Chapter Text
“Bring my son to me.” Akaashi walked forward, slowly, afraid of the amount of blood around him on clothes, the floor, and staining his father’s skin. “Keiji, my son, come here.”
“Yes, Papa,” he managed as he sat next to his father.
“Keiji, I need you to remember something. Please, always remember what I’m about to tell you,” his father began, struggling for breath. “You can never trust a demon, okay, son?” His father coughed, a small amount of blood dripping onto his chin. “Promise me, Keiji.”
“I promise, Papa.”
“All demons are evil and bloodthirsty. They will kill you the moment you let your guard down, they’re all the same. You can’t - ack ack - ever trust them.”
Akaashi nodded, his small hands wrapped around his father’s larger ones. “All demons are evil?” he asked.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Even Mama?”
Akaashi's father looked away for a moment, a flood of emotions crossing his eyes, too many feelings to name. He coughed a few more times before answering. “Especially Mama.”
The sounds of screams rang out into the black night as the fires tore down the old homes of the village. The townspeople ran in an attempt to protect themselves from the beasts ravaging their homes. A woman stood in the middle of the square, trapped by the fire spreading around her, a small child tucked in her arms, crying. She looked around frantically, her eyes pleading for someone to help her, but all the others ran, concerned for their own safety.
A large beast walked through the fire, unphased by the heat of the flames. He looked at her, his eyes hungry as he drank in her figure, and he licked his lips as he thought about the meal he was about to consume. He looked to be a bull demon, or some species similar based on his horns, hooves, and snout shape. His mouth opened in a cruel smile as he bore his fangs at the woman, tears streaming down her face as she held the child closer to her chest.
Quickly, as if manifested by the air itself, a metallic sound cut through the night and the flesh of the demon. His head flew from his shoulders and tumbled to the ground, a splash of blood landing on the woman’s kimono, before the body folded and crumbled in the dirt.
The woman looked down at the fallen figure and then up to the fire around her, unsure of where the blow had been dealt. In front of her stood a young man, maybe twenty, with long black hair pulled into a neat braid down his back, parts of it falling into his face, wielding a large katana. His eyes were a deep blue, darker and more powerful than the flowing waterfall nearby. He ran to her, grabbed her quickly, and carried her and the child to the nearest home. As he set her down, she smiled at him for a moment, and then took in the small growth on his forehead, and felt a pang of fear. He must have registered her emotions as he took off quickly and began to cut through the other demons wreaking havoc on the village.
Another man, older, moved swiftly through the village as well, cutting down the demons with smaller blades. He had shorter hair, sandy in color, and moved stealthily around the fire and buildings. The two men worked in tandem until there was nothing left but the corpses of the bull demons lying in the dirt.
When the sun rose, the village people came out to greet the older man. The village leader moved forward to shake his hand. “We cannot thank you enough for protecting our village, Ukai-sama. Please, accept these gifts of gratitude on behalf of my people,” he said, handing over a basket of food, tobacco, and other goods.
“You’re welcome, ojiisan. It’s all in a day’s work for a demon slayer.”
“I must ask you a question, though. My granddaughter noticed something about the boy who is with you,” the man said, his voice a little quieter.
“Do you mean, Akaashi-kun?” Ukai asked, gesturing to the young man who continued to work silently, clearing the demon corpses on his own. He gathered them into a pile, getting them ready to burn.
“Yes. She mentioned a strange growth on his forehead. She mentioned it looked like…”
“A horn? Yes, Akaashi is a half-demon.”
The old man looked at Ukai with wide eyes. “Are you not afraid that his blood will take over and he will succumb to his demon nature? He could harm you, kill you, could he not?”
“No. Akaashi may be half-demon, but his father was an excellent demon slayer as well. He has blood from both parents flowing through him, but neither is stronger than the other. He would never let the demon side overtake him, he couldn’t. I believe that being a half-demon helps him be a better demon slayer. He knows how they think, their instincts. But he has the humanity of a human being. I can understand the hesitation, there aren’t many half-demons in existence and we don’t know much about them. But I can assure you, my safety is not in jeopardy.”
The old man nodded, but his eyes still looked hesitant. Ukai gave him a bow and took his leave to help Akaashi finish disposing of the demon corpses. They lit the pile with a small bit of flint and watched as it engulfed them, the red flames quickly turning green as they mixed with the demon flesh.
“The villagers are still afraid of me,” Akaashi said that night as he and Ukai finished their supper. It wasn’t a question, he recalled the look in the woman’s eye, how her face shifted from gratitude to fear as she noticed his horn. Ukai looked up at Akaashi, his eyes confirming Akaashi’s thoughts. “It’s all because of this stupid thing.” He gestured to his horn, pulling back his long locks.
The horn had started to grow faster recently, Ukai could not explain why. Akaashi was far past puberty, so it didn’t make sense for it to sprout uncontrollably. It began to grow when Akaashi was about seven. He remembered feeling a sharp pain, waking him from his sleep, and the look on Ukai’s face as he took in the sharp black abrasion piercing through Akaashi’s skin. He had not shown any other signs of his demon side, he had nothing from his mother’s family other than his looks. Ukai told him that he had the same black hair and blue eyes as his mother, Akaashi vaguely remembered his father having dark brown hair and brown eyes.
As he got older, the horn grew, until it curled downward and became more difficult to hide. After seeing the way others looked at him, although he protected them by slaying demons, he decided to cut it. Ukai found him outside, a cloth rag in his mouth to help silence the screaming, blood dripping down his face and staining his hair, and the horn lying on the ground. He didn’t approve of the alteration, but he knew there was little he could do to prevent Akaashi from doing it. Eventually, he gave in and assisted to ensure Akaashi’s safety. After a few years, the horn grew less frequently. Akaashi was able to grow his hair out long enough to cover it almost fully.
“That ‘thing’ is part of you, Akaashi-kun. People fear what they don’t know and make enemies in the world, even of their allies.”
“That might be true, but what am I going to do if they turn on me one day?”
“They won’t, they would be too afraid to do so. You see the way they cower from demons and beasts.”
“They have good reason to be afraid. Demons are despicable creatures. They only know how to hurt, murder, and hunt. They’re vile,” Akaashi spat.
“You’re not.” Akaashi looked up at Ukai, he wore a soft smile on his face, a tobacco pipe in his mouth. “While we may not understand them, demons have motivations as well. And as we spend our time taking away their lives, I sometimes think we forget how hateful humans can be as well.”
“Ukai-sama, why do you continue to care for me? I know my presence makes it more difficult for you to get work. People don’t want to call on a demon slayer that keeps a demon as a pet. And besides, I’m a man now, I don’t need to be a burden to you any longer.”
“Akaashi, your father was one of my closest friends. And before he died, I agreed to watch over you. I know that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself. To be truthful, you’re doing me a favor by staying with me. You’re stronger than I am, and it’s nice not to be alone. You’ll never be a burden. If you ever feel like you should leave, I won’t stop you. But I will never ask you to go.”
“Thank you, Ukai-sama.”
“Let’s head to bed.”
The next morning, Ukai left for a village a few hours away. “I’ll be leaving you here to watch over things while I’m gone. I feel as though there is a strong demon presence in the vicinity, and now that the bulls are gone, another clan may try to take ownership of the nearby village. Protect them if something happens.”
Akaashi nodded, seeing Ukai off. He spent the day tending to his katana, cleaning their small home, and fishing for some food he could dry and store for the winter months. As night approached, Akaashi built a fire and put on a kettle. Fall was approaching, making the nights cooler. As he poured the hot water into his mug, he was startled by the sound of a loud bang against the side of the home. Akaashi grabbed a smaller knife and slowly walked outside to inspect the area.
As Akaashi turned the corner, he noticed something on the ground. He walked closer to inspect it and realized it was a bird, no, and owl. “That’s odd. Did it fly into the wall? I didn’t think owls were that clumsy,” he whispered to himself. He walked a little closer and noticed a smattering of blood staining the white feathers. The owl opened one eye, a bright golden color, and looked up at Akaashi. It was strange, it looked as if he were pleading with him.
Akaashi sighed and gingerly lifted the bird and carried it inside. Once near the fire, Akaashi was able to inspect the owl a little better. It was mostly white, with black spots streaking across its feathers, the black especially prominent at the tip of each wing. Its eyes were bright gold, and it looked almost like it had two horns on either side of its head. He looked over the area that had the most blood and noticed something poking out, some sort of shard.
“I’m going to pull this out, okay?” he asked the owl. He felt a little silly talking to a bird, but it felt like the creature understood him as it closed its eyes. He carefully pulled out the sharp piece of glass stuck in the wing, the owl letting out a loud screech. “Sorry, it’s out. Here,” Akaashi grabbed a cloth and dipped it in the water he had boiled for his tea. He tapped the area lightly, cleaning some of the blood, before wrapping the wing with a dry piece of cloth.
Akaashi smiled at the owl before laughing a little to himself. “I guess you’re my only friend, little guy. Too bad I don’t know your name. Oh well, time for bed. We can see if you can use that wing tomorrow.” Akaashi set the owl on Ukai’s futon next to his and then laid down on his own. He chuckled a little when he felt the owl settle in close to the back of his neck. “You want to stay with me? That’s fine, there’s enough room. Goodnight, Owl-kun.”
Akaashi woke the next morning, feeling hot. The sounds of birds outside resonated in the small home, along with soft snoring; he wondered if Ukai had come back in the middle of the night. He went to stretch, but as he looked down, he noticed a pair of strong arms wrapped around him, the fingers a dark color, almost black.
He turned to look behind him and felt his eyes go wide at the sleeping figure curled up beside him, two large horns jutting from either side of the top of his forehead. Akaashi jumped from the futon and grabbed his katana. His jerking movements caused the sleeping man to stir and look up at him. “Ugh, what’s happening,” his voice croaked, full of sleep.
“Who are you? I demand you answer me now,” Akaashi yelled, katana in hand.
“Huh? Oh, good morning,” the man said, still lying on the futon. “It’s still early, do we need to get up right now?” He closed his eyes and rolled over, his back to Akaashi.
“How did you get in here?”
He turned back over, opening his eyes. The shone a bright gold, almost terrifying, but soft at the same time. “What are you talking about? You carried me in.” Akaashi looked at him, confused. And then, for the first time, he noticed the cloth around the man’s arm, torn slightly, and struggling to stay on around the muscular bicep. There were patches of feathers coating the man’s forearms, white with specks of black, and a few stained with blood. Realization dawned on him.
Akaashi pushed the katana up to the man’s throat, coaxing him to stand. “ Demon,” he growled. “You are not welcome here. Leave at once.”
“Again, you brought me in here. I would have been just fine outside on my own. You humans are all the same. You have some sort of God complex when you see a wounded animal, you think you can just heal it with a kiss and a bandage. Or you just kill things when you please. I just needed time, my body is far superior to yours. I would have healed on my own.”
“Then why are you still here? Leave.”
“I would… but I was being chased.”
“That’s not my problem.”
“Come on, you’re going to send me out into the woods where some crazy demon is trying to kill me? Naked?” Akaashi looked down and noticed that the man was nude. He felt his face go red, realizing that he had been curled up to Akaashi not too long ago, his body pressed against Akaashi’s back.
“Where are your clothes?” Akaashi asked, his voice giving off an air of exasperation. “I thought you said you would have been fine on your own.”
“They’re somewhere in the woods. They come off when I turn into an owl and fly. You wouldn’t expect them to stay on, would you? That would be pretty cumbersome, to carry large clothing when I transform. Could you imagine? It’s also easier to run through the woods naked, I’m a lot faster.”
“Listen, I don’t care who’s chasing you or your stance on nudity in public settings, it’s time for you to leave.”
“Come on, you wouldn’t throw out a fellow owl demon, would you?”
Akaashi paused. “Excuse me?”
“You’re an owl demon too, right? I mean, you look pretty human, smell pretty human, too. But your horn looks familiar, I don’t think we’re from the same clan, but I’ve seen it before. Yours looks short though. It looks like it’s been cut. Did you get into a fight with someone? Why do you only have one?” Akaashi took a step back, sheathing his katana slowly. He pulled out some pants and threw them at the man to put on. He understood and obliged.
“Who are you?” Akaashi asked.
“I’m Bokuto Koutarou of the Fukurodani clan. It’s nice… to um... we’re meeting… I don’t know if it’s exactly nice since you tried to kill me. But you didn’t kill me, so that’s good. What’s your name?”
“No.”
“What? Seriously? You’re not going to tell me your name? You held a sword up to my throat and got to see me naked-”
“I ‘got’ to see you naked? It wasn’t really a choice,” Akaashi shot back.
“Regardless, you saw me naked, all exposed, you can at least give me a name to pair with that pretty face,” Bokuto smiled.
Akaashi scowled at Bokuto, unamused. “Really? Are you flirting with me, Bokuto-san? I didn’t ask to see any part of you, and I could have gone an eternity without it, trust me.”
“You had to have liked some of it… a little bit… I’m not that ugly… am I?” his face grew a little sad, a stark contrast to the confident demeanor he wore mear seconds prior.
“Um… no.” The light returned quickly and he stepped forward, too close to Akaashi.
“Really? Do you think I’m cute?”
“Akaashi Keiji,” Akaashi stated, plainly, trying to derail this current train of thought.
“What?”
“My name is Akaashi Keiji. Now, you mentioned something about an owl demon, tell me more.”
“What do you want to know? We’re demons and we turn into owls, that about sums it up, I guess.”
“But demons are evil creatures. They murder people. They destroy villages and lives and tear families apart. I can’t buy that all you do is just turn into an owl and fly around.”
“Where did you hear all that stuff? I don’t know anyone in my clan who has hurt anyone. I mean, sure, there are some really scary demons out there, I’ve heard of them. I was chased by one earlier. But there are a lot of us who just want to live our lives. Shouldn’t you know that? You’re an owl demon too, I can smell it. It’s faint, but it’s there.”
Akaashi looked down, unsure of how to react. His father had never told him what kind of demon his mother was, and he couldn’t recall any memories of her from his childhood, he didn’t even remember what she looked like. All he knew about demons was that they were vile creatures, the enemy of the human race, and they needed to be destroyed. Had he been led astray his entire life?
“Can you bring me to the others? The ones like you?” Akaashi asked.
“Um… sure. But I don’t know if that’s the best idea.” Bokuto suddenly looked a little apprehensive. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked toward the ground, avoiding eye contact.
“Why not?”
“Well, as I said, you look really human, and you smell really human. Which probably means you’re half-human? I’ve never met anyone who was a half-breed, I don’t know anyone who has either. We’re afraid of humans. They’re dangerous.”
“What?” Akaashi asked, surprised. “Humans aren’t dangerous.”
“Yes, they are. They hunt us. They don’t listen when we say that we’re peaceful. They kill us, even when we are not in our yōkai form. There are demon slayers that just think we are evil. They get paid to turn in our horns or wings. I mean, even you attacked me as soon as you realized I was a demon, even though you’re a demon, too. Why wouldn’t we be afraid of you?”
Akaashi took a step back. He had never thought about it the way Bokuto had explained it. Were there demons who feared humans the same way humans feared demons? Was there a way they could coexist with one another, stop interfering with the others’ lives? What about the demons that would attack villages and harm the women and children? Did they do it out of fear, pleasure? He had so many questions.
“Please take me with you. I want to know more, I don’t know anything about my demon side. It’s always been kept a secret from me. I want to know about the owl demons like me. Please, Bokuto-san.” Bokuto looked at Akaashi, still unsure.
He sighed deeply before replying, “Fine. We can go together. Do you have a shirt I could wear? It’s a little chilly.”
“Sure,” Akaashi smiled. “Let me pack some stuff, leave something for my sensei - to let him know I’m okay - and then we can go.”
Akaashi found something from Ukai’s clothing to give to Bokuto and then penned a note to him, informing him that he would be leaving, and not to worry about him. He packed some essential items in a small sack, including his katana, and then looked at Bokuto. “Are you ready?” Bokuto asked. Akaashi nodded.
They walked out of the small home, Akaashi felt a little nervous. He had never trusted a demon before, it went against every fiber of his being to do so. But Bokuto knew so much more about him in a span of a few minutes than Akaashi knew about himself in all twenty years of his life. He had always been curious about what his mother’s family was like, what kind of demon she was, maybe he would be able to meet someone like her. The only way to find out was to look. They began walking, into the woods together, a journey Akaashi could have never predicted.