***

***

Kyoto 1800

“Sungmin?”

                The demon growled, panting at the corner waking the young lord from his sleep, worried, the onmyoji took hold of his shoulder frown in his face when the kitsune looked at him with eyes turned to slits, teeth bared and face pale.

                Kyuhyun didn’t even moved away, instead his worry heighten and his eye wander into the problem. Seeing the demon with his arm covered in thick bandages trying his best to conceal it from him made something inside of him boil in anger and frustration.

                “What’s that?!” the voice of the young onmyoji were harsh and it woke up the demon from his defensive stance. Instead, the sorrowful look from Sungmin’s face was something he failed to conceal from Lord Cho.

                “It’s nothing, I just got wounded.”

                Kyuhyun speculated the actions of the demon, and it was very much human, for the first time he saw Sungmin lied and he knew why. The demon was protecting him… again.

                “Is that from when you killed that fallen god?”

                Sungmin tensed but he never let it showed on his face, instead a smirk parted his lips, looking playfully at the young onmyoji.

                “What? Are you concerned?” he giggled, but the young onmyoji remained with brows knitted in fear. Sungmin looked at Kyuhyun intensely and he knew it wasn’t a joke, it was a concern he did not deserve, and he finished what he was doing to stare at the onmyoji’s eyes.

                “Is me being a concerned about your well being that amusing? Isn’t it only natural for…”

                “For what?” the demon intervened. “What exactly is being attached to a demon called? Isn’t ‘insanity’ the only adjective appropriate to describe that feeling?”

                “So you admit it was a ‘feeling’ then…” Kyuhyun interjected.  “These so called ‘feelings’ I have for you, concern is a part of it and I don’t mind having these things, why  does it seems so unnerving for you?”

“Because I am a demon.” Sungmin said sternly feeling a deadening pinch somewhere in his hollowed soul. “You can’t involve me in human emotions and such. I am oblivious to those-“

“Then what would you do if I kill myself.” Kyuhyun asked looking at the glistening knife the demon used to cut up the bandages. Taking the weapon and placing it against his neck. “Won’t you feel anything.”

“Then do it.”

Without second thought kyuhyun plunged the knife through his neck, not even thinking of the outcome of what he was about to do, but the dagger only made his skin torn by a couple of millimeters, making him bleed but not enough to kill him. Instead he looked at the demon holding the knife by its blade with his bare hand.

“Idiot.” Sungmin said with a flushed look and a pain in his expression, but the young onmyoji can only smirk.

Sungmin pulled the knife away from them and took the demon’s parted lips.

***

                Kyuhyun wiped the beads of sweat from the demon’s forehead. Apparently, the Kitsune fell unconscious after he read those last words, and after that he can’t find it in himself to continue, no matter how strong he felt to do so. He was not sure if it was tears that were falling on the poor demon’s eyes when he stared right at him before passing out, but nevertheless it was very unsettling.

                Sungmin looked like he was in so much pain, he was writhing every now and then and the impurities on his arm seemed to be spreading, he did not know what to do at the moment, and the helplessness the young daimyo felt made him uneasy, why he would feel such remorse towards a demon he just met.

                Apparently it was some kind of a connection, he had figured as much based on the flashbacks that came in his memories, maybe his ancestor and this demon had something that would tie the both of them to this endless rotation, and he’s also a part of this unbreakable bond and whether he liked it or not he cannot escape without doing the task assigned to him. Somehow, the only way out is to hurt the demon, all over again.

                Kyuhyun stopped as he realized his thoughts; he had just felt pain, realizing he would once again inflict betrayal towards the kitsune his chest felt like it was being squeezed. He looked at the demon’s pale face once again and tried to focus what’s missing. There must be something he didn’t know that plays great importance.

                “What are you doing?”

                Lee Sungmin’s voice stirred him awake from his reverie and as the demon once again looked up at him from lying on his lap, his throat became constricted the moment their eyes met and for the time being he was unable to move.

                The demon’s lips curve into a serene, sad smile, his untarnished hand reached out towards him his fingers barely touching his cheek, bet he let those cold hands hold him.

“Kyuhyun, I’m sorry.”

Kyoto 1800

                 A loud hit echoed through the halls of the onmyoji shrine, holding his aching arm the head of the Cho clan winced at the unmoving reaction of the next heir.

                “You’re still seeing that demon fox!”

                “We can’t be what we are right now without the help of the kitsune!” the young lord muttered without even nursing his swollen cheek.

                “I will always appreciate the kitsune, helping us build an empire. But… you are consorting with him, this is too far beyond what is expected of us. We do not involve ourselves in relationships with demons!”

                The young lord looked up at his father, his eyes don’t show any willingness to obey, he’s stubborn and the elder knew that he cannot be swayed once his decision had been made.

                “I will not inherit the title, if what you want is a continuous lineage then chose brother instead of me.”  Kyuhyun spoke firmly.

                “Are you out of your mind? Do you know what will happen to you?” the older man gritted his teeth and young Lord Cho make use of that moment of silence to remove his belt, the one that symbolizes the head of the clan and placed it gently by the foot of his father.

                “I heard that demon saved you from the fallen god, I heard he removed the impurities by himself. Do you realize what will happen if a demon the impurities of a god?”

                Lord Cho stopped.

                “You will suffer Kyuhyun. You will cause your own suffering.”

--

                Sungmin raised his hand, and the demon fire morphed into the sides of the shrine, and the onmyoji’s warding spells started to tremble, the sliding doors revealed men clad in white, scriptures around their neck in a stance to hold the barrier for the demon.

                A particular onmyoji whispered an incantation and Sungmin felt the force on the room fell on him, the air became thinner for him to breathe in and a bile formed at the back of his throat making him cough up.

                “Kitsune, we are here not to fight but to talk.”

                “If that’s what you want then this spells were unnecessary.” Sungmin growled under his breath.

                “You have to understand this is a precautionary, you are a very powerful demon .” The older onmyoji spoke with nothing but farce, Sungmin knew that this kind of spell won’t be good for him, in turn his impurities would only get worse and he did not want to use his full potential as a demon because he was fighting against humans, and impurities fed on human flesh, if he killed someone at that moment he will lose everything.

                And he did not want to lose Kyuhyun.

                “Is this some kind of treason? Kyuhyun won’t be this stupid. He wouldn’t order this kind of thing” he forcefully said as the air felt like thorns hitting him on every side.

                “And what makes you say that demon? Is it because you believe that our young lord cared for you?” Those words stung deeper than Sungmin allowed it to. “Aren’t you losing your touch? Demons don’t need care and affection… they need to be slaughtered.”

                Even if Sungmin knew deep inside that they were wrong. It pains him to hear those things. Maybe Kyuhyun really made him soft, made him feel human.

                But he’s not.

And for the first time in centuries he wanted to be one.

                The pain seared through his skin crawling to his flesh making him crouched in agony. This is what he was avoiding. This is exactly why he could never suffer from those words. The fallen god’s impurities started to spread and his arm and it started to rot. Those foolish hopes and his denial triggered the pain and the sorrow.

                “Kyuhyun.” He whispered beads of sweat in his forehead as he saw the black engulf his whole arm, his visions turned blurred and he felt the force of the warding spell.

                A growl escaped on his throat and the onmyoji backed away putting more sealing spells Sungmin looked up painfully, a scent wafted on his nose.

                “Kyuhyun, go away.” He tried to say but he can’t. He’s decided. He can just sleep and die and Kyuhyun wouldn’t need to watch, he would not want Kyuhyun to see this.

                The incantations were spoken and the barrier, as well as the wards dispersed. The force choking the demon lifted and Sungmin gasped for air.

                No.

                “How dare you lay a hand on the Kitsune!” Kyuhyun’s angry voice echoed through the halls.

                No.

                “Even if you’re the most powerful onmyoji we will defeat you. You’re still a brat!” the voice of the older onmyoji said. “You are no longer our lord, you have removed your honor and your power as the head of the Cho clan, that means you are just a normal kid now.”

                No.

“A brat should not be allowed to lead a clan just because he is powerful, I have been enduring those time that I kneel in front of a boastful kid.” Shikigamis crawl and clamped their fangs towards the young onmyoji’s limbs making Kyuhyun scream, he pulled himself together and his shikigami of a wolf rise to power, he painfully removed the shikigami away from his bleeding arm and he tried to fight off the immense power. “Sungmin hang on, it’ll get over soon.”

                No.

                Sungmin can smell it, the envy, the jealousy, the contempt… he can smell the darkest side of a human’s heart, they were all eating up the humanity of these onmyojis. The impurities in him were attracted to that, and he can feel it, the pleasure of feeding off of those human emotions.

                An incantations full of hatred were released, and he can sense the dark matter on those wicked prayer, a prayer use to destroy another human being. Kyuhyun were untimely wrapped by those spells the shikigamis used looked worn out, the effects of using a holy power for personal gain.

                Bleeding, the young onmyoji muttered a shield but he was shot by three arrows, simultaneously knocking him down beside the weakened demon. Sungmin could not do anything and he had enough…

                “Sungmin…” Kyuhyun looked at him and he can see that Kyuhyun would not care even if they died in this as long as they’re with each other. Kyuhyun smiled “I think I forgot to tell you how in love I am with you…”

“Demon!”

 “I’m sorry Kyuhyun.” Sungmin muttered towering over Kyuhyun holding the spear about to be plunged on the young daimyo’s heart. Kyuhyun can see the impurities spreading on Sungmin’s cheeks, the dark matter tainting his lover’s face.

“Sungmin…”

“I’m sorry, I’m a demon…” Sungmin whispered and his sorrowful eyes turned away from Kyuhyun and with a swing of his hand the onmyoji holding the spear lost his head.

                They both knew what will happen if Sungmin attacked a human in his condition, they both knew that it was the last moment he will ever see the Sungmin who loved him.

***

                The shrine trembled and the dark matter reached the entirety of the demon locked in. His eyes became bloodshot, his cry was spine-tingling. Kyuhyun is afraid, but not for his life.

                “The demon awakens!”

                “Young master, it needs to be stopped!”

                “It will wreck havoc among our world!”

                Kyuhyun became confused, they were in this alter-universe but it seems that they have returned, and Sungmin, the demon fox seemed so different, like he had been eaten by the dark matter and he returned to his true nature.

                “We need to seal him once again.”

                The barrier was set down and Kyuhyun needed to chant the prayer in the book to complete it but he can’t thus making the demon see this opportunity to walk and crash the barriers being held by the older onmyojis.

                “Sungmin.”

                “You fools tried to steal everything away from me, I had been in peace for so long yet you always try to destroy it, what more do you want from me!”

                The hell fire broke around the shrine killing onmyoji’s trying to seal it. Kyuhyun was terrified but his courage wavered by the sadness in the rampaging demon’s eyes.

                “Stop this demon!” Kyuhyun muttered trying to reason something out of him.  

                “Why would I stop young onmyoji?! Do you know what it felt to be rotten like them? They killed their own kind due to envy and pride, where is Kyuhyun… show him to me!”

                “Kyuhyun… my name is Kyuhyun, I am the one you were looking for.”

                “No!” Sungmin growled under his breath and the hell fire’s range started dominating the surrounding fields, the trees and grasses turned rotten by a of the flames.

                “Show Kyuhyun to me, the young daimyo, where did you lock him you foolish humans, I want to speak to him.”

                Kyuhyun stared at the book on the corner but all he can see was a man, an apparition of a young onmyoji, dressed on their ancestor’s robe, expression broken, and in pain, he was looking at the rampaging demon like he was the most precious thing that walked on earth.

                “He’s gone.” Kyuhyun spoke and the apparition turned his eyes towards him. “He died years ago. “

                It stopped as abrupt as it started the rampage stopped and he got the demon’s attention. “What did you say?”

                “Young Lord Cho. Kyuhyun. He’s been dead, centuries ago.” Kyuhyun could not explain how painful he felt when he said those words. “He died 2 days after he sealed you.”

                The young lord in front of the demon kneeled pulled his hands together and placed his palm against the earth. He muttered, and the sealing incantations begun.

                Sungmin was confused, he was damn sure he had saved Kyuhyun, from dying, from the malicious intent of those onmyojis who envied him, he had killed them all, but the dark matter already spread throughout the fields, just like this. He was uncontrolled and unstoppable; he lost all his will towards the monstrosity.

                And there he saw, he saw Kyuhyun walked infront of him, just like this boy, he was  limping, bleeding and in tears.

                He called for him.

                And he looked right in his eyes.

                “Kyuhyun…”

                Pillars came down from heaven, white and pristine surrounding the shrine column by column, Dispersing the evil on the hell’s fire, removing everything painful.

                Sungmin took a step towards the praying onmyoji, the steps got slower and slower when the bind and purification took hold of him, he reached out his hand when his legs gave in to the pillars that stabbed his feet in place, his legs intact to the ground, even if it was only his torso, even if it was just his hand.

                “Kyuhyun…”

                The young onmyoji looked at Sungmin, but he was long gone, he knew that the young man in front of him was not his Kyuhyun. The young lord left him sealed in peace. Locked in the memories of the past, those happy memories were Kyuhyun’s seal to protect him.

A young kid walked closer towards the demon kitsune.

“What do you want kid?” Lee Sungmin asked not even wiping the blood in his hand and mouth after feeding off a shrine god.

“You should not eat human gods.”

“They taste good. I want them and you little brat should not get himself involve in demons.” Sungmin crouched down to match the little boys height.

The young onmyoji reached out his hand to wipe the blood on Sungmin’s lips.

“Someone as beautiful as you should not dirty your hands with the blood of humans.”

“You looked just like him.” Sungmin painfully reached out towards Kyuhyun, his face were touched by the demon’s hand and his smile was incomparable.

                “Goodbye Kyuhyun.”

The blinding light dispersed along with the dark matter and the demon from the shrine, everything went back to normal, the people rejoiced and celebrated but Kyuhyun remained there, on the ground.

                And he can never explain why the tears wouldn’t stop.

END

-A late KYUMIN DAY present to all my forever loving readers-