's voice is strained, and he raises his eyes to meet Ashiya's.
Even in here, through the shadowy alleyway, Ashiya could see those demonic markings on his face, near his eyes, over his cheeks.
It's supposed to frighten him. But it's so beautiful, it makes his heart stutter.
Mine.
A quiet voice in his mind.
A single whisper in his thoughts. Shivers down Ashiya's spine.
And seeing this, Abeno blinks.
The markings recede.
"...Tch!"
He throws himself off of Ashiya and into the shadows.
With his shoulders slumped, chest heaving, Ashiya leans heavily against the wall. Wiping his mouth.
What was...that?
When he touches his lips, they felt swollen.
"...!"
A flush on his cheeks that he resolutely ignores. Keeping his eyes trained on Abeno's form.
"...If you want to live so badly."
Ashiya starts, just then. "Huh?"
"If you want to protect them so badly..." Abeno repeats, with that same, intense gaze trained on him, "Then don't be so reckless with the life that was given to you. That includes following demons...in strange places."
His voice is so strained.
"You're the one who pulled me in here!"
"Right." A dry, tired chuckle, "...This is enough. This should be enough.
"Enough?"
And with that, Abeno melds into the shadows themselves.
"Abeno-san?!"
Without even thinking twice, Ashiya rushed forward.
But he had already disappeared.
And in the silence that follows, broken only by his own quiet breathing, his mind a mess of thoughts.
Confusion, dread, and emotions he couldn't even hope to identify creeping into his body, his very soul.
"What...the hell was that?"
He asks to the empty air.
With the sounds of laughter of his world, behind him, in a place where no one can see him.
Away from the lamplights...
The secrets he has to keep have increased again.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
This is enough.
With this, in the days to come, he'll survive.
In the dim lights, of a town lost in their own celebration. For a phyrric victory, at best.
Abeno stares down at his hand.
Where Ashiya's seal grew.
Through the rough design of the net, at the heart of it all, the smallest buds of bright blue flowers grew.
The traces of blood, still on his lip.
Slowly those lips trace the soft blue.
"This is enough for now."
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