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The basket of bokbunja berries slips out of Sieun’s grip, the small basket lays on the ground next to Sieun’s feet as the berries spill out. His hand slips from its place in Suho’s, berries squished as Sieun's feet run over them. He has only one place in mind. One place he has to go to.
He feels queasy as he’s passing by the dead bodies, all the familiar faces that have been mauled to their death by some sick creature. Creatures? He doesn’t know, doesn't care. He just knows he has to see if Beomseok is safe. Alive. He has to be.
Suho can only stand frozen in his spot as Sieun sets off, the taste of vomit tickling the back of his throat. Limbs unconnected from their bodies are scattered around the village, dead bodies laid in sickening positions, and blood splattered like it’d just rained. An unanticipated noise coming from where Sieun had run off to moments before has Suho coming out of his daze; not wasting time to find Sieun. The berries they'd spent all day picking for their friend who had seemed to be having a hard time lately left forgotten on the dirty ground.
The sight of Yeon Sieun desperately digging at what remains of their home has Suho’s feet come to a halt, out of breath; watching as Sieun continues to dig and dig. His hands grips the side of his pants, his teeth digging into his tongue to hold back the tears threatening to leave his eyes.
“Sieun-ah,” Suho weakly calls out. He can't find the strength to actually say the words in his mind, everyone's dead. Beomseok is dead. He can only dejectedly watch as Sieun desperately grips the rubble, not even glancing where he throws it into the distance. His pace slows, exhaustion taking over his body; the adrenaline that gave Sieun the strength to move boulders to find a boy that'd been family to him finally extinguished. Beomseok is dead. Suho hopelessly stares at Sieun's shoulders that shake under the overwhelming weight of his grief.
“I’m sorry. It seems I’ve arrived too late.” The sudden voice from behind Suho has him jumping in surprise, subconsciously putting his body in front of the mysterious man's line of sight to Sieun. The boy on the ground tilts his head, trying to peek around Suho’s figure at the new individual. I couldn't even hear his footsteps.
The man later introduced himself as Jeon Seok-dae. A Pillar— in other words a high ranking member— of the demon slayer corps. A corporation dedicated to killing man-eating demons. Seok-dae didn't try to offer comfort with words, dedicated to silently give it with his actions; helping the two boys bury all the villagers they'd known their whole lives. He'd even grabbed flowers from the nearby field to place on each one of their graves before the three left.
The two boys end up accepting Seok-dae’s later request of them coming with him, explaining everything the two curious boys had to ask about man-eating demons and the demon slayer corps as they walked farther and farther away from the village the two boys had never thought of leaving. Their hearts heavy, not wanting to leave Beomseok alone like this. He didn't propose for them to join, only answering their questions and taking them to a demon slayer guesthouse for the night. He didn't want to risk their lives if the demon decided to come back.
"How do we become demon slayers?" Sieun's sudden question had both Seok-dae and Suho stopping in their tracks, Seok-dae only turning his head to silently stare at Sieun. Sieun silently stares back, unblinking. Seok-dae blinks, processing the question. Nodding, he lets out a small hum before turning his head back around to continue walking on.
"Come on."
"Beomseok-ah," Sieun calls out, twigs snapping under his feet as he walks deeper into the woods. It was creepily silent, no birds singing or crickets chirping. Sieun was alone. No Beomseok. No Suho. The atmosphere was weird, it felt as if he was in a kids fairytale. The way the sun shined down, making the plants glow, it was unsettlingly beautiful. Sieun could recognize all the plants, could even list a few of the medical benefits from digesting them. But the plant he always seemed to find everywhere he looked were white chrysanthemums. Death.
The sudden sound of a tree falling grabs Sieun's attention, turning his head the direction it came from. The sound of someone struggling followed shortly after, making Sieun decide to go see what was happening. The sound of struggling slowed down into nothingness as Sieun snuck closer, the noises of someone's chewing starting up.
His heart raced as he got closer and closer, the sound becoming more clear the closer he got. Someone was eating. Like a beast at that, smacking their lips as they slurped up whatever they were eating. Sieun, quietly as possible, pushes the bush covering his view from where the sound of the hungered person's chewing came from.
Under the shade of the trees one man was laid in the other's lap. The man with the man in his lap was concerningly pale, fangs poking out of his mouth as he devoured the arm of the man laying in his lap.
Beomseok. The young dead boy laying in the creature's lap being eaten was Beomseok. His eyes were open while his body succumbed to gravity everytime the demon moved, the need to throw up growing in Sieun stomach. His hands go to cover his mouth, the sight of Beomseok's plae face and wide dead eyes burning itself into Sieun's brain.
Sieun springs up from where he laid on his back, sweat dripping down his face as panicked gasps escape his lips; eyes frantically darting all over the room, as if something was going to pop out and attack them. Suho wakes immediately at the movement, subconsciously his hand finds its way to gently pat Sieun's back. Beomseok's gone. Suho doesn't ask. He knows. All he can give Sieun is his silent comfort and understanding. Their whole village was dead, there was only a slim possibility that their best friend had made it out. Not finding Beomseok's body only gave their seed of hope more room to bloom.
Tears make their way down Suho's face without a sound, Sieun turns to lay on his side to face Suho. Suho follows after him, silently staring back at Sieun as they both helplessly cry.
"Hold me," Sieun helplessly breathes out. Suho scoots up a bit closer, wrapping Sieun in his arms before pulling Sieun into his chest. Sieun grips the front of Suho's sleep shirt, pressing his ear right over where Suho's heart beats. Thank god, thank god you're alive. The soothing sound of Suho's steady heartbeat slowly brings Sieun a peaceful sleep he's longed for, no nightmares daring to return.
Seok-dae had refused to start training them right off the bat, giving them a couple days to come to terms with what had went down in their village. What they'd managed to survive. It was something that shook their world, bringing them into a new one that they'd have to train ruthlessly for.
Three days later they'd started their training, started living in the mountains. Suho had been given an old sword, Sieun a scrawny bow and arrows.
The boys trained and trained, running up and down the mountain; avoiding traps that Seok-dae set up to work on their endurance and reflexes. Seok-dae didn't believe it was possible for kids their age to have terrible stamina, he was brutally proven that Sieun's was worse than terrible.
Thus Seok-dae left him to train harder, dropping a mysterious "There's a way to fix that, you just need to breath right," that only left the panting teen boy more confused. Even after weeks, the boy still couldn't figure out what Seok-dae had meant by that.
Sieun and Suho did figure it out eventually though, a couple days after Suho had offhandedly commented on how weirdly measured Seok-dae's breathing was. So Sieun did what he did best, observe. And after days of observing, he copied. At first it had him out of breath, simple breathing was somehow made harder. He went to Suho about it, the boys trying to figure out why this was so weird, why Seok-dae does it.
The boys worked hard, putting their all into it. For Beomseok, for their village. Learning how Seok-dae breathed— Total concentration breathing, the name for how demon slayers breathed. They later learned from Seok-dae it was a way for them to muster up all their strength in battle by getting all the blood in their bodies pumping, as well as help temporarily stop any bleeding injuries they may gain in battle. Seok-dae complimented them, proud the two were learning so fast on their own.
After another another day of hard training the two agreed to walk around later into the night. They quietly tiptoed down the hanok, making sure to gently open and close the door as they leave. The two boys find their arms intangled together, soft noises coming from the gravel underneath their feet as they tried to keep quiet steps.
Their steps slowly find their usual volume as they get further, no longer worrying at the chances of being caught sneaking out. The two head up the hill, already knowing their destination. A little cozy area the two had found a couple days after having started training. A pond, plenty of medical plants surrounded with trees and tall bushes that helped hid the secret spot.
The two sit next to the pond, Suho's calfs dipped in the water while Sieun sits with his legs crossed. He doesn’t like how the cold feels after coming out of the water. Their conversation shifted from discussing fighting techniques and training to the wonders for what if's of becoming a demon slayer.
"Aren't you nervous? It's going to be us against crazy powerful beasts."
"I just.. wonder how it will be."
"You're too kind, it sometimes worries me." Suho suddenly confessed, his head shyly looking at his feet that nervously kicks the dirt at his feet. Sieun's eyebrows furrow, ignoring how his heart flutters at Suho calling him kind— focusing on his confusion on why the other boy would be worried about that.
"Worried? Why?"
"Because you'd be willing to put yourself at risk rather than let anyone else get injured." Sieun halts, his eyes stay staring onward as he slowly blinks. That's silly, Ahn Suho has always been kinder than him. Suho was always helpful, Sieun was not. Sieun didn't have much arm strength like Suho, he could not help any of the elders in the village when they were struggling to carry supplies. Suho could— he did.
"I'm not kind." Is all he says before starting to walk ahead once more. Suho stands still for a moment, processing the other boy's words. An astonished "huuuh?" leaves Suho's lips, slightly jogging up behind Sieun to close the sudden distance between them. Yeon Sieun is the kindest of all, Suho knows that. It is a fact. Yeon Sieun quietly observes, stepping in discreetly— not letting the person he's helping realize Sieun lended a hand. Sieun is a gentle soul, a bright way that silently shines to give you less of a hard time; helping people with his beautiful words.
The two boys only seemed to grow quicker as the months passed on, months turned into a year. A year turning to two years. Pride swelled in Seok-dae's chest, watching as Sieun didn't miss a single target with his arrows. Suho practicing his forms on a tree not too far away, his once clumsy jumbled movements no longer. His form now beautifully steady, leaving no openings for an opponent to get a good hit on him. With that, Seok-dae concluded they were ready for the final selection. They were ready to become demon slayers.
Nichirin swords were the common weapons used by demon slayers, weapons made solely for beheading demons. The ore the metal was made out of absorbed sunlight before being crafted into weapons. Because the sun was the only thing that could kill demons and Nichirin ore soaked the sun in for years and years, it made it to be the only two things able to kill demons. Nichirin swords were also known as 'The colour changing swords' because the colour changed based on the wielder's personality.
Two weeks after surviving their final selection their sword smiths had come to drop them off. The five of them sat cross legged in the main room, the three older men watching the younger boys take out their new weapons.
Sieun got a bow and arrows instead of the traditional sword, the end of the arrows being made of the nichirin metal. Seok-dae had told him it wasn't that rare to choose a different weapon and that it would benefit Sieun if he'd used a weapon that didn't require arm strength he didn't have. So Sieun ended up with bow and arrows, he had no complaints. He'd been working with bows and arrows since Seok-dae first took them under his wing. Sieun pull's the arrows out, watching as the metal of the arrows start turning green and white.
"Purity, growth and hope." His once assumed mute sword smith suddenly spoke, Sieun giving him a small confused look at his words. Seok-dae lets out a hum of agreement before they all turn their attention to Suho.
Suho, unlike Sieun, stuck with the traditional sword, the metal blooming into a beautiful blue shortly after unsheathing it. He observed it in complete awe, taking in how it seemed to glow.
"Justice, strength and truth." Are the words that leave Suho's sword smith's mouth, earning another hum from Seok-dae. The sudden sound of cawing from crows startles the two boys, turning to look at the opened window; where two crows land.
"Yeon Sieun, Ahn Suho, This is your first mission!"
They first stop at the tree they've dedicated to Beomseok, the bushes of Beomseok's favourite bokbunja berries glistening under the sunrays. They both fall down to their knees, Sieun reaching out to gently caress the bushes leaves— Suho's hands staying folded in his lap. It felt suffocating, leaving behind the last peices of Beomseok they had.
"We're leaving for out first mission, we probably won't be able to visit much. Sorry, Beomseok-ah. We hope you wish us luck."
Four months. It'd been four months since they've become Pillars. Five years since they've become demon slayers. It was weird, all the attention and respect that they'd gain. Suho had gotten used to it rather quickly, Sieun preferring to hide in his office than get all the unnecessary attention. Suho loved raving on about Sieun's medical skills, only going on more when Sieun took over the Rain Estate; becoming the head doctor.
"My smart boy Yeon Sieun~" He would sing out, making a flustered Sieun punch his shoulder everytime with a small mutter of 'shut up' as he turned to storm away.
Their rookie days of being Pillars flew by quickly with every mission and every injury, four months turning into two years. Their routine going from new to their normal everyday. A new part of their routines was two other Pillars— Go hyuntak and Park Humin, popularly known as Gotak and Baku. Later on Seo Juntae and Yeongi coming into their lives, assisting injured slayers with Sieun at the Rain Estate.
Baku, Gotak, Yeongi and Suho wandered around the crowded street, looking at what the street vendors were selling today. Suho moped as they made their way down the street, disappointed at the fact Sieun had to stay back to heal other's injuries. Stupid demon's. Yeongi just wanted to get some jewelry, Baku some food, and Gotak just came for the hell of it. Suho came to buy something for his bestfriend, he just didn't know what.
Maybe a new quill? No— oh maybe a new blanket? Sieun's been getting cold more lately, weirdly. Or maybe just something for him to snack on while he works? Ahh I don't know.
Suho roughly scratches his head, lightly whining at the feeling like his brain was going to explode. I don't know what to get him. He really wanted to get the other boy something, a gift for all the hard work he does every day.
"Don't think too hard, you might explode." Yeongi strolled up next to him, holding the hairpin she'd been eyeing for a bit. Suho let's out a grumble, sharply turning away from Yeongi.
"Don't talk to me. The world is cruel."
"Wow. Dramatic."
Suho spins around, glaring at the girl who doesn't even flinch. Yeongi gives him a smirk, shrugging her shoulders before diverting her attention back to the jewellery that laid on the table in front of her. Suho turns her head to look at what the stall over has to offer, eyes widening when they instead land on the unexpected figure of Yeon Sieun.
"My god, that idiot."
"Our Suho is such a sucker for the ice princess."
The three others whisper teases from behind Suho— who trips over his feet as he walks over to the boy he pined for; Baku not even trying to hold back his fit of giggles at the ridiculous sight. Without pausing his pace to Sieun, Suho shoots the giggling man a short glare over his shoulder. The smile blooms back onto his face once he's closer to Sieun, singing a small greeting to the short boy.
"I thought you were staying back?" Suho curiously asks, head slightly tilted. He's like a puppy. Sieun can only silently stare at Suho's face for a moment, taking in the sparkling eyes and joyous smile that's sure to haunt his dreams for the next couple of days. You shine like the sun, you're so warm.
"Not much patients, Juntae shooed me out saying he had things handled— plus things were slow and it was about time I took a break anyways." Suho has a satisfied expression on his face hearing that Juntae told Sieun to take a break— and he actually listened. Damn workaholic, never taking a break. Sieun scowls at the other's expression, his scowl only growing when Suho lets out a pleased hum.
"Are you looking for anything?" The two start walking down the street full of stalls, Suho's eyes not leaving Sieun. The excitement at Sieun being here— taking a break from his hard work, has Suho's heart racing. To have Sieun by his side is a blessing that Suho wouldn't even think to exchange for millions.
"Just some ingredients to try new poisons"
"Ahh, you're so smart Sieunnie," Suho praises. Sieun steps in front of the closest stall, grabbing a random trinket to bring up to his face to examine. He can feel the tips of his ears burning, while Suho cluelessly stands behind him. The gentle whispers of his fellow Pillars reaches his ears, casting a short glance over his shoulder to them.
"These two are something else."
"What? are you sure your lonely ass isn't just jealous?"
"Hey! I don't see a ring on your finger either."
Sieun starts walking their bickering friends way, Suho not far behind the shorter boy. He doesn’t pause as he passes by his friends, who stare at him dumbfounded as he walks past without a word. They toss a questioning look to Suho as he passes by, who responds with a shrug and his own confused look.
"Food."
The simple one word from Sieun has the others following him like little ducks, the Pillars with their big appetites ready to eat. They sit together at a table in the corner of a restaurant not too far from the street stalls, an absolutely flabbergasted worker stuck placing the tremendous bowls of food they ordered onto the table. Baku and Suho are barely holding themselves back from digging in before the others, licking their lips as they grab their chopsticks.
"Thank you for the food!"
Suho can hear the hushed conversations between the lower ranking slayers as he walks down the halls of the ‘Rain Estate’ (named after Sieun’s breathing style, Suho couldn't stop saying how cool Sieun was; making him very flustered from Suho's repeated praises.)
“All the Pillars are terrifying! But especially Mr. Yeon.."
Suho's ear twitches at that, his light footsteps changing it's course. Years of being a demon slayer had perfected his ability to sneak up on people. He stood behind the group of gossiping slayers as they continued chatting— unaware of the new presence. Two years of being Pillars and the lower ranks are still terrified of Yeon Sieun as ever. It always made Suho snort.
"He's so cold too— god, I don't know how the others approach him." One shivers— so over dramatic, it has Suho rolling his eyes. The other three eagerly nodding in agreement. You'd think Sieun did something cruel for them to speak of him like this.
"Hope your stay is going well~"
His sing-song voice startles the four of them, whipping around to face Suho. The realization that a Pillar was there— had heard them insulting another Pillar, turned their faces white as the bedsheets they comfortably sat on. The sight of their nervous behaviour has satisfaction blooming itself in Suho's chest, a smug grin on his face. The lower ranks watch as Suho's gaze lands onto one of of the slayers wrapped up arm, sweat forming on their foreheads.
"Aigoo, don't you know how long surgeries can take? If he wasn't nice he wouldn't save you." The tone Suho uses is so nauseatingly sweet— like he was talking to newborns. It makes the lower ranks desire the strength to run away, not being able to due to their injuries that needed its rest to heal.
"A-ah! Yes! The Rain Pillar is t-truly t-t-talented! Truly! And— and kind! Yes, yes!" One of them stammers out, shaking in his spot. Suho
lets out a satisfied hum, crossing his hands over his chest as he slowly nods. God, it's funny how intimidated the lower ranks get just at the sight of us.
"Do you know where he is right now?"
Yeongi eyebrows are pinched as she observes Sieun’s shaky hand, fighting against Sieun as he tries to finish whatever he’s writing. Sieun can feel her gaze burning into the side of his face, refusing to pay any mind to it he fights his own hand to continue writing. His hand isn't letting him win though, damn it.
“Drop the pen and sit on the bed,” without a word he complies to Yeongi’s sudden orders, not having the energy to try and go against her. He’s lost this time.
“You’re the head doctor but forget to check up on your own wellbeing?” Yeongi lightly teases the boy, taking a seat in front of Sieun before taking his hand. She quietly flips it over, intensely examining both sides.
“It not too bad. Just a bit of tingling.” Somewhat of the truth reluctantly leaves his lips, earning a small noise of understanding from Yeongi as she nods; slightly leaning back from Sieun as she moves her attention from his hand to his face.
“You’re probably working too hard, aish. I told you to stop overworking yourself and let Juntae and I deal with more of the injured.” She scolds, slightly sulking over Sieun overworking himself to this. Sieun lets out a breath, giving her a little ‘what’s done is done’ shrug, which only makes a sour look bloom on her face. Sieun glances out the window, noticing how low the sun had descended already– it’s getting to be about that time.
“If you feel so bad, you two can go deal with everyone’s injuries tonight.” He brings his gaze back to her, eyebrows slightly raised. She brings her hand up to her forehead, saluting, before standing up and rushing out of the room.
“Juntae-ah!”
Sieun could hear her call out, the excitement in her voice not well concealed. Juntae and Yeongi were good people, always happy to help the injured. Especially Juntae, he’d once admitted to Sieun– years ago, when he’d first joined the demon slayer corps– that he’d felt useless. So Sieun offered what he thought.
“Saving lives is not useless, it’s admirable. Working hours to make sure no one dies is hard, you’re just as honourable as those who fight on the field. You fight to save those lives and with them alive to fight man-eating demons, more lives are saved.”
Juntae’s sobbing after that was inconsolable, only being able to stop his tears to go into surgery for demon slayers that’d gotten seriously injured that night. It was the last time Juntae had talked about himself like that. Sieun was glad.
Sieun sits still for a moment— waiting. Confirming the coast is clear, not having heard anyone walk down the hall, he turns to pull something out of his desk drawer. A needle with a sickeningly purple tinted fluid inside it and a strong smell of flowers.
He brings the end of the needle to the inside of his elbow, gently inserting it before injecting the fluid is his vein. His eyebrows pinch together as he lets out a low hiss, intensely staring at the fluid he pushes into his body.
"Sieunnieee," Suho' sings out, startling Sieun into picking up his pace. He pulls the needle out, quickly throwing the it into one of his desk drawer's he knew no one would bother trying to go through. He turns around just as Suho opens the door, coming in with a mischievous smile on his face.
"What are you doinggg~"
Sieun let's out a fond sigh, the sight of Suho making his body untense; letting him relax. Suho walks up to the short boy, bringing his hands up to massage Sieun's shoulders. Suho's heart is hammering hard enough he feels him fingers tingling, thrilled to finally see Sieun after a mission that'd lasted three days. Three whole days he had to spend without his Sieunnie.
"Don't stress yourself out so much, gosh you're so stiff."
The demon's king visit to the headquarters was unexpected, the Pillars running towards the master's estate. It blows up as they're running, everything shaking as the Pillars gasp in shock before speeding up their pace.
"Muzan!" The outraged shout of that name has Sieun frozen in his spot for a second. Muzan. The one behind it all. The dead villages, dead families, dead friends. Beomseok. Sieun can hear the blood rushing in his ears, his body boiling in anger as he loads his bow; aiming a clear shot to Muzan's face. And without hesitation, he takes the shot.
His arrow misses by a few inches, the arrow flying over the demon king's head— the arrow only missing its target because Sieun's body suddenly falling down. The sudden lack of ground underneath his feet has Sieun let out a startled gasp, his body falling into a strange new area. Hanok's are everywhere, brightly lit, some were upside right, some upside down, and some sideways.
Sieun's eyes meet Suho's as they hurdled down, their hands reaching out to grasp one another's. Other demon slayers are falling down with them, but they can only focus on one another. Sieun, I got you IgotyouIgotyou. The tip of their fingers just barely graze each other, the two suddenly pulling back at a sudden peice of a roof coming in between them. Sieun's eye's slightly widen in surprise when a door appears with a strum of a gayageum.
"Sieun!" Suho cries out to the boy falling into the door that'd appeared underneath him. Suho desperately reaches out, their distance making it impossible to help Sieun.
"Suh—" His cry gets cut off after another strum of a gayageum, the door closing before disappearing with him. Suho calls out for Sieun once more, coming to land into a random room himself. He's able to stop himself from body slamming into the ground, his feet landing swiftly gentle as a feather. His hand grips the handle of his sword, head swerving to scan the new area. I have to find Sieun.
Sieun quietly walks down the hall, his speed would have Suho teasing him— asking if Sieun was a ghost. He keeps a steady pace, calmly walking with one hand wrapped around an arrow. Better safe than sorry.
Just as he's passing another room, a sudden slurping sound grabs his attention. It makes him pause midstep, head turned to intensely stare at the closed door. Sieun, as always, keeps his steps light; slowly nearing the ominous door. He tries to keep quiet when sliding the door open, but his efforts didn't matter either way— the sound of slurping somehow muffling the sound of the door to the creature that's feeding.
"Welcome, dinner," The demon speaks. He stands up, turning to face Sieun with his blood covered face. Bloody hand prints stains his clothes, a sign the person who he'd just been eating hadn't gone down without a fight. Sieun's grabs his bow, sliding it off his shoulder to hold at his side.
His eyes zone in on the whistle that hangs from the demon's neck– Beomseok’s whistle. The different emotions come in strong brutal waves, relief that Beomseok was alive, the guilt that they never found him, the shock in realizing the boy who was like a brother to Sieun was now a demon, and the heartbreak that Beomseok had become a demon.
The matching whistle that belongs to Sieun, dangles from his uniform’s belt, rattling at Sieun’s sudden movements. Sieun had jumped back from Beomseok trying to strike him down, reluctantly drawing his bow, arrow pointing straight at his old friend’s face. His eyes kept finding their way back to that damn whistle.
“Beomseok-ah.. what happened?” Whispering, he could barely keep his tears at bay. His eyes drift up to Beomseok's eyes, not an ounce of recognition in them. Only desire to kill. To devour this human thats come into his territory. Letting out a shaky breath, eyes darting all over Beomseok's figure.
He was different. This wasn't the boy Sieun once knew, not anymore. This was a demon. A cruel demon that eyed Sieun like he was its next meal, not an ounce of recognition in his hungry eyes.
"You're weak." He tilts his head, eyes scanning Sieun up and down from where he stood. The look has Sieun straightening up, pulling his arrow farther behind his ear, warily taking slow small steps as Beomseok starts to circle around.
"That's odd. I can tell you're a Pillar— I can feel it, but you don't wield a sword. How are you planning to kill me, small cat? You can't even cut off my head." He taunts. It earns no visible reaction from Sieun, which has the demon letting out a small scoff in dissatisfaction. A beat. Then Beomseok takes a chance on trying to pounce, Sieun reacting quickly enough to shoot an arrow at the approaching demon before leaping out of the way.
Beomseok hisses at the feeling of the arrow piercing his thigh, his right hand going to pull it out. Blood splatters on the ground from how violent he yanked it out, slowly twirling it in his fingers as he brings the arrow up to his face to examine it. Sieun cautiously watches him, eyes not leaving Beomseok's as one of his hands go to grab another arrow.
This is not the boy you once knew, repeating in Sieun's head like a mantra. The kind boy that had went berry picking with him and Suho, the one who had gotten the three of them matching bird whistles was only a distant memory. Something that could never return. Still, the hope of Beomseok's return tugged at Sieun's delicate heart strings.
The hand holding the arrow falls down to Beomseok's side, a shiver crawling down Sieun's spine from the smirk Beomseok sends his way.
"Poison? You're smart. Don't think it's enough though, I am an uppermoon afterall." The once disgusting purple wound on the demons thigh heals over, dread bubbling in Sieun's stomach. He's too strong for this poison to work. His anxious hold on the bow tightens.
Sieun barely escapes Beomseok's next attack, letting out a low hiss at the feeling of his own arrow grazing his shoulder. The demon swiftly grabs the wooden bird whistle that hangs from his neck, hairpins floating up as if they were possessed after hearing the melody Beomseok played from his whistle.
They abruptly fly in Sieun's direction, on hairpin grazing his waist and another grazing his thigh before he jumps out of the way so the others speeding his way don't end up impaling him.
"What are you doing, Beomseok-ah?" The demon ignores the small tinge in his heart, unsure why the demon slayer said that name. Like he knew the demon. Beomseok focused on sending more attacks, ripping apart the room with the melody of his whistle just to send different objects in Sieun's direction.
"Cut this out, Beomseok-ah. Come back to Suho and me." The constant running around has Sieun tired rather quickly, panting as he grabs another arrow. Sieun's hesitation isn't helping him much either, dragging him down as he focuses on running when he's never had much endurance.
"This isn’t like you at—" A piece of wood flying off from the door frame pierces one of Sieun's lungs, blood spits out along with a gasp. His hand hovers just underneath the injury, it stung just from the breeze. At the same tims an arrow impales Beomseok's abdomen, Sieun can tell it was in pretty deep by the way the demon snarls.
Yanking the arrow out and tossing it carelessly, the demon takes advantage of the injury that has Sieun weakly gasping for air. Beomseok suddenly closes the distance between the two of them, hugging Sieun into his chest. Pulling Sieun's head back by his hair to make him look up at the demon, he sends a fake pitiful look down at the human dying in his arms.
"Don't be afraid, just die. Weaklings always die."
Sieun weakly grasps the fabric on Beomseoks shoulder, digging an arrow into the demons abdomen as his vision starts to worsen.
"Enough.. Beomseok-ah.. that's enough. Lets just.. go home." Sieun could barely breath out, letting his head roll however gravity demanded— losing all his strength to even try to hold it up. The sound of blood gurgling was the last thing to leave his lips, darkness yearning to take Sieun. Sorry Suho-yah. The guilt of leaving Suho behind stabs his heart, his body managing one last jerk to try and get out of the demons death grip; more blood gurgling out of his mouth before the darkness embraces him once and for all.
"Dead. Caw, Rain Pillar Yeon Sieun Dead." The crow caws from above Gotak and Baku, tears in its eyes as it continues to fly on with the message. Baku nearly trips on his own feet, tears springing in both of the boys eyes.
"Keep going, we don't have time." Gotak grabs Baku's bicep, keeping the taller boy from tripping over himself again. Baku can only nod in silent agreement, continuing running to find the demon king. It was cruel, not being able to mourn someone they've known for years, someone they've shared so many meals with. But they had to keep pushing forward, for Sieun. The memory of Sieun watching as they dug into their food comes to mind, how Sieun hadn't taken his eyes off them once that night; watching them with the smallest smile and amused eyes.
"Caw Yeon Sieun dead, Caw"
The sight of the sun lightly shining down on Sieun through the window as he taught Yeongi how to properly stitch someone up plays in her mind, tears springing in her eyes. The air leaves her lungs, a demon takes the advantage to scratch her in her distracted state. Dead. The word echoes her head, a sour feeling in her mouth. The demon she's fighting goes in for another attack, it's head rolling on the floor before its hands can touch Yeongi once more. Dead. The song of Sieun's laugh plays in her mind, Suho making a fool of himself in front of his lover boy. Dead. Yeon Sieun is dead.
A strange stabbing pain formed where the demon's no longer beating heart sat, ignoring the feeling as he licks his fingers covered in Sieun's blood— one by one.
"The taste is so sweet," He pauses to glance at the dead Pillar. He lays on his side, his head at an awkward angle as blood continues to pour from all his injuries. His chest isn't rising, confirming to Beomseok that the Rain Pillar really is dead.
With a small hum of satisfaction, Beomseok walks to where the body lays. The wooden floor creeks under Beomseok's feet with every step he takes, stopping right next to the dead Pillar's body. He drops down to crouch next to the body, grabbing one of the Pillars arms to bring up closer to Beomseok's face. Licking his lips— which doesn't help with getting rid of the blood that stains all around his mouth if he meant to or not— opening his mouth as he brings the limp arm closer. Before he can take his first bite, the door suddenly slams open. Beomseok's head snaps to the intruder's direction, unhappy with the interruption of his meal.
"You," the intruder— a boy to be twenty two seethes, glaring at the demon. The demon only gets the chance to open his mouth— no words able to come out before the new demon slayer is charging at the demon.
He's able to put quite a bit of distance between Beomseok and the two slayers, standing in between Sieun and the demon. One of his hands go behind him, as if he's holding his arm out to stop someone from stepping in front of him— or perhaps a warning to the demon. Don't touch him. Don't cross this line. While his dominant hand held his sword to point it at the demon.
"You, you're stronger than that one was." The demon spits out sourly, his eyes narrowing.
"Don't speak of him like that. You're nothing more than a speck of dust compared to him. He obviously had you running for your money— I mean look," Suho jutted his chin out, pointing out the many rips Beomseok clothes gained from Sieun's arrows. The demon scowls, looking down at his once neat clothes now ripped from the dead Pillar's attacks. He brings up his head to look at the Pillar, ready to snap at him.
Suho doesn't give the demon another chance to speak though, rage taking over his usually rational mind as he continued attack after attack. At first the demon was able to keep up from the unrelenting attacks, getting a few good hits on Suho— who'd been attacking in a blind rage, recklessly only trying to get attacks on Beomseok without dodging any attacks that Beomseok sent back. It wasn't long before Suho was overpowering the demon that'd started stumbling over himself, the hairpins and other objects he was sending Suho's way not quite making it to the human boy anymore. The demon started to look more sickly.
Suddenly Beomseok wasn't in that room in infinity castle anymore, darkness surrounding him and another figure. Sieun stands next to Beomseok, body turned facing straight ahead but his head turned to look at the demon next to him. Beomseok didn't waste his time, striking immediately, his arm flies out to Sieun.
His hand wraps itself around Sieun’s throat, lifting Sieun up by the neck enough that the tips of his toes barely graze the ground. Sieun doesn’t let out a sound of struggle or surprise. Only silently staring down at Beomseok, who glares up at him like Sieun’s a walking piece of scum.
“What did you do?”
He growls out. His question earns a small smirk from Sieun, taking in a breath before answering the demon's question.
“You know.”
Was the unsatisfying answer the demon got. He snaps his head to Suho’s direction, hearing the latter attempt at creeping closer while the demon is distracted. His arm is still out in the air, no one’s neck gripped in his hand. It gets him an odd look from Suho, which quickly turns into something indescribable to the demon. Pain stabs his heart reading the ‘Uppermoon 5’ carved into Beomseok’s eyes. He's eaten tons of people.
“You truly.. look like a demon.”
Beomseok’s bicep is hiding the bottom half of his face, his face pale with his veins bulging out, his eyes an eerie black. His nails are long and sharp, like a wolf.
"You people are all the same. Bullying the weak. What did I do to you!?"
Just as he take a step towards Suho, ready to pounce— an overwhelming wave of vertigo hits him, stumbling as he grabs his head with both of his hands with a pained groan. He bring's a hand down from clutching his head, bringing it in front of his face to observe the sweet smelling blood of the dead Pillar that stains it.
'Is he crazy..? His blood is like acid. There's no way this wasn't taking affect on him at all.'
His nails dig into his head, blood dripping down the sides of his face. Beomseok was appalled. Sieun had somehow put poison— powerful poison into his own blood stream, enough that even just a few licks of it had Beomseok this unwell. I can't imagine what would've happened if this damn Pillar didn't stop me from eating him.
Suho could only quietly observe the demon from a distance. He isn't sure what’s happening with the demon’s body, but something is obviously is making it react that way. Suho can only hope it’s not making him stronger.
He runs to the demon, swinging his sword with all his rage. Beomseok is barely able to keep up— stumbling back with every swing that comes his way. Suho didn't care what deadly injuries he could gain, this demon needed to die for hurting his Sieun.
"Suho!" The voice is muffled, sounding distant. Their tone is desperate, scared for Suho— why?
The demon grabs his whistle in a panick, bringing objects to life to throw at the outraged demon slayer. Suho is first dodging the small objects rushing towars him with ease, continuing his rage filled brutal attacks; his head screaming Sieun is hurt, Sieun is hurt with every cut he lands on the demon.
"Move! Suho-yah, Move!"
Sieun. That voice is Sieun's, who sounds closer than before— like he was standing right next to Suho. The room starts ripping pieces of itself out, a piece of the wooden door frame hurdling towards Suho— the sharp end of it ready to pierce the boy. Suho moves, listening to Sieun's panicked plea.
Suddenly Suho finds himself in the memory of going out with Sieun to eat after another long mission, eating in a quiet restaurant that'd been surprisingly opened that late night.
"My little squirrel~" Suho sings a light tease, gently tapping Sieun's cheeck thats puffed out— full of food. Sieun's ears burn red, swatting Suho's finger away from his face with a flustered scowl.
"unconditioned reflex" Sieun replies to Suho's earlier question, gracefully eating his meal— unlike Suho, the man that eats like a bear. The restaurant lighting makes Sieun's eyes shine, the freckles from his time out under the summer's sunshine emphasized.
"What's that?" He muffles out through his cheeks full of food, Sieun grabbing a napkin to bring up to delicately wipe the corners of Suho's mouth.
"an involuntary reaction to stimulus."
He's tricky. Suho observes the sickly demon from a distance, his sword pointing right at the demon as Suho calms himself. Do I have a fever? Suho feels hot, he can feel the blood pumping in his body. He feels better than he did a minute ago, but he's unsure what has changed from sixty seconds ago.
Breaking the wooden part off one of Sieun's arrow's that'd been laying by his foot, he throws it right in Beomseok's face. The demon unwillingly flinches at the object flying at him head on, hands coming up to protect his face from the weapon. He jumps further back from Suho, eyes flickering across the room as he tris to piece together his next attack.
He's moving slower. Suho's eyes squint, not quite believing what he was seeing. I feel lighter, I can feel the blood from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes. Suho watches Beomseok charge at him, staying in still in his place. Ripped out pieces of the room follow close behind the demon, their pointy ends heading towards Suho straight on. Suho is calm, tightening the grip on his sword; waiting to make his move.
Everything is slow, but Suho is not. One second he was standing still in front of the demon that rushed towards him and now he stood behind the demon, his arm holding his sword out; glancing back at the demons head falling to the ground while his body still marched forward— believing it would kill Suho. Beomseok eyes catches the mark burning on Suho's cheek— a demon slayer mark. No wonder.
Beomseok's head hitting the ground harshly echoed the room, Suho won. "What?" The demon's question is breathless— not quite believing he'd just been decapitated. His head faces the Pillar he'd planned to eat before this fucker had defeated him— had ruined his plans to become stronger.
Suho sword hits the ground with a clank, running straight to where Sieun laid limp. He falls to his knees, cradling Sieun to his chest; pushing the blood stained hair sticking to Sieun's face out of the way.
"Sieun-ah," he calls out with a shaky voice. The boy doesn't give him any type of reaction, tears starting to blur Suho's vision as they continue to form.
"Sieun-ah," He weakly tries once more, his hand shaking as he pets Sieun's hair. With a choked sob he brings the boy to his chest, looking around desperately— praying someone that someone someone with medical knowledge would appear to save his Sieun. Beomseok quietly watches, tears pricking the corner of his eyes as his mind finally remembers the two human boys in front of him.
The memory replays in his mind, his once numb heart now full of his past feelings as everything slowly returns. Suho has and arm wrapped around his shoulder, Sieun watching them from where he sat up on the rocks. The slimey fish he'd just caught by himself laying in his hands, Sieun's clapping echoing the area. The river's water is rushing past his legs, the water just up under his knees. Suho starts skipping around him, the water splashing on Beomseok from the other boy's excitement.
"See! You did it! Good job Oh Beom!" Suho cheers, starting to sing while he continues to dance around. Beomseok laughs with his whole chest, throwing his head back. It's warm, his eyes move from Suho's celebration dance to Sieun who looks over at them from where he sits with a small smile; lightly clapping in rhythm to Suho's singing.
Then he remembers the demon— the one who'd promised him strength. "You'd be able to show them all" He sang out in Beomseok's ear, persuading the boy. And Beomseok was foolish. Becoming a demon because he couldn't fearlessly stand up to people like Suho, because he was a weakling. A nobody. Just Beomseok. And now here he lays, staring at the ugly present— one of his childhood bestfriends holding onto their dead friend while sobbing. Dead because of Beomseok.
"It's ok. It's ok, you're ok, we're ok." Suho whispers, the side of his faced pressed against Sieun's. One hand desperately gripping the back of Sieun's head while the other pets the unresponsive boy's hair. Suho pulls them back from each other, Sieun's head rolling sickly easily to the earth's gravity once Suho had stopped holding it up; making Suho's breathing come to a pause. A numb feeling overtaking his body. Tears continue to slide down Beomseok's face as he turns to ash, wishing things never turned to this.
"No— please. Pleasepleaseplease," A hand comes up to Sieun's face, caressing his cheek. The hand had blood on it, having accidentally been pressed against a wound Sieun had gained from his battle. Suho doesn't let go. Not even when the castle starts shaking, making Suho hug Sieun tighter to his chest.
They're forced apart when the roof starts falling on them, Suho having accidentally let go of the other boy to try and avoid them getting squished. The room is suddenly spinning, having the two fall around as gravity seems to move. The ground disappears from under Sieun, having his body starting to fall down the castle. Suho's eyes widen, feet pushing off whatever wall was behind him to close the growing distance between him and Sieun.
He reaches his hand out, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as his fingertips barely graze the back of Sieun's clothes. He's right there. The speed of their falling has their hair flying, broken pieces of the castle falling with them. Suho tries stretching his arm out more, his surroundings changing; making him suddenly face plant into hard ground.
He jumps up, head swinging left and right— solely focused on finding Sieun. Yeongi is thrusted into a wall next to Suho, the sound of her breath being forced to leave her lungs is brutally loud. Her ears ring as she pushes herself off the brick wall, head spinning as her eyes catch the sight of Suho anxiously looking around them.
"Get it together!" Is all Yeongi can scold out at him. She doesn't say more, the demon king is right there and they just don't have the time for conversations or scoldings. She brings her hand thats tied to the handle of her sword with a handkerchief to her mouth— teeth pulling on the knot to tighten it. Suho isn't sure when Yeongi had lost her other arm, but he was sure it was when she was fighting against the demon king. Everyone had been getting tossed around like dolls fighting that demon, falling from the sky left and right. Suho tightens his grip on his sword handle, glare set on the demon king that relentlessly attacks his fellow demon slayers.
Rage flickers back to life in his chest. The man— no the demon that'd turned his bestfriend into a man-eating demon, a demon that'd ended up killing Sieun.
"I've got it together."
Suho sits crossed legged on the pourch, eyes closed as he leans back onto his hands. The wind gently plays with Suho's hair as the sun blazes down on him. The sound of someone's shy footsteps approaching has his eyes opening, he doesn't even need to turn to look to know who it is. Juntae quietly sits down next to him, not speaking for a few moments.
"I found this letter in his desk drawer. I think… Sieun-ah wrote it for you." Juntae holds the letter out to Suho, both of his hands gently holding onto it like the wind would decide to steal what little of Sieun was left. Suho delicately takes it, placing it in the pocket over his chest.
He doesn’t open it immediately. No. He doesn’t know what Sieun could've wrote, but the fact that he was no longer by Suho's side has had Suho sobbing his heart out most of the time; crossing out the option to read it in public so he doesn't scare strangers. Thus, Suho waited until he got home to open it.
In silence, Gotak and Juntae silently watch Suho's descending figure from a distance. Juntae turns to give Gotak a concerning look, Gotak continues to stare down at the piece of fabric that lays peacefully in his lap as he gently caresses it between his index finger and thumb.
"How are you doing?" The shy boy breaks the silence, making Gotak pause. He lets out a breath, leaning back as he moves his head to stare up at the ceiling. He doesn’t speak for a moment, mouth slightly open while his adams apple is bobbing as he finds his words.
"He was like sunlight that peeked through the window curtains— persistent to shine in. Since he's been gone, I've been having a hard time finding my way around without my light." Gotak softly confesses, surprising himself that he didn't cry. He hadn't even been able to hear someone say Baku's name, let alone talk about Baku himself. Juntae lets out a small hum of understanding, nodding as he turns his head to look up at the sky. It'd been a tough six months with all their losses, they'd defeated the demon king but it hadn't helped the pain in their hearts ease.
"You two are doing well, Sieun and Baku are definitely relieved you two survived."
"Yeongi would be happy that it was you who took over, you know?" Hearing the name of his dead bestfriend is painful, but Juntae knows it's true. The girl he'd once raced down the hallways of the Rain Estate to heal demon slayer's and learn how to heal with would be happy it was him that took over.
"Yeah, I know."
The silence when he opens the front door is excruciating, waiting for the welcome back call that will never come. The new cruelly forced lonesome life.
Sitting down at the dinner table, he pulls the letter out from his pocket. He turns it over as he examines all angles of it, gently caressing Sieun's neat handwriting with his thumb. 'Guardian Angel' is what is written on the envelope. It's Suho's. This letter is only for him. He lets out a shaky breath before opening it, working his best not to rip even a centimetre of anything.
'To the self proclaimed Sieun guardian angel,
I hope this letter finds you well but before I say what I want to say, I wish to apologize. I'm sorry for being such a coward. After years of knowing each other I still couldn't find it in myself to tell you to your face my true feelings. I hope one day I can express them freely, without fear. I hope one day I can love your smile out loud, your laugh, and all the foolishness you get yourself into. For now though, I'll stick to writing how you make the leaves of my cherry blossom tree heart ruffle like a strong summer breeze. My love burns for you like the sun. It is warm, big and will last for an eternity. I'm greatful. Thank you for letting me experience these feeling for you.
I hope that I can gain the courage to confess these feelings and maybe even give you this letter. For now I will love from a distance, cherishing your blazing warmth.
sincerely,
Yeon Sieun'
Clutching the last letter written from Sieun to his chest, Suho sobs. The sight of Sieun's smiles, the sound of his laughter and his kind eyes flash in Suho's mind. He'll never live those moments again, he'll never get the chance to finally kiss Sieun. His sobs grow, mourning what could've been and what no longer will be.
three years later..
The journey to the familiar spot melted into Suho's very being has his heart aching in a deep longing, his hand yearning to hold Sieun's as he walked up the hill he's walked with the other boy countless of times. Sieun is dead. So Suho just tightens his hand to stop it's twitching, marching his was to the berry bush that provided for the boys for years.
He can hear Beomseok and Sieun's distant giggles, the bushes ruffling as the boys walk through them; down the path. Suho can hear the crickets and the birds. When he closes his eyes and focuses he can hear the river stream not too far; the memory of teaching Beomseok how to properly catch a fish coming back to him.
He sings old songs they've sung while walking down the path together, fights to hold back tears when another one of the fond memories come back to him; making him miss his two friends more than he already does.
His heart squeezes uncomfortably as a familiar tree is in his direct lineof vision, the berry bushes that have been there since he was a young boy standing healthy in their spots. He makes his way to the tree, laying a blanket down under it to sleep on.
Juntae and Gotak had been a bit bummed Suho didn't want to have a much of a celebration for his twenty fifth birthday, but they didn't argue; letting Suho do what he wants for his last birthday freely and without guilt.
Suho lets out a grunt as he lays on his back, sprawled out on the blanket as he stares at the sunset. He can almost hear Sieun and Beomseok's whispers, and can almost feel Sieun scratching his head that lays on Sieun's lap— sleeping peacefully.
Suho's eyes grow heavy, the sun dipping out of sight for night to finally take over. Happy birthday to me. The crickets chirpping brings sleep to him easy, the summer breeze keeping Suho just the right amount of warm.
The sun disrupts his peaceful sleep, abusing his eyes through his eyelids. It makes his eyebrows furrow in discomfort, turning his head so the sun no longer harshly shines down on his face. It doesn't help much, the sudden shadow that casts over him relieves his discomfort— expression relaxing from its sour tense up.
"Suho-yah," said boy halfhearted grumbles at the sweet voice's call of his name, nuzzling the side of his face on the warm grass. The person standing over him lets out a small sigh, trying once more to get Suho to open his eyes.
"Suho—"
"YAAHHH, SUHO MY MAN!" Baku's distant yell has Suho eye's fluttering open, all the drowsiness washing away as he brings himself to sit up. His eyes move up, connecting with Sieun's big brown eyes before shifting to look behind Sieun— Baku running over to them like a bull.
He's hollering as he runs up to them, arms flying in the air— people turning to stare at the fool as he flies past them. Baku has a big grin on his face as he steps in front of Suho, hands finding their places on his hips.
"Yer finally twenty five, huh? Huh buddy? The big twenty five!" Baku does a poor attempt at a country accent before pulling Suho up by his arm, bringing Suho into a headlock. He ruffles Suho's hair— Suho doesn't fight, basking in the old friend's presence. He looks up to see Sieun fondly smiling down at him, content in his eyes.
"Let's go get some food! Man I'd kill for pork belly right about now!" Baku marches up on ahead of the two, not turning back to see if they were following— which they definitely were not; too caught up on staring at each other. Tears welling up in their eyes as relief nearly suffocates them, Suho chokes out a soft greeting to his doe-eyed boy.
"Hi,"
"Hi?" Sieun questioningly parrots back. Suho giggles, realizing how silly the greeting was. He holds his hand out towards the shorter boy, who takes it without hesitation. Their hands intertwined together, turning to follow after Baku— who'd turned around to shout at them to catch up, as well as grumbling complaints about them being slow pokes.