Chapter Text
Why did I have to do this?
The snickering of his peers was long since out of earshot.
Shuichi Saihara, in his junior year of high school, had been dared by his so-called 'friends' to venture into a nearby wood that was rumored to be haunted.
Given the fact that his friends (apart from Kaede, Rantaro, and Kaito) just use him for laughs and only ever convince him to do things they won't do themselves, Shuichi had no clue why he agreed. They always asked him to get them things, do them favors, and do stupid stuff to see what would happen, always too scared to do it themselves.
Hence why he was in the middle of a large forest, not even sure what he was looking for so he could just find it and get out of there. It was broad daylight outside, he could see it through the gaps between the thick dark trees, but the canopy above was so thick and layered that it was like midnight underneath.
Shuichi sighed. He just wanted to get out of here already. The grass was covered in leaves and twigs, some of which made a satisfying crunch when stepped on. He grabbed a small stick and fidgeted with it as he walked, observing the surroundings. Save for the fact that it was extremely dark, the area was actually quite beautiful. The air was moist and cool, and the grass beneath his feet was lush. He might've hung out there more often if it weren't apparently creeping with ghouls he had yet to find.
Suddenly he felt a breeze behind him and heard a quick rustling of leaves. He froze.
There was no breeze that deep into the woods. The hundreds of trees would've blocked it long before it ever reached where he was. He turned around to observe, but all he found was a leaf slowly drifting to the ground.
"Hello?" He knew someone was there. Nothing else could have caused that noise, he hadn't seen a single animal since he stepped into the woods. "Yumuro? Hideki?"
The assumed culprits, the ones who had pressured him into going into the forest in the first place, didn't offer a reply. He pursed his lips and gripped the stick he was holding tighter.
"I'm not afraid of you!" He shouted finally, as if saying that meant he was going to have the last laugh, and hesitantly turned to continue through the woods. He wanted out of there now, and turning around—where whatever made that noise was—wasn't an option. He'd just have to go the rest of the way, straight through, and text the group when he made it home.
CRACK!
Shuichi practically levitated. He looked around frantically, then found with a relieved sigh that it was him who had stepped on a particularly thick branch and snapped it, causing the loud snap.
Aside from that, as his adrenaline faded Shuichi heard… crying? His adrenaline spiked once more as he held his feeble stick so tightly his knuckles bleached white, ready for anything to approach him.
But he didn't see anything for the whole minute he stood there. The noise gradually stopped, but Shuichi's innate curiosity was getting the better of him, and he took a step towards where he heard the sound coming from: the same place he'd felt the breeze. He took slow, paced steps, and he heard what sounded like whimpering coming from behind a tree over to his right. Now his fear was caving in to worry.
"Hello?"
What if a child was lost? What if someone had been taken into the woods against their will? There were so many instances where someone might need help, and Shuichi wouldn't regret it for a long time if he just ignored it. He slowly, slowly stepped around the tree, and…
There was a boy. A boy with pale, fair skin and dark hair that curled at the tips, clad in a white hospital-esque gown and bandages wrapped around the entirety of his arms and legs. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was gripping the roots of his hair tightly, pursing his lips to hold back sobs. His breathing was shaky and quiet. But more notable than all of that, as off-putting as it all was…
Were the small black horns protruding from his hair, and the thin black wings curled around his forearms, like they were protecting him.
Shuichi gasped and took a startled step back. What the hell was this?! Some kid in a Halloween costume? A sick prank? Or… was it an actual demon? Shuichi frantically looked around the ground and found a thicker stick, with jagged points on one end from being snapped in half. He grabbed it and kept it clutched in his hands tightly in case this thing decided to attack. The demon slowly opened his eyes and glanced at him. Its eyes were a brilliant royal purple. Once it spotted Shuichi and his 'weapon', its pupils sharpened into thin lines and it furrowed its eyebrows, trying to kick itself away.
"No! Bad! Bad!" It cried desperately. Its voice wasn't as childish or high as Shuichi thought it would be (though it still was to some degree), given his slim figure and child-like look... This thing must have been around Shuichi's age, if it even worked like that. It looked completely human save for the horns and tail… and the thinning pupils.
But it was afraid of him. Why? It had to have been more powerful than Shuichi was, so why was it so afraid?
"...Can you speak?" Shuichi asked slowly. The logical part of his mind was screaming at him to run, that this monster was going to end his life before it even really began. But his curiosity was much too strong. If this thing went out of the woods and got found it would surely be killed, and it hadn't harmed him yet. It was defensive, but not attacking. So far it was innocent, and Shuichi couldn't just leave an innocent being to die.
The thing stared at him for a second, suspiciously, and it nodded subtly. Shuichi nodded.
"Okay… Are you going to hurt me?"
The thing's eyes widened, and Shuichi could see the pupils slowly become rounder as it seemingly realized that Shuichi wasn't as much of a threat as it initially thought. It shook its head. Shuichi slowly bent down to put down the stick. The demon tensed up slightly the second he moved, and watched intently as he relinquished his weapon. Then, he sat on the ground in front of it, sitting on his heels and putting his hands on his knees where the shaking demon could see them. Intimidating this thing was not in his best interest, not in the very least.
"I'm not going to hurt you either," he said. "Where did you come from?"
The thing tensed even more and shook its head rapidly. "No!! Bad!"
Shuichi's brows raised. He took it that wherever this demon came from, going back wasn't on its agenda. He scooted forward just slightly and outstretched a hand that was supposed to be comforting, but it just seemed to scare it further. Its pupils sharpened again and it bared its teeth, the canines of which were sharp and pointed.
"Bad human! Bad!" He spat out violently. Shuichi lowered his hand and stayed put.
"Hey… I'm not gonna hurt you. I wanna help, see?" He raised his hands empty as if presenting his intentions. "Help. No bad. I promise."
The thing was breathing so heavily Shuichi watched its chest heave. Its eyes scanned him multiple times, and then it started to calm down once more.
"...No bad..?" It checked. Shuichi shook his head with a smile.
"No bad," he confirmed. "Do you have anywhere else to go? You can't stay here."
The thing seemed to ponder that. It looked around the forest, at the thick dark trees and the lush grass, and then looked back at Shuichi and shook its head. Its curly hair bounced slightly, making Shuichi smile. Then his smile dropped as the realization dawned on him: the demon couldn't stay in the woods, it couldn't stay at any facility, it definitely wasn't going to survive on its own, at least not in that area—it seemed to be afraid of humans. The only option left was for it to stay with someone who wouldn't harm it, who would care for it and teach it.
So far, the only person who met that criteria was Shuichi.
Shuichi was going to take in a literal demon thing he found in the woods and bring it to his house.
This was certainly going to make the coming week interesting.