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In an almost panicked hurry, Midori dashed his way to an abandoned old shed where he was going to spend the day. After he slammed the door shut, he slid down on the ground and sat. He signed in relief that he escaped another blow from the sunlight, but also from irritation that he was lately almost getting himself killed by the sun.
As he sighed through, the demon realised that he wasn't alone. There was another demon with him. And that demon was none other than.. Ryuhei. Needless to say, Midori was surprised to see him here.
"Huh, i thought you would be hiding in your... alternate little dimension or whatever it is." Midori quietly chuckled. "I didn't even think about you hiding in a normal place like.. this one." He gestured towards the walls and the ceiling.
"Shut up." Ryuhei crossed his arms while looking at Midori. "Just like you probably thought, this was the nearest place were i could hide. Plus, it's probably safer than that one.. mansion, or a pharmacy.. or whatever it was back there!"
"Ah yes. The mansion where the only residents are just some girls." Midori rolled his eyes.
"They are not just 'some girls'." Ryuhei uncrossed his arms and let them touch the ground. "Remember that some of them have the ability to kill us. It is no joke when it comes to these types of women unfortunately.."
"And how exactly are you so sure that they specifically are that dangerous?"
"Because i've seen one of them perform a kill.."
---
"..So," Midori spoke out of nowhere, "when did you even manage to see one of these women fight?"
"Huh?"
"I don't know, i just wanted to ask."
"Mount Natagumo." Ryuhei uttered.
"Excuse me..?"
"Back in Mount Natagumo, when we almost got our hands on those two siblings that you were so obsessed with hunting down.." Ryuhei began, "..right before i managed to get you, and myself, out of there, i saw a peculiar woman." He crossed his legs as he sighed, then continued to talk. "For a split second, i saw how she killed one of these spider demons.. Even though far away, i could feel the pure hatred that woman was hiding behind this seemingly innocent look.."
"Mm-hm." Midori was not interested in hearing about the story that Ryuhei was sharing in the slightest. He tried his best to listen and not interrupt, because he did not want another awkward sequence of silence.
---
"Oi, you good..?" Midori suddenly asked at the sight of the fellow demon, who seemed to act.. weirdly desperate. Pupils rapidly moving from side to side, relatively heavy breathing, arms and knees slightly shaking.. Midori then quickly realised what was happening with him.
It was hunger.
Midori however didn't want to keep him waiting till the moon comes out, so he could eat safely. He had to think of another way of satisfying Ryuhei's need for food.
---
Ryuhei backed away by an inch when he saw his fellow demon try to chew his own foot off. It felt oddly nauseating seeing and smelling the blood of another demon. Especially one's that came from literal self harm for seemingly no reason and out of the blue. It internally shocked Ryuhei to the point where he did not want to be in the same room with Midori.
Yes, Midori was irritating to him, but that was something entirely else. That was an unexpectedly repulsive act, even for Midori.
"Here. Eat."
"???"
"..What..?!" Ryuhei cocked his head away in disgust.
"Do not tell me 'what' and eat!" Midori demanded as he vertically shook his wounded leg.
"EAGH!! Like hell i will!" Ryuhei shouted as he backed away.
"Listen, i'm currently your only source of food. And i am not going to let you starve just because you're scared of tasting something that is far from your picky preference!"
"Oh, goddamn it, Midori.." Ryuhei facepalmed. "..This is NOT about preferences!"
Midori lowered his wounded calf in confusion for a second. "Then what is it?"
"I don't feel comfortable eating the flesh or drinking the blood of another demon–"
"Oh so now we care about cannibalism?!"
"What the hell does THAT mean?!!"
"I recall that you told me yourself that you were really curious to taste the flesh of that girl." Ryuhei raised a brow, as he didn't remember a thing about telling Midori that he wanted to eat a specific girl's flesh. "You know which one i'm talking about."
"Midori. I seriously do not—"
"The one with a habit of kicking while fighting? The one wearing a pink kimono with a distinctive pattern? The one who never talks.. and wears a bamboo muzzle?"
Ryuhei fell silent and look down.
"And also... The one who's also a demon?" Ryuhei's brows furrowed as he grimaced. "Did that ring a bell to you?"
"..." Despite not having visible irises, Ryuhei's eyes were rapidly moving in different directions. "Okay, now, listen, with this one it's different, because she's a—"
"Oh. So it is still about your preference. Got it."
"Midori, enough. No matter how many times you try to convince me, i won't eat from your flesh."
---
An hour passed. Ryuhei wasn't looking great at all now. The hunger that was starting to show more on his face. The veins around his brows and jawline were becoming more prominent, saliva was slowly coming out of his mouth, which in turn was half open, only showing his teeth that were very lightly grinding against each other. Out impatience, and hunger too, Ryuhei has started to carve the nails on his hands onto the wooden floor.
Midori did not want to see the other demon like this. So he offered him his wounded leg again.
"Just one bite." Midori dragged himself closer. "Only one, so you won't go nuts."
"Midori.. i already fucking told you.." Ryuhei paused once he accidentally eyed the wound. "Why didn't it regenerate yet..?"
"So i won't have to go through the same process again." Midori responded. "Uh, listen. It's very clear to me that you're starving right now, and i would feel a bit less stressed if you accept my offer and eat my flesh!"
"..." Ryuhei kept staring at the wound. "Why do you insist on this so much—?"
"Good god, just eat already!" Midori snapped as he dragged himself even closer. "Just bite the damn leg already and let's get this over with!"
But that did not result in anything. Ryuhei just ended up backing away even more, to the point where he was almost one with the wall. Guess that meant that Midori had to use a different approach in making him eat.
---
"Hey—"
"NO." Ryuhei barked.
Midori almost jumped before he could say anything else. But he wasn't giving up. Not with the current idea that he had in mind.
"You know you don't have to think it's me you're eating flesh from, right?"
"...?" Ryuhei questioned his question in mind. "The hell do you mean..?"
"Image it's this girl's flesh and blood that you're drinking. Would that help you eat in peace?"
Ryuhei sighed deeply as he rubbed between his eyes. "I can imagine it alright, but it definitely won't hit the same if i take a glance at you."
"Then, well.. close your eyes then." Midori offered. "Who said that you need to look specifically? You can just close down your eyes and... basically imagine everything."
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"But of course!! Why didn't i just thought about it!" Ryuhei sarcastically thought to himself. He finally decided to accept Midori's offer, mostly because he got on his nerves again, and Ryuhei did not want his head to hurt again.
The bog demon grabbed the calf of the lesser demon, hesitatingly looking at the wound. He couldn't help but slightly grimace at the sight.
"Don't forget the thing i said. Close your eyes first!"
"Nghhh...." He then slowly closed his blood-red eyes and sunk his front teeth into the flesh.But it sure was difficult to imagine that it's a girl's flesh that he was trying to chew on, since the skin and meat were more rough. As expected, since Midori was a grown man in his mid twenties, probably. Ryuhei just couldn't imagine the hypothetical softness of the flesh that he really wished to taste.
Blood then began to slowly ooze out on his lips, then it found its way around his teeth, gums, and tongue. Surprisingly to him, Midori's blood was easy to imagine as if it belonged to the girl's. Because of its typical iron taste, combined with a tinge of saltiness and oddly enough.. a slight hint of sweetness.
It was a perfect combination of tastes that could fit both a sweet-looking girl, or a grown man with rough skin.
Ryuhei was now glad that he was given the choice to eat with closed eyes and imagine. He felt less nauseous and more... well, now he felt like he was going to fly all the way to the seventh sky.
"Why..?! Why does it have to taste so good?!" Ryuhei thought as he started to rip off small pieces of meat from the calf and the ankle with the sides of his mouth where his fangs were.
From time to time he would get his teeth on some tendons, that were a bit more difficult to chew on. But taste wise, they still had that little juiciness in them.
---
When Ryuhei finally opened his eyes, he felt like he was getting.. a bit better. He turned his head towards Midori, who was casually sitting on the wooden floor across him. He smirked sharply, asking him, "So... how was the taste?"
Ryuhei looked down at Midori's foot where the wound was supposed to be. It was all gone now. He has regenerated it completely.
He sighed, annoyed by the reminder that the whole time he was eating the flesh and blood of some lesser demon man.
"...I suppose it was ok."
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