Chapter Text
"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
Leviticus, 19:33-34 (ESV):
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NIGHT 1 OF LIVING WITH AN EVIL SPIRIT(?)
Isagi thinks he’s completed his tasks for the day: penned up the sheep (to fend off the wolves), covered up the plants (to shelter them from the wind), and locked the door in seven ways, all in increasing complexity (to stave off the beasts).
It’s not hard to live in the woods if you never forget that there’s always something out to get you. After that, it’s only caution and pure luck that keeps you alive.
Isagi eases into a chair, and the only sound is the howling of the wind and the rain outside, storming down.
It is a dark and stormy night, perfect for devils and monsters to do as they please to those who weren’t wise enough to obey curfew.
The one rule he’s learned from anyone - never go out after dusk.
His parents weren’t bad, just foolish. They were gone now because of it. Isagi wasn’t going to make their mistakes.
There’s no one in the house, he thinks, and there isn’t.
There’s no one else in the house, which should stop his heart beating sluggishly, each breath crawling out after seconds that seem like hours in the cage of his lungs.
There’s no one else in the house, because he is alone in the shack and no one will come to find him if it turns out that there is.
It’s already too late to run.
He cannot deny, though, that there is a tap, a hollow sound, that reverberates in the floor and the walls, the windows and the cabinets, and he’s not going crazy because if he was, he would’ve done so a long, long time ago.
There’s no one else in the house, he thinks, before the door opens and an angel stumbles in.
Well. Not an angel, but the first being that Isagi’s encountered that doesn’t immediately flaunt their claws and teeth, a gleaming white grin.
Looking back, he should’ve realized that that was a big, red warning sign. If a lesser devil walked in, it would’ve made a show of its poison-tipped nails, the ever-present heat that crackles below its skin.
But Satan himself, the lord of everything under his domain, would stroll onto the battleground as casually as if he were in a meadow.
And he should know, from his father and his mother that there is no reason to trust strangers at his door, especially at this hour.
The stranger, however, looks so pathetic that Isagu almost pulls him in immediately.
They have blonde hair with blue-dyed tips and blue eyes (lighter than his own), the hair sopping wet and glued to their skin from the rain. They're wearing an overly large sweater that clings to his slim frame. He (for Isagi assumes that the stranger is male), is rather…tall.
In fact, these are the first words he says to the stranger.
“You’re rather tall.
The stranger looks up at him, frowning.
“And you’re short. Are you going to let me in?”
Isagi thinks of face-stealers, of sinners with the faces of saints, and starts to close the door on him.
“Please.”
That “please” is what gets him; that pure desperation in his voice.
Isagi leads the boy into his cabin, and the blonde grins at him.
Isagi realizes (too late, once again), that he has let something very dangerous into his home.
This stranger smiles, showing sharp teeth and canines filed to a point.
————————————————————
ISAGI’S LOG: DAY 10 OF ROOMING WITH AN EVIL SPIRIT
He isn’t bad. I don’t think so, at least.
His name is Michael Kaiser, and I’d like to think that whoever named him had a twisted sense of humor (really, naming someone “God’s chosen Emperor”? Why wouldn’t he develop a superiority complex?)
He isn’t bad, but he is suspicious.
Note: I swear to God, Kaiser, if you’re reading this I’m going to kick you out.
…
You’re still reading, aren’t you?
That doesn’t really matter. I’m looking at you right now, and it’s scary how innocent you look after slaughtering an entire bear. It’s like you’re just imitating a human, and to be honest, you probably are. It’s suspicious how pretty you are.
You brought the corpse home, (still smiling, in addition), and you tried to skin it with a vegetable peeler.
I think that you’re not very good at being a human, sometimes, but then you smile -
———————-
“What are you writing?”
Isagi slams the notebook close.
“Nothing,” he lies. “Just my…farming records.
Kaiser raises an eyebrow.
“You don’t farm anything except for wild strawberries.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know that you’re lying.”
Kaiser points to Isagi’s hand, which is twirling the ends of his hair in distress.
“That’s a tell, Yoichi.”
For some reason, Kaiser saying his first name feels oddly intimate, and it makes Isagi turn bright red. He’s learned that nothing makes Kaiser happier than watching him get flustered.
“You’re being nosy today, aren’t you? What happened to the whole “I am your savior” thing?”
“That was yesterday. Now, I’m in your house. There’s no point in sucking up to you.”
Isagi just sighs. “Alright, Kaiser,” he says, and puts his head on the desk.
With the blonde by his side, Isagi finished the day’s work in only a couple of hours. So now, he can just sleep.
“Yoichi.”
“Mmph.”
“Yoichi, get up.”
“What do you want, Kaiser?”
Isagi stays where he is, and for some reason, that shocks Kaiser.
“You didn’t get up.”
“Yes, the whole world doesn’t follow your every command.”
“I mean, it does.”
Isagi registers the words almost as quickly as Kaiser does, and shock flares in both their eyes.
“I meant, of course,” Kaiser continues (in a noticeably deeper tone than before), “that people are often convinced by my striking features.”
“Sure.”
Isagi puts his head back down on the table, and when he wakes up, there is a quilt blanket placed over him.
————————————————————
ISAGI’S LOG: DAY 17 OF ROOMING WITH A HUMAN IMPERSONATOR
I said earlier that he wasn’t bad, didn’t I?
Well. He’s not bad, but he must be evil.
I woke up last night to get a glass of water, and I saw him talking to the fire.
Yes, talking to the fire. Like it would actually respond.
And then, surprise, it did.
It hissed something like, “be careful,” which is strange because Kaiser could easily kill me within a second.
The fire had an odd color, too - a sort of light purple that I’ve never seen before. Not the kind from burning driftwood; that bluish-purple shade from salt-encrusted wood, but a pinkish color.
As if that wasn’t weird enough, Kaiser patted the fire’s head like it was his tamed wolf, despite the fact that he was wearing a sweater (He always wears sweaters, or long-sleeved shirts). I tapped him on the shoulder to ask what it was, and it disappeared! Into thin air.
I think I’m going crazy.
———————-
“Yoichi ~ “
“Kaiser, give me five minutes to myself.”
“I would,” he responds, opening the closet door and Isagi tumbles out, “if you told me what you were doing in there.”
“I went into the closet for privacy.”
Kaiser smirks. “That’s what they all say, don’t they?”
“Is that some sort of reference?!”
Kaiser just scoffs and grabs Isagi’s hand, pulling him out of the darkness and into the light.
————————————————————
DAY 22 OF LIVING WITH THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE
“You’re always writing in that notebook.”
“What notebook?”
Kaiser’s never going to find it. Isagi’s read about this very method to hide his journal from a very instructive visual guide (the person who wrote it was likely a psychopath, but certain measures must be taken with the blonde).
Kaiser points at the drawer, then walks over and opens it, revealing a panel of fake wood that he screws open with pencil lead, revealing a small book.
“That notebook.”
“Oh, that notebook?”
Isagi scratches the side of his neck furiously. Kaiser can’t unlock it, anyways, at least not before Isagi snatches it.
Isagi lunges for the journal, and his fingers skim the cover before Kaiser lifts it up and out of reach.
“Three questions.”
It’s a desperate gamble. Isagi banters with Kaiser, but that’s only because the blonde has nothing to leverage. An outright threat to kill Isagi would’ve been made by day 5, when he’d sworn to chase Kaiser out of the house and into the woods.
The blonde didn’t do anything, though. Just laughed and laughed, like Isagi was his newest amusement, and it would be far too easy to let him go now.
“Three questions?”
“Yes.”
“I could lie, you know.” Kaiser tilts up Isagi’s chin, putting them at eye level with each other. “I am very, very good at lying.”
Isagi swats his hand away. “I know. I’m trusting you not to lie.”
Kaiser pauses at this. Truth is a valuable currency where he is from. Secrets and scandals are the only things with value.
“Three questions,” Kaiser agrees. “And one refusal.”
“That’s fine.”
———————-
ISAGI’S LOG: DAY 22 OF LIVING WITH A CRIMINAL GENIUS
Kaiser tied with me.
This isn’t a game that one can technically win or lose, but he cornered me.
First, he asked me where my parents are.
I told him that my parents were dead, and he looked at me pitifully.
“Lucky.”
So not pity, I suppose. I wonder where his parents are?
Secondly, he asked me if I thought that God was real.
(I don’t understand him. Why does he ask me these questions when we both know that he's going to end up killing me? It’s like fattening up your prey before slaughtering them. Evil.)
“I think not,” I said, because it’s easier than saying that God must be terrible at his job, because he didn’t come for my parents when the beasts tore them to shreds.
“One more question.”
“Are you pure?”
I stared at him. “The fuck?”
“Have you ever, you know,” and then he proceeded to make a rather crude gesture that involved sticking his index finger into a closed fist.
“The fuck, yes,” Kaiser said, even though it was clear what he was referring to. “Fucking.”
“Veto.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Veto.”
“Then, what do you think of me?”
“I think you’re kind of an asshole.”
He thought that was hilarious, and clutched my hands like I had just proposed to him.
“Really? Me too!”
Kaiser cackled, mirth in his eyes. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever been scared of him.
For my turn, I asked him the obvious questions - who are you, where are you from - and he either vetoed them completely or answered as vaguely as possible.
“I’m not a human being.”
Unsurprising, but Kaiser must’ve genuinely been worrying about this.
“You’re bad at hiding it.”
Funnily enough, that was what insulted his pride the most. I probably shouldn’t have provoked him, but if you could see the look on his face ; it was almost cute.
“I’m from somewhere you’ve never been.”
“No shit, really? And here I thought that you materialized outside of my door from nothing.”
“Shut up, Yoichi. You have one more question.”
“Where are your parents?”
“No.”
“Sorry?”
I’ve seen many sides of Kaiser - annoyed, laughing, that idiotic smirk whenever he thinks he’s gotten away with fooling me - but never a face like that.
“I’m not answering that.”
“…okay. Who’s the fire demon you summoned?”
“That’s Ness.”
“Who is Ness?”
Kaiser just tapped my nose. “That was your last question.”
I think he’s won, actually. I’ve learned nothing except that his parents are a sensitive topic, and that could easily be guessed. A lot of people in the woods have had their parents eaten in front of them, but I think his issues are worse.
Then again, my instincts have been wrong so far.
————————————————————
ISAGI’S LOG: DAY 23 OF LIVING WITH A DEMON WITH PARENTAL ISSUES
I saw Kaiser choking himself in the mirror, and I don’t know what to do.
I tapped his shoulder, and I swear, he started growling at me.
Growling, I kid you not. (Well. All of these events sound completely fantastical, don’t they? You’ll just have to take my word for it.)
He was choking himself, and I don’t think I helped a lot.
I only held him. Wrapped my arms around his and his hands in mine, and rocked both of us, still standing.
His breathing calmed down, after a while, and he closed his eyes.
Kaiser looks peaceful when he’s asleep. Like someone kinder, softer; someone you could actually fall in love with.
————————————————————
ISAGI’S LOG: DAY 24 OF LIVING WITH A (confirmed) DEMON
Kaiser’s still acting like nothing’s happened.
“Thanks for worrying, Yoichi.” He was even worse than usual that day - flirting to the point where I had to hide in the bathroom to write this.
“I can take care of myself. Now, you need to make sure that your short little self doesn’t get hurt.”
“I’m short. I know that. Do you think the joke gets funnier each time you say it?”
“I think that it’s hilarious.”
For once, there was no amusement in the blonde's face.
“Stop avoiding the topic.”
“Stop asking me about it, and then I won’t have anything to avoid, Yoichi."
"Why are you so difficult?"
"Again, I wouldn't be difficult if my fucking speech worked on you."
Kaiser actually slaps a hand over his mouth, surprised at his own audacity to say this out loud.
"You used speech on me?!"
Not all of the tactics that monsters use are known, and even littler of demonic weapons. The victims usually don't leave alive.
However, there is one such victim named Jinpachi Ego. He's less of a victim than a fascimile of one; wearing a disguise of feebleness to lure in different predators, and staying just long enough to note down exploitable weaknesses.
From him, Isagi's learned of demons and their identifying marks and tics.
First of all, there's attractiveness. Ego was embarrassingly blunt when speaking about it.
———————-
Ten years ago, when Isagi was eighteen and newly orphaned; when the days were long and he was still swaying on his feet from the tragedy, there was Ego.
Ego, with his mostly helpful advice. Such as: "Demons are hot."
"I assume because of the hellfire?"
Ego looked at Isagi disdainfully from over his glasses. "Because they are attractive."
"And you know this from personal experience?" He glares at Isagi. "Sir."
"I do." Ego's face contorts into something bestial; like one of the very monsters that he hunts. "Truly disgusting creatures. The worst of them is a blonde named Noa."
Isagi refrains from asking if Ego's met all of them to make sure. There's something in Ego's face that warns him to stay back, a reminder of the violence that the scrawny man in front of him is capable of.
"Is there anything else I should know?"
"They have identifying marks. Look for a discernible pattern - they should resemble tattoos, but don't antagonize every person you meet to see if they're a demon."
"That's oddly pacifistic of you, Sir."
"The chances are that they are, and you'll be weeded out faster than you can apologize."
"...I see. Is that it?"
"About Noa." There isI a long, impenetrable silence. "He will choose a heir. Be prepared."
———————-
Isagi didn't respond, had already forgotten about the conversation (hadn't forgotten completely, though - he has all of his brief conversations with Ego stored away in the back of his mind), but had thought that the "advice" was vague enough that he would never need to use it.
Be prepared, Ego had said, and perhaps Isagi should've listened to him. Shouldn't have let in Kaiser, should've ran away in the middle of the day when there was still daylight to leave; bathed in the dying sun and sweat from sprinting all the way downhill, and he would've been less screwed than he is now.
Isagi is, though. Screwed. He might as well do the unmasking right.
He walks over to Kaiser, yanking down the high collar by a couple inches, and hopes thinks that there will be pale, unblemished skin. Nothing to see here, Kaiser will say, and Isagi will keep acting like his roommate is normal.
Kaiser's neck is covered in tattoos. Deadly (beautiful) vines with blue roses attached, over-the-top dramatic and everything Isagi would've expected from the false Emperor.
"You're a fucking demon."
"I thought you knew?"
"Obviously not. I only could tell that you weren't human, but this - "
Isagi tries pulling away, some mixture of disgust and shock inciting him to flee, but Kaiser grabs his wrists and pins them to the wall.
"This is what it takes for you to be scared of me?"
Yes. "I'm not scared of you."
Kaiser's lips brush over the shell of his ear, and it should be revolting now that Isagi knows he's a demon. It's not.
"Then why," he whispers, and Isagi can almost forgive his parents for being seduced by one of them, now that he's experiencing a demon's attention, "are you shaking?"
There is no right answer. If it's out of fear, Isagi is likely going to be killed right here and now. If he admits that it's the result of a hormone-fueled haze, then he's a heretic of the highest form.
You don't believe in God.
Isagi remembers his own words, coming back to him days later, and kisses Kaiser on the spot.
It's a good kiss, of course, but Isagi can only recall the weight of what he has done settle into him; both suffocating and itching to claw its way through his stomach.
You've kissed your parents' killer, or at least their accomplice.
(And worse; the nauseating, blooming flower in the pit of his gut that can only be called love.)