
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/7729378.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage
  Category:
      Multi
  Fandom:
      終わりのセラフ_|_Owari_no_Seraph_|_Seraph_of_the_End
  Relationship:
      Hyakuya_Mikaela/Hyakuya_Yuuichirou, Minor_or_Background_Relationship(s)
  Character:
      Hyakuya_Yuuichirou, Hyakuya_Mikaela, Hiiragi_Shinoa, Kimizuki_Shihou,
      Saotome_Yoichi, Sanguu_Mitsuba, Ichinose_Guren, Hiiragi_Mahiru, Krul
      Tepes, Asuramaru_(Owari_no_Seraph), Lest_Karr, Hyakuya_Akane, Lacus_Welt,
      René_Simm, Chess_Belle, Horn_Skuld, Ferid_Bathory, Crowley_Eusford,
      basically_everyone
  Additional Tags:
      Yuu_and_the_squad_are_"bad_kids", Mika_and_friends_are_jocks_and_preps,
      Slow_Build, Eventual_Smut, Mutual_Pining, Kind_of..., Secret_Identities,
      Superheroes, Miraculous_Ladybug_AU, but_waaaaaay_different
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-08-10 Updated: 2016-10-01 Chapters: 2/? Words: 11121
****** Is the Mask Really Hiding Something? ******
by cleanlittlesecret, Vanillabeann
Summary
     This superhero job should be pretty straightforward: protect the city
     and its people, purify the Horsemen before they destroy everything,
     and fix all the damage that’s been done. Easy, right? But when the
     heroes are Mika and Yuu—two teenage boys already having to deal with
     family issues, asshole friends, and secret crushes—nothing gets to
     stay that simple.
     Oh, and they also have to stop the evil, immortal monster sealed
     under the city from getting enough human blood to break free and take
     over the entire world. No pressure.
Notes
     We've been working on this fic for a little bit now and we finally
     finished the first chapter! Comments are always appreciated and are
     very nice, so leave one if you can. Hope you enjoy!
***** Teen Titans *****
Underneath the bleachers, Yuu stared at the boy of his affections through the
cracks in the metal seats, sighing lovingly as he made another flawless play.
He was watching Mika's football practice as he smoked his after-school
cigarette. 
Mika was honestly perfect. The way his long, slender fingers gripped the ball
so tightly, his strong arm then throwing the ball to its target perfectly,
making another beautiful play. Then he went down with an oof as a lineman
tackled him to the ground, and Yuu winced as Mika was thrown onto his
shoulder. 
That looked like it hurt like a bitch. The guy who tackled him was huge, and
Mika was fragile. He never got in fights, so it made Yuu anxious to see him go
down like that. He knew it was the lineman's job to tackle Mika, but Yuu
couldn't help but be worried whenever he watched him play. Football was an
aggressive sport, so it shouldn't be anything less, but it made Yuu want to
murder whomever pushed Mika down to the hard earth like that.  
Yuu anxiously took a drag of his cigarette and sighed in relief as one of
Mika's teammates grabbed his hand and pulled him up to his feet. They did a
shoulder bump in the air, then his team formed a circle to practice another
play. Yuu watched with fascination as Mika directed his team, pointing to
different things and gesturing the play with his hands. Everyone yelled a,
"Yes, captain!" and got into formation. 
Yuu could honestly watch this all day. Mika was such a fantastic leader that he
couldn't help but look up to him. 
"Hey, lover boy." 
Yuu looked down at the owner of the voice, his little kwami Asura. They were
the only two under the bleachers at the moment, since the rest of the squad
didn't rush like he did to go meet in their usual spot after school. 
"What's up?" Yuu asked, lightly poking the little guy with his finger. 
Asura held his hands to Yuu's finger, trying to push it away. "Stop! I'll bite
you!" He growled, but Yuu wasn't threatened. After all, Asura was a tiny,
purple creature with long, violet hair and little horns. He was adorable; plus,
he bit Yuu multiple times a day, so Yuu wasn't scared by a little poking of
teeth. Asura flew up to Yuu's head and situated himself on his hair, and Yuu
chuckled as Asura fluffed a piece of his hair and made a perfect little pillow.
"Why're you so into that guy anyways, Yuu?"
Yuu sat down on the grass, crossing his legs under himself as he leaned back
against a pole. "Why wouldn't I be? I mean, look at the guy. He's a walking
piece of perfection."
"Guys like that are always hiding something..." 
Yuu chuckled once more, vibrating his little kwami. "I didn't know you cared so
much about me."
"Duh." 
Yuu took a long puff of his cigarette, the sensation of poison traveling
through his lungs and back out again as he exhaled. It had been about seven
hours since he'd smoked that morning, and his jaw had killed him all through
fifth and sixth hour. It had felt like he couldn't even move it without his
whole face hurting. Addiction was certainly cruel. "Do you like the smell of
cigarettes, Asura?"
Asura didn't respond for a moment as he shuffled around in Yuu's hair. "Well,
you're the first owner I've had who smokes, since you're not the type of owner
I would usually pick, but I don't mind it. It actually makes your blood taste a
little different, but it's addicting. I find myself craving your blood more
than I would with my usual owners."
"Huh." So maybe his blood had nicotine in it? No, that shouldn't
happen...People could still donate blood even if they smoked. "Hopefully you
won't have withdrawals if I die."
"That's not funny." Asura sighed, shifting his position on Yuu's head. 
"I thought it was pretty funny—" Yuu paused, throwing the hood to his
sleeveless shirt over his head. He took another casual drag of the cigarette
and waved to Shinoa and Mitsuba. "Hey."
"Who the fuck were you talking to?" Mitsuba asked, plopping down across from
Yuu. 
"He's probably just making up scenarios of him and his Prince Charming finally
kissing."
"Shut the fuck up." Yuu threw the box of poison to his lavender-haired friend,
and she plopped herself down next to Mitsuba. "What'd you get?" he asked,
watching Shinoa pull a brown paper bag out of her backpack. She tossed the bag
over to Yuu, and he pulled a bottle out and sighed. "Fireball? Really? This
shit has way too much cinnamon in it."
"I knew he'd complain," Mitsuba huffed as she lit the cigarette between her
lips. "If ya don't like it, come with us next time."
"Oh, but Micchan!" Shinoa dramatically said, placing a hand on her heart. "Then
he couldn't watch his Prince Charming like a creepy—" Yuu grabbed a rock off
the ground and chucked it at Shinoa's head, but she dodged it easily and
continued with her performance. "Ahem, then he couldn't stalk Mr. Prince
Charming!" She clapped her hands together once in the most loving way possible
before her expression turned from pure to pure evil. "Maybe you should just
suck his dick already, Yuu-san," she mused, loving how Yuu's eyes narrowed in a
threatening way. "Oh, scary!" 
"Shut the fuck up!" Yuu yelled, grabbing another rock, but this time he aimed
for her legs. The rock just hit the grass and earned a laughing fit from his
friend as he slammed his fists down on his thighs. "I said, shut up!"
"Jesus," a deep voice scoffed, and the three of them turned their heads towards
the speaker: Kimizuki, a pink-haired guy built like a telephone pole. With him
was Yoichi, a fluffy brunet. 
Yuu still didn't understand why Yoichi hung out with them. Surely they were a
bad influence on him, seeing as Yoichi didn't start smoking and drinking until
Kimizuki introduced him to the group as his boyfriend. Yoichi was reluctant at
first, but he eventually started running with the bad kids, and they could tell
Kimizuki found that so much more attractive. That was probably why Yoichi
started, to be honest. 
Mitsuba leaned over and snatched the Fireball from Yuu, her eyes fixated on the
blush on Yoichi's cheeks. "What took you so long...?" she asked cautiously
after taking a sip of addiction. "Shinoa and I got here faster, and we went and
got alcohol."
"Isn't it obvious, Micchan? They had a little quickie."
Yoichi's blush intensified as he and Kimizuki sat between Mitsuba and Yuu. They
both grabbed a cigarette from the box as Kimizuki shot a glare at the other
girl. "Fuck off, Shinoa."
"Ha." Yuu snorted, taking another puff of poison. "Everyone knows you like it
when Yoichi blushes, so stop acting like you don't."
"Huh," Kimizuki started, tilting his head to the side and giving Yuu a
sarcastically innocent look. "Who knew you were smart enough to catch that?" He
smirked, knowing exactly what set Yuu off. 
Yuu just about exploded. He hated getting treated like an idiot—he was actually
quite smart, but all those assholes and poor excuses for teachers stereotyped
him as a burnt-out junkie. There was only one person besides his friends and
family who didn’t treat him like that: Mikaela Shindo. Yuu stood up from the
grass and crouched in front of Kimizuki. The rest of the squad was entertained
because this was a regular thing for the two of them, but it did make Yoichi a
little nervous. Yuu took another drag of his cigarette, then blew the puff of
smoke into Kimizuki's face. 
Kimizuki didn't flinch. Instead, he snorted and crossed his arms over his
chest. "That supposed to be threatening?" he asked, cocking his head to the
side. "You really are stupid."
Yuu grabbed Kimizuki by the collar of his shirt and tugged him up to his face.
"You wanna fight, telephone poll?" 
"Fine by me, cherry boy." 
Yuu's eyebrow twitched at the nickname his friends had given him. So what if he
was a virgin? He was obviously saving himself for his crush. Mika was amazing
and had the best looks, an athletic body, and an incredible personality.
Compared to him, any other person was like a toad that would give someone
warts. Yuu drew his fist back, ready to sock his "friend" in the nose, until he
noticed Mika pulling his helmet off, and he dropped his arm so he could return
to the crack in the bleachers to watch the beautiful sight.
Shinoa giggled, her devilish smirk finding its way back to her lips. "Yuu-san,
what about your fight with Kimizuki-san?"
"Forget him." Kimizuki sighed. "He's too busy drooling."
Yuu, of course, wasn't listening. He was too distracted by how Mika always
looked like a fucking model when he pulled his helmet off. The way his hair
bounced around as he shook his head was so sexy. His sweat glistened with each
flip of his hair, and it practically made him sparkle. This was why every other
guy looked like trash to Yuu, including himself. Mika was just so...amazing, in
every way possible. As Mika ran off the field, Yuu watched curiously. It looked
like he was leaving a little early that day. Yuu always wondered why Mika did
that sometimes. Maybe he had something to take care of at home? Yuu honestly
didn't know, but he couldn't help but be a little curious. 
"Yuu," Asura started, whispering in his ear. Yuu turned his head towards Asura
to show he was listening. "There's a Horseman. We need to go now."
Nodding, Yuu grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder. "I gotta go. I
forgot some shit I have to do." He threw his cigarette on the grass and stomped
on the butt. He hated wasting cigarettes like that. They were all minors, so
Mitsuba bought all their drugs and alcohol with her fake ID, and he didn't like
to waste a perfectly good cigarette.
"Running away from our fight, cherry boy?" Kimizuki challenged, standing up. 
Yuu snorted and stepped in front of the telephone pole. "Hell. No." He poked
Kimizuki's chest between the words. "I would NEVER run away from—"
"Yuu! Come on!" Asura yelled, pulling Yuu's hair. 
"Okay!" Yuu didn't bother explaining his outburst. He turned around and ran to
search for a place where he could easily transform. "Where is it?" 
As Yuu ran behind the school, Asura flew out of his hood and onto his shoulder.
"It's by the library."
"Cool." Yuu stopped and tilted his chin up, and the long pieces of his hair
blew in the wind to reveal the black gauges and other piercings in his ears.
"Asura, transform me!"
As the kwami was sucked into Yuu’s gauges and turned his earrings from black to
purple, his bangs slipped free from the two green bobby pins clipping his hair
back. A sword appeared on his hip, and when Yuu drew it from its black sheath,
a dark smoke engulfed his body. He slashed an X with his sword, and the smoke
dispersed to reveal his hero form, Oni.
A purple, sleeveless shirt covered his chest and connected to a white material
that flowed into a high-low curve down past his hips. Black, fingerless gloves
covered his arms up to his biceps but exposed his shoulders, and two loops
connected the gloves to his middle fingers. Dark pants made of a spandex-like
material and black boots covered his legs and feet, and last of all, a black
mask encircled his demonic red eyes, sharp fangs hid behind his lips, and black
horns jutted out from his hair.
Yuu sheathed his sword and ran to the woods backed up against the school.
Students often went there to skip class or smoke a joint, and the woods had
been the squad's hangout place until Yuu forced them to move under the
bleachers so he could watch Mika's practice. 
Okay, he might seem like a stalker, but he certainly wasn't. He did talk to
Mika on a regular basis, so it wasn't totally creepy, right?
Yuu shook his head, focusing back to the problem at hand. The library was
relatively close to the school, maybe a twenty-minute walk, but Yuu could cut
that time in half with his parkour. 
Yes, as stupid as it sounded, Yuu and the rest of the squad did parkour. It had
started as sneaking into buildings they weren't exactly welcomed into, and
sometimes the police would show up, so they had gotten good at running away.
After a while, they had found it necessary to actually practice, and it was
quite fun. 
Once Yuu was out of the woods, he scaled a house, jumping from window ledge to
window ledge until he reached the top. He made his way through the subdivision,
using the roofs as his road. It was safer to do this in his hero form than in
his normal form because Oni had a tougher body—he healed faster and didn't get
hurt as easily. It was nice, but he couldn't help but wish his partner,
Kyuuketsuki, had that ability too, since he was the one who got injured the
most. Yuu guessed it made sense though. Oni's power was cleansing and healing
whatever his sword touched, and Kyuuketsuki's was his speed and strength.
Not far from the library, Yuu heard the screeches and howls of the Horseman,
and he easily followed the noise to a road filled with crashed cars, bloodied
bodies, and panicked citizens who watched from afar. Scanning his surroundings,
he spotted some victims trapped inside ruined cars and under chunks of cement
that had been ripped from the ground. He headed towards a young woman who was
almost unconscious from blood loss, but when she saw Oni, her face lit up with
the return of her lost hope.
"Oni," she breathed, trying her hardest to stay awake. 
"It's okay. I'm here." He unsheathed his sword and held the blade up to the
woman's legs, which were caught under some cement. 
"I-It won't hurt, right?"
"No. My sword only cuts those disgusting creatures." Oni brought the blade to
his wrist and ran the edge over his clothed skin. "See? No blood. My clothes
didn't even tear."
She nodded, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to watch. "Please heal me."
He slashed her legs, and the concrete pinning her down was crushed into
nothing. When the dust cleared, he offered his hand to the woman and pulled her
to her feet.
"Thank you!" With a smile, she wrapped him in a tight hug. 
"You're welcome." He smiled back as she let him go. "Now please get to safety!"
He yelled over his shoulder as he headed towards the next victim. 
With the first part of his duties finished, he set out to find Kyuuketsuki,
which wasn’t difficult to do since he was hands-down the biggest dork and
goofball Yuu had ever had the “blessing” of meeting. Normally, Yuu could just
follow the sound of yelling to find his partner. This time was no different. 
He spotted Kyuuketsuki, a masked boy around the same age as him, fighting a
Horseman with his sword. A powerful being who had been sealed underground
controlled the Horsemen. About twice the size of the average human, they looked
like living nightmares with sharp teeth and claws, multiple arms and legs, and
armored hide, but something about them seemed angelic. Each Horseman’s brightly
colored skin had unique tribal print-like patterns engraved on it, and from its
back rose sculpted wings, shining white and midnight black that contrasted with
the bright colors of its skin.
A toothy grin appeared on Kyuuketsuki’s lips when he saw Oni, and his vampire
fangs peeked through. "Oh, my fallen angel. Nice of you to finally show up." He
pushed the Horseman's claw away with the fuller of his sword, gritting his
teeth and using his enhanced strength to free himself from danger.
Kyuuketsuki had the power of a vampire, and Oni had the power of a demon. It
was actually funny that the city’s two heroes were things that people usually
found terrifying, but Yuu wasn't complaining. He liked being able to heal the
injured. It upset him to see all these people getting hurt, but he couldn't
help but grin at the compliments and thanks people gave him, which he would
never get as Yuu. He always liked the joy on people’s faces when their bleeding
stopped, their cuts healed, or even their limbs reattached to their bodies. It
just felt good. 
"Shut up," Oni scoffed as he jogged over to Kyuuketsuki. He glanced around them
before asking, "You injured?"
Kyuuketsuki wrapped an arm around Oni's shoulders and pulled their bodies
close. "I'm touched that you're so worried about me, angel." He grinned,
squeezing Oni tighter. "The only thing bothering me is this vampire’s frozen
heart. Maybe true love’s kiss can thaw it." 
"Ugh, you're such a pain in the neck," Oni groaned as he pushed Kyuuketsuki's
hand away. 
"Because I bite you on the neck?" Kyuuketsuki giggled at his own joke as he
tapped the pulse point on Oni's neck, but he quickly stopped at the unamused
look on his partner’s face. "Sorry," he corrected, but he didn't correct the
smile on his lips. 
"You're such a dork." Oni sighed, pulling his sword from its sheath. 
Noticing the Horseman charging towards them, Kyuuketsuki got into position as
well. "What's the plan?" he asked as he stepped in front of Oni to protect him.
They worked as a team: Oni stayed back from the fight and looked for an opening
to cleanse the Horseman, and Kyuuketsuki protected him and distracted the
creature until Oni found his chance. 
"I'll think of something. Just go."
Kyuuketsuki planted his feet on the ground and dashed towards the Horseman.
Under his vampire strength, the asphalt cracked and tore free from the earth,
leaving a trail of rubble in his wake. He smirked, trying his best to look
manly for Oni, but Oni never acted even the least bit impressed. “He’ll fall
for me someday,” Kyuuketsuki whispered to himself.
A deadly howl sounding through its razor-sharp teeth, the Horseman charged
towards him. Kyuuketsuki winced and threw his arm over his head to brace for
the gale pouring from the creature’s throat. He swung his sword through the
air, dirtying his weapon with the Horseman’s disgusting saliva, and pushed
forward to slash its side. The Horseman howled in pain as it searched for who
had injured it, then charged at Kyuuketsuki again.
Oni watched from where he stood, his eyes glancing around in search for a good
opening. The only problem with only being able to heal and cleanse was that he
needed to get relatively close to the Horseman to attack, but he couldn't
protect himself without Kyuuketsuki. He looked around once more, his eyes
wandering over everything he could possibly use as he chewed on his lip
piercing.
Silver car? No. 
Billboard sign? No. 
McDonald's drive-through speaker? No. 
Lamppost? No—YES. 
"Hey, blood sucker!" Oni called. 
Kyuuketsuki tripped over a chunk of cement and flailed his arms to regain his
balance before glancing back. "Yes, my fallen angel?" he asked, trying to play
off his little stumble with some flirting as he blocked another strike from the
Horseman. 
Oni giggled at his partner as he rolled his eyes. "Get that lamppost to fall
onto that black truck." He pointed, trying to hide his amused smile. 
His eyes following Oni’s finger, Kyuuketsuki nodded. “All right, my love,” he
purred, winking at Oni. "Anything for—”
"Kyuu, watch out!"
Kyuuketsuki snapped his eyes back to find the Horseman looming over him. "Krul,
more power!" His silver sword glistened, and a third of the blade turned red,
showing how much power he could take before he lost control. As he slashed at
the Horseman, a red burst of energy fired from his blade and sliced off one of
the Horseman’s arms. Kyuuketsuki retreated, jumping back towards Oni, and
sheathed his weapon so he could grab his partner’s hand as he knelt on one
knee. "Thank you for worrying about me, angel," he cooed, brushing his lips
against the back of Oni's clothed hand. Then he smirked, flashing his pearly
white fangs. "Kyuu, huh? How cute."
Oni snatched his hand back to his side and clenched his fists. "Ugh, this is
why you're so annoying! Can’t you ever be serious for one second of the day?!
You could have been killed!"
Kyuuketsuki stood and tried to grab Oni’s hand again, but Oni wouldn’t let him.
He frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m actually a respected man
when I’m not in hero form.” Not that he should be respected.
"Yeah, right," Oni scoffed. "Now go do what I said, but this time, don't
fucking flirt while you’re at it."
"Yes, my love." Sighing, he pounced forward to place his body in front of the
Horseman. "Hey!" he called out, and the Horseman’s eyes glowed red at its new-
found target. "Let's play tag! You're it!"
Howling and gnashing its teeth, the Horseman charged towards Kyuuketsuki. He
jumped to his left to dodge a jab, and its claw smashed a crater in the
concrete. Kyuuketsuki led the Horseman to the streetlamp, paused until the
creature was mere feet from him, then jumped to the side, dodging a blow that
would have crushed his chest. The Horseman’s claw tore into the pole and
knocked it on top of the truck.
Oni dashed towards them and slid under the pole where he disappeared from the
Horseman’s line of vision. He jumped up from the cement, and his sword gleamed
green as he slashed through the creature’s center. The Horseman let out a howl
as it shone with white light, and then it faded into the human it had been
before.
Now for the cleansing. "Come, Asura!" Yuu held his sword out to the side, and a
red fire engulfed the blade. "Fan out! Asura-Kannon!" A fan of swords appeared
behind him, all burning with red flames. He released them to the sky, and they
pierced the white clouds hovering over the city. A wave of red light swept over
the blue and washed away all the rubble and blood left by the Horseman’s
rampage. Everything returned to how it had been before the destruction started.
Kyuuketsuki sheathed his sword and ran towards his partner. "Great job!" he
yelled, raising his hand for a high-five. 
"You too, blood sucker." Oni smacked his hand, and then the two of them focused
their attention back to the former Horseman. 
Every Horseman that rampaged through the city had once been a human. The
feeling of despair transformed them into revolting creatures whose purpose was
to spill blood for their master, Lest Karr, a powerful being who had been
sealed away underground. The seal on him was slowly wearing down as he
collected human blood, but it was Oni and Kyuuketsuki’s job to stop him.
Oni knelt beside the victim, a man who looked both frightened and guilty at the
same time, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay," he said softly,
forcing the man to look up. 
"I-I didn't mean to…I didn't, I mean, I'm sorry—”
"It's okay. It's not your fault," Oni said. Kyuuketsuki was just awkwardly
standing there, so Oni grabbed his hand and pulled him down to the ground with
him. "Right, Kyuu?"
Kyuuketsuki smirked at the nickname. "Yes, my love," he cooed, his eyes gaining
a sexy glint. When Oni shoved his shoulder, he fell to his butt on the hard
cement. "Ow." He giggled, crossing his legs under himself. "Don't bully me,
angel."
Oni rolled his eyes. Couldn’t Kyuuketsuki be serious for one fucking second? He
felt bad for the poor souls who had to spend the entire day with that idiot.
“Anyways,” he sighed, returning his attention to the man, “it wasn’t your
fault. It was Lest’s, but if you still feel guilty about it, then try to stop
others from falling too. We can use all the help we can get.” His earrings
beeped as the once-violet gauges faded to black. “I have to go.” He stood up
and gave a glance to Kyuuketsuki. “Have fun being an idiot tonight, vampire.”
And with that, he ran off.
Kyuuketsuki stood up and whipped the dirt off his pants. "Well, I gotta split
too. There is a support group for former Horsemen if you want somebody to talk
to." He flashed the man a peace sign before he left.
He wasn’t good at the talking portion of the job. Hell, he really only felt the
need to talk to those few people he found important. He didn’t need two hundred
friends, didn’t need to be noticed, and didn’t need to be treated like someone
special. He really only wanted to be friends with one person, only wanted to be
noticed by one person, and only wanted to be treated like someone special by
one person—Oni. And he didn’t know his real name or even the color of his eyes.
There was just something about Oni that was so…different. He didn’t know
another person who was so smart, caring, and dependable, but also so unique.
Usually, people who looked like Oni weren’t those types of things. Kyuuketsuki
wasn’t an idiot. He noticed the piercings in his ears and lip, the black wings
tattooed on the backs of his shoulders, and the smell of cigarettes clinging to
his skin, and it made him wonder what kind of person Oni was outside their job.
It didn’t help that Oni was hot. His rough appearance with dark, disheveled sex
hair, and his voice—ugh, it would be the death him—perfectly smooth with just
the right amount of depth, but also raspy, which probably came from smoking.
Surprisingly, Kyuuketsuki didn’t mind the scent of cigarettes one bit. He
actually found it to be comforting since he felt so safe around Oni.
He really was in love with him. 
Once he was close to his home, Kyuuketsuki reverted to his civilian form. It
wasn’t as dramatic a transformation as when he changed into his hero form, but
returning to being plain old him always made him tense. He had to deal with
school, football, and his home life—three things that were difficult to
juggle. 
His kwami let out a long yawn. “Mika, honey,” she said as she situated herself
on his hand, “I’m thirsty. Can I please have a tiny snack?”
Mika smiled at the little cutie, Krul, and offered her the index finger of his
other hand. “Sure, drink away.” She latched her fangs onto his finger and
swallowed tiny drops of his blood. “Krul,” he started, and she raised her eyes
to show she was listening. “Did you see the way Oni worried about me today? And
he got all cute and bashful because he was embarrassed that I caught him.”
Krul looked at Mika like he was insane. "Were you watching the same thing as
me?" she asked, unlatching her mouth from his finger. "He seemed angry, not
embarrassed.” She bit him again. 
Mika waved her words away. "No, he was definitely being shy!"
Krul just shook her head until she had her fill of blood. "I honestly don't get
why you like him so much. He smells bad."
“Is your nose working? He smells sinfully good.”
Krul rolled her eyes at him, but her expression turned harsher when she got a
good look at their surroundings. “Mika, we’re almost home. Will you be all
right?”
"Yeah, I'll be fine! My dad just gets a little angry sometimes. It's really
nothing for you to worry about."
She looked up at him in concern, but before she could say anything, Mika
entered his family’s three-bedroom house and slipped his shoes off. Krul
hurried to hide in his backpack, but she made sure to stay close enough to the
top to hear the conversation that followed.
“H-Hi, Dad. I’m home,” Mika cautiously called as he headed towards the family
room. When he didn’t get a response, he tried again. “Uh, Dad?” He chewed on
his bottom lip as he peeked around the corner. His dad turned his head towards
him but did nothing more to acknowledge him before returning his attention to
the television. “Um.” Mika awkwardly shuffled into the kitchen connected to the
family room and drummed his fingers on the table. “H-How was work?”
"Fine." He flipped through the channels on the television. 
Mika grabbed a juice box from the refrigerator and a bag of goldfish from the
cupboard. "Um, don't you have—”
"Mikaela," his dad snapped, forcing Mika to retreat closer to the staircase.
"Oh, um, sorry for bothering you. I-I'll just be in my room if you wanna talk
or anything." Mika fled up the stairs and to his room, but he shut his door
quietly so it wouldn’t bother his dad. When he plopped his bag on the floor,
Krul whined in frustration and flew out to cuddle herself up in the curve of
his neck. 
"It's okay. Maybe tomorrow will be better, Mika."
He lay down on his bed and curled himself into a ball. A few stray tears stung
his eyes until they slipped free. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he mumbled to
himself, hugging his knees close. “He can’t hurt me. I’m already broken.”
***** Daily Bugle Gossip *****
Mika had made plenty of mistakes in his life: failing a math test in middle
school because a coin toss told him to, eating nothing but cheese for three
days straight because a coin toss told him to, and kissing a girl because, yes,
a coin toss told him to. To be honest, Mika didn’t know two shits about what to
do with his life, and he didn’t feel smart enough to figure it out, so he let a
simple coin decide—heads or tails—for him. With the added power and
responsibility of being Kyuuketsuki, Mika still relied on the coin for
direction, and Krul hated it. The coin had become his lifeline, a part of him,
and he would never throw it out, especially after what had happened the one
time he disobeyed it.
Freshman year, feeling vulnerable and alone in the unfamiliar hallways of his
high school, Mika had been approached with an offer to become friends with
Ferid Bathory. It had looked like a great opportunity—Ferid was popular and
could help Mika meet plenty of other people, even though the coin toss had said
to avoid him, but Mika had learned his lesson quickly and brutally.
Ferid had been a bit of a pain during their freshman year, but he had only
gotten worse with time. His constant hanging-on hurt Mika’s shoulders, his
overly cheerful voice grated in Mika’s ears, and his obnoxious flirting soured
Mika’s stomach, and then there were his friends. Even though Mika was grateful
to know them, he was overwhelmed by their constant in-fighting and attempts to
control his relationships outside their group. He wouldn’t have ever imagined
how much drama these people could create or how much stress this status could
give him. It was too much for someone like him to handle, and on top of all
that, Mika had to keep up appearances with good grades and good looks.
Every day, he regretted making that one decision. Even as a simple piece of
metal, his coin was smart enough to agree that he was gay and in love with Oni,
so Mika would trust it with his life from then on.
Sitting in the cafeteria one day, Mika sighed to drone out his friends’
bickering and buried his face in his crossed arms on the table. He turned his
head enough to stare down the table at the slip of cloth covering Horn’s chest,
and when that became boring, he peeked around at the typical lunch time
activity happening around him.
At another table, some kid dissected his food with a fork and knife, paying
special attention to the sweet and sour chicken. Looking scrappy with a ragged
beanie over his mop of brown hair, he sat hunched over so his eyes were level
with the table as he scraped the orange sauce off the chicken and cut the pale
meat open. He stabbed a bite of food, observed it carefully, and popped it into
his mouth. Someone like that must prefer to be alone, and Mika understood that,
but he would have been lonely without his friends.
Mika’s gaze traveled and found a group of girls frantically copying each
other’s homework while stuffing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches probably
made by their moms into their mouths. Two girls shared earbuds, tapping their
feet to the beat, and swapped papers with another girl who chewed her gum like
she had never eaten a bite of food in her life. Mika longed to blend into the
background like they did so he wouldn’t feel watched all the time, so others
wouldn’t read into his thoughts and use him as a role model when he was
anything but.
He scanned some more tables before stopping at a guy flirting with a girl by
poking her shoulder and pretending someone else had done it. The girl laughed
and blushed, and oh, how Mika wished it was that easy to get Oni’s affection.
Groaning, he glanced away and found Yuuichirou Hyakuya, or as Mika called him,
Yuu-chan. Yuu’s group had a reputation for bad behavior, but it had calmed down
somewhat after the time Yuu got suspended. According to Yuu, his father would
“cut his dick off” if another suspension happened, so Yuu was cautious about
picking fights, but he didn’t hesitate to unload his colorful vocabulary on
people at full volume. Mika worried about him, but he also wished he was part
of Yuu’s group—they never had real fights with each other, and they were fun to
be around. Mika felt more comfortable with them than with his own friends, so
once again, he couldn’t help but wish he’d never accepted Ferid’s offer.
Sighing, Mika lifted his head a little and tucked some hair behind his ear so
he could watch Yuu’s table. Standing with one foot on the bench and a bag of
candy in one hand, Yuu pointed his free hand and yelled something at Kimizuki
while Kimizuki snapped back at him. Most of the words failed to reach Mika, but
he caught something about alcohol and rolled his eyes—of course it was that.
Shinoa got Yuu’s attention with her usual grin, which never meant anything
good, and letting out a long string of curses, Yuu grabbed a handful of M&M’s
from his candy bag and threw them at her head. Shinoa caught a few in her mouth
and ate them before returning to her earlier smile, and Yoichi tried to calm
Yuu’s rage while Mitsuba dully examined her black nail polish. They were an
interesting bunch, and they looked the part.
Shinoa’s rocker-like style was black from the waist down: studded shorts,
tights, knee-high socks, and combat boots. She wore a red leather jacket over a
white V-neck decorated with the Rolling Stones logo, and her hair had been dyed
a light purple and tied back into two braids secured with a big bow. Besides
cat-winged eye liner, she didn’t wear much makeup, and she had many piercings
and cuffs on her ears but none on her flawless face.
Sitting across from Shinoa, Mitsuba looked relatively casual with dark jeans
that hugged her curves, a black band T-shirt whose name Mika didn’t recognize,
an oversized olive-green jacket that hung down to her butt, and wedge ankle
boots. Her blond hair was tied into two pigtails that darkened to red ombré at
the ends. Her smoky eye makeup made her violet eyes pop, and a silver stud
pierced her nose.
Next to Mitsuba, Yoichi looked the tamest with a simple, red V-neck and dark
jeans. He had no piercings and a simple quote in type-writer font tattooed on
his collarbone. Kimizuki sat on the other side of him, dressed in baggy camo
joggers, black combat boots, and a white V-neck. His hair had obviously been
dyed, and he had an eyebrow piercing and a couple earrings.
Last but not least was Yuu, still standing beside Shinoa’s seat. Mika glanced
him up and down before licking his lips in appreciation. He had to admit, Yuu
looked good—well, so did Kimizuki, but he wasn’t Mika’s type. Yuu wore a dark
T-shirt, a black-and-red plaid flannel tied around his waist, and skinny jeans.
He had all his usual piercings that day, including a pair of small gauges in
his ears, and two clips held most of his bangs back. His bronze skin
complimented the gold flecks in his emerald eyes, and the messiness of his hair
seemed to just finish the look. Although Mika knew Yuu was a piece of fine art,
his eyes were for someone else…but it wouldn’t hurt to just watch how his
shoulders moved under his tight shirt, or how his jeans jugged his hips just
right, or—Mika blinked in surprise as Yuu met his gaze. He’d been caught
staring, but Mika just smiled and did a small wave, and Yuu’s cheeks plunged
into crimson before he turned away.
Cute.
Despite his rough personality, Yuu blushed more than half the time he spent
around Mika. Why did he blush so often? Maybe Yuu was shy around him because of
Mika’s reputation, but then again, Yuu hated all the other students like Mika,
so maybe not…?
“Who are you waving at, Mika?”
Mika sat up straight to look at Akane. “Yuu-chan.”
Fiddling with her brunette braid, Akane sighed. “You shouldn’t talk to him,
Mika. You know he and his friends do bad things.”
“That doesn’t make Yuu-chan a bad person.”
“Ah, ah, Mika-chan,” Ferid singsonged, and his eyes gleamed when Mika glared
across the table at him. “Aw, don’t look at me like that. I’m just trying to
help a friend.” He pouted and made huge puppy-dog eyes at Mika.
Mika sighed. “Well? What is it?”
Smirking, Ferid slammed his hands on the table and leaned in until Mika almost
fell backwards off the bench. “I think you should listen to our precious little
Akane. If you help that boy too much, you’ll get caught up in something you
want nothing to do with.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Mika raised an eyebrow. “I won’t start
drinking or anything like that. I’m not stupid.”
“Oh, I know that, Mika. I’m talking about something else entirely.” Ferid
leaned back and laced his fingers together. “Akane knows what I mean. You’re in
the same danger being around her.”
“Shut up, Ferid!” Akane snapped, and several heads further down the table
turned to look at her. “I’ll have you know I’m nothing like that Yuu.”
From the other end of the table, Lacus raised his eyebrows at her. “How?” He’d
heard enough to guess what their conversation was about, like everyone else in
the group, so he stared at Akane and waited for her answer.
Akane turned to Mika. “Do you think I’m nice, Mika?” He nodded with a smile,
and she looked back to Lacus. “There. That’s one thing I am that Yuu isn’t.”
“But, Mika, don’t you think your precious Yuu-chan is nice too?” Ferid asked.
Still smiling, Mika nodded a little more frantically. “Yuu-chan is one of my
best friends.” Where was this conversation heading? The others all looked at
Akane, listening for her next reason.
“Well, we’re both friends with all the same people, so we can relate a lot
better. Mika has nothing in common with Yuu.”
Everyone’s heads turned towards Mika again, but he sat in silence for several
seconds before realizing they were staring at him. Oh, was he supposed to say
another nice thing about Yuu? “Well, Yuu-chan and I talk about other things.
You know, real conversations, instead of just chattering about other people.”
“Oh, development.” Lacus leaned an elbow on the table and grinned. “After all,
you two won’t be in high school forever, Akane.”
“That’s true,” Horn said. “You’ll run out of things to talk about eventually.”
“Says you!” Akane frowned. “You’re like the queen of gossiping!”
“No, that’s Ferid,” Crowley said.
“True, true.” Ferid nodded and looped his arm through Crowley’s. “Thank you, my
dear Crowley, for understanding that I’m the top gossip here.” He smiled up at
Crowley. “I can always trust you to defend my honorable title.” A wave of
nausea rippled out from them, filling every other mouth at the table with the
same sour taste, and Mika grimaced as he pushed the tray containing the
remnants of his lunch further away.
“Anyways.” With a sigh, Horn faced Akane again. “As it stands, Yuu is just as
good for Mika as you are…unless you have something else?”
Akane didn’t even have to think for her next example. “I’m smarter than Yuu.”
She arched her back to sit up tall and proud.
Lacus snorted. “That’s true. Yuu isn’t going anywhere in life.”
Why were they having this conversation? Mika couldn’t understand, but it
bothered him to hear Yuu be talked about like that. “That’s not true. Yuu-chan
is really smart, and he has good grades too.”
“What, really?” Lacus cocked his head to the side. “That’s a surprise.”
“He probably cheats,” Akane scoffed, shaking her head in disapproval.
“No, Yuu-chan has things he wants to do with his life, and he’s trying really
hard.” Mika shifted his weight on the bench, but when he spoke again, a little
confidence strengthened his voice. “I…don’t like to hear you guys talk about
him like this, so please stop it.”
Akane stared at him before glancing around to the others, a little hurt that
Mika would defend Yuu like that. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ferid cut
her off by raising his index finger, his eyes bright. “Don’t worry, dear little
Akane. Having good grades in school doesn’t matter—just look at Mika. He’s
excellent in his studies but a complete idiot when it comes to anything else.”
Laughter broke out around the table as fire spread under Mika’s skin.
“Do you remember that time he studied a bunch of chapters we hadn’t even
touched in class yet the night before an exam?”
“Or when he poured sugar on his fries instead of salt—the packets are two
different colors!”
It was during times like this he envied Yuu’s friends the most. Sure, they
joked around and teased each other, but they did it in their own affectionate
way. They all cared for each other, and they would never say the kind of stuff
his friends did. Mika looked down at his lap, trying to hide his blush as he
fiddled with his ring, turning it so the ruby circled his finger over and over.
He looked away, back to the other table, and watched Shinoa reach up to ruffle
Yuu’s hair.
With an annoyed look on his face, Yuu slapped her hand away, but Mika could
tell he enjoyed himself by how his lips curved upwards before splitting into a
toothy grin and a laugh. His expression darkened when Kimizuki called him an
idiot, and Yuu flipped him off, sparking another argument between them. As he
bolted up from his seat again to yell, Yuu’s smile reappeared, bright as the
midday sun.
Watching those five was so refreshing. The untrained eye could mistake their
friendship for mutual hatred, but Mika knew better, and he envied them. He
wished he had never got into his current position, but it was too late to
change—already stuck on a pedestal, he could never come down again. Sighing,
Mika got up from the bench and grabbed his bag. Several pairs of eyes looked
up, distracted from their fun as they searched for his expression, but Mika
kept his head down to hide behind his bangs.
“Where are you going, Mika?” Akane tugged on his sleeve, but Mika shook her
hand off and stepped over the bench to leave. “Mika?”
He ignored her. Mika felt like he was about to cry, and he hated all of it—if
only she hadn’t—he bit his lip hard, trying to stomp down the thought, but it
still bubbled to the top of his mind, unwanted and persistent as a strangling
cough—if his mom hadn’t died, he wouldn’t be dealing with this. It wasn’t true,
of course, it wasn’t his mom’s fault, she couldn’t help getting sick, but he
couldn’t help being hurt. Still looking down, Mika squeezed the strap of his
shoulder bag as he headed for the door, but his escape was cut short when he
slammed into someone.
“Shit!”
Something thudded to the floor as Mika stumbled back. He regained his balance
and snapped his head up, an apology jumping into his mouth, but no one stood
before him.
“What the fuck!”
Mika looked down to find his accidental victim sitting on the floor and whining
from pain. Green eyes bright with accusation snapped up to him, then widened,
and recognition eased the tension from that crude mouth.
Yuu-chan… Mika broke out of his thoughts and leaned down to offer his hand.
“Sorry, Yuu-chan. I wasn’t paying attention.”
Yuu took the hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. “Uh, no, I wasn’t
watching where I was going.” He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of
his head. “I probably shouldn’t walk while looking back, yeah?” Mika forced a
little smile and nodded, but Yuu stared at him. “Hey, Mika, are you okay? You
look kind of pale.”
Mika waved it off. “Oh no, I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”
“Are you sure? Because—” Yuu reached up to touch just under Mika’s eye, and a
tear slipped free to run down towards his fingertips. “—you’re crying.” Mika’s
eyes softened, an unreadable emotion pulling at his heart, but Yuu jumped and
snatched his hand back, blushing. “S-Sorry!” He waved his hand in front of
himself as more apologies bubbled up, but before they could come out, he froze.
Mika watched in curiosity as Yuu cocked his head to the side with a pained
look. “Okay, I’m going!” Yuu dashed back to his table to grab his bag and
bolted for the door, but just as he reached it, he stopped to turn back.
“Sorry, Mika, I gotta go. Um…text me, okay?”
Mika nodded, and Yuu smiled before barreling through the door. What was that
about? Before he could wonder about it too much, something darted into his hair
and crawled around to the locks hiding one of his ears.
“Mika, there’s a Horseman.” Krul’s small voice drew his attention to other
matters, and he nodded in understanding. He slipped out a different door than
Yuu had used and speed-walked through the hallways, and as soon as he found his
way outside, he broke into a run. Krul clung to his hair, a small weight on the
side of his head, and when he stopped a safe distance from the building, she
flew out to hover beside his face. “Mika honey, I want you to know you’re not
an idiot. I love you, dear, and I wouldn’t pick anyone else to be my master.”
Mika smiled. “Thanks, Krul.” He petted the top of her hair, liking how the
silkiness slid under his finger. “You always manage to cheer me up.” But what
did Krul see in him? The way he saw it, he was pretty stupid.
“Of course I do, honey. We’re a team, and I know you better than anyone.” She
cuddled into Mika’s cheek, and he cupped his hand around her.
“Thank you.” His mind snapping back to the matter at hand, Mika glanced
around—here on the border of the school grounds, all he saw were trees, but he
knew the rest of the city lay on the other side of the woods, and the Horseman
could be anywhere. “Where do we have to go?” An explosion of noise answered
him, a burst of crashes that mottled together and ended abruptly, and in the
relative silence that followed, human screams and car alarms echoed through the
woods. Mika looked towards the sound and found smoke pouring up into the sky
beyond the trees. “Never mind. I think I found it.”
Krul flew out from the shelter of his hand to see the smoke, and her tiny face
tightened with determination. “That looks far enough for the school to be safe,
but we have to hurry.”
“Right.” Mika picked some trees to hide behind, and after hiding his bag under
some bushes, he backed up to a trunk and held his right arm out to the side.
“Krul, transform me!”
The ruby on his ring sucked Krul in and flashed with her power. Mika swiped his
hand across his chest, and a red halo glowed around his skin and clothes. On
his hip a sword materialized, silver with a red hilt, and when Mika drew it, a
white light flashed from his body and faded to reveal his hero form,
Kyuuketsuki. He wore a black dress shirt trimmed with gold buttons, and the
shirt’s long tail was blood-red on the underside. His red pants tucked into a
pair of black knee-high boots, and a black mask surrounded his bright crimson
eyes. His skin had turned paler, his canine teeth longer, and his hair
fluffier, with a certain blond lock sticking up on top of his head.
With a sigh, Kyuuketsuki sheathed his sword and headed towards where the
earlier column of smoke had been. At his pace, the woods soon gave way to the
city, and he took to the rooftops to avoid the panic on the streets below. He
stopped at the edge of what was usually a busy road, now filled with cars
abandoned by terrified drivers. Piles of mangled metal marked where the
Horseman had charged through, many of them still burning from the initial
attack, and the Horseman itself was further down the street, tearing through
more cars in search of potential victims. Kyuuketsuki dropped to the ground and
navigated the maze of vehicles, his eyes fixed on the Horseman—it was a bit
uglier than usual, for instead of angelic curves, this one’s body was composed
of square, almost pointed, lines that made it look even more terrifying than
normal. Even its teeth appeared jagged, almost like spears of bone.
As soon as the few people still hanging around noticed him, a cheer rose up
along with chants of his name, and Kyuuketsuki groaned. This part of the job
was a bit too much for him. Oni’s ability to deal with people was one of his
many good points, but Kyuuketsuki just liked to protect everyone. He didn’t
enjoy the fights, but the thanks he got for saving people were nice and gave
him some rare self-confidence.
Ignoring the attention he was getting, Kyuuketsuki climbed onto the roof of a
car near the Horseman and leaped, drawing his sword in midair. As he passed
over the Horseman, he swung the blade back and slashed deep into the patterned
back below him, and blood spurted as Kyuuketsuki landed with an ungraceful thud
on the asphalt, barely staying on his feet. The Horseman scrambled to find its
attacker, teeth clashing in rage and legs stumbling, before it spotted him, and
its claws dug into the ground as it charged.
Seeing how it aimed for his legs, he shifted his feet and jumped just as the
Horseman attacked where he was standing. After slashing its pointed head, he
landed and retreated to safety among some of the parked cars. He didn’t know
where Oni would come in from, so Kyuuketsuki had to distract the Horseman until
he got there while also being careful not to wear himself or Krul out with his
powers. Right as he was about to rush back in, an alluring voice called out to
him.
“Kyuuketsuki!”
He whirled and grinned at the sight of his beautiful angel back up the street,
making his way through all the vehicles clogging the road. “Oni!” Kyuuketsuki
dashed towards him, weaving through the mess, but Oni tried to stop him with
frantic waving of his hands.
“Kyuu, don’t come over here!” he yelled, but Kyuuketsuki was too excited to
listen. “VAMPIRE, you’re bring the fucking Horseman right to me, so STOP!” Oni
turned to flee, but Kyuuketsuki caught him by wrapping his arms around him,
almost slamming both of them into the side of a truck, and nuzzling their
cheeks together.
“I was having an awful day, angel, but seeing you has made it so much better!”
Oni groaned as he tried to wiggle free, but an enthusiastic vampire’s strength
was more than he could handle. Crashes sounded back the way Kyuuketsuki had
come as the Horseman plowed into the frozen traffic, knocking vehicles out of
its way to make a path as it screeched, but apparently Kyuuketsuki didn’t give
a fuck. “Okay, bloodsucker, the horrible abomination that wants to rip everyone
apart is heading straight towards us. Can you let me go now?”
“Mm, nah.” He enjoyed this too much to stop so soon, but more importantly, from
this close he could really take in Oni’s divine scent: spicy cinnamon, just
strong enough to fill Kyuuketsuki’s body with warmth, mixed with the
intoxicating draw of cigarettes. Damn, what a deadly combination that was.
“Okay, Kyuu.” Black hair brushed against Kyuuketsuki’s face as Oni’s head
tilted back. Why had it just gotten dark around them? “Asura? When I die, tell
my dad I’m sorry for all that shit I put him through. ‘Kay, thank you and
goodbye.”
A deafening roar sounded just behind them as a fat glob of drool splashed onto
Kyuuketsuki’s hair, and when he looked up to find the Horseman’s jagged mouth
looming over them, he freaked and swept Oni up in his arms to flee further down
the street. “Why didn’t you tell me that thing was so close?!”
“I did, you fucking bloodsucker! You don’t listen!” Oni cuffed him on the side
of the head, just hard enough to make his point, and accidently stuck his
fingers in the part matted by Horseman spit.
Oh, is that what happened? Honestly, Kyuuketsuki had been too focused on Oni to
even think about that stupid cockblock of a Horseman. Once they were far enough
up the road to be safe, Kyuuketsuki set Oni down and, just as Oni wiped his
dirty hand on his pants and took a breath for more scolding, doubled back
towards the Horseman. He flashed by the creature with his sword, and before it
could react, a couple of its arms fell to the ground. This Horseman wasn’t that
powerful—it must not have been in too much despair before the transformation.
Watching from where he stood, Oni still fumed about how Kyuuketsuki was, but he
could deal with that later. This Horseman had picked an inconvenient place to
rampage—all around were cars and the fronts of some stores, but none of them
looked useful—but this monster appeared pretty shitty. Maybe he could wipe it
out with nothing more than a little extra power and good timing. Kyuuketsuki
circled, leading the Horseman around as it smashed metal and asphalt until its
back was to Oni, and just as he finished an attack and dropped back, Oni dashed
in.
“Asura, more power!” His sword shone with green light, and Oni shoved his feet
into the asphalt for a leap that kicked up a dust cloud behind him. He got a
good cut into the Horseman’s back before landing and retreating, but it wasn’t
enough, and his eyes widened when the creature turned its gaze on him.
“Dammit!” Even covered with wounds, the Horseman must have sensed the cleansing
power in his sword, for it advanced on him and shot an arm forward. Oni
scrambled to the side, narrowly avoiding impalement, but the Horseman tried
again and again, smashing the road in its desperation to crush him.
Kyuuketsuki took this chance to get close, jumping onto the Horseman’s back so
he could reach its torso. “Leave him alone!” he yelled as he slashed, and the
Horseman whirled, turning away from Oni as it tried to shake this newest
problem off. After receiving several cuts, the Horseman succeeded in bucking
Kyuuketsuki off, but it knocked itself off balance as it did so, and after a
few teetering seconds of staggering, its knees buckled and brought it smashing
down. Kyuuketsuki had hit the ground hard enough to break human bones, but when
the Horseman collapsed, he pushed himself up to look at Oni. “Try it again!”
Oni slipped between the flailing claws to plunge his sword into the Horseman’s
chest, and a spurt of blood splashed over his hands before light poured out of
the wound as the rest of the Horseman glowed. He covered his eyes with his free
arm to shield them from the blinding flash, and when it ended, the Horseman had
disappeared, leaving a middle-aged woman sitting in a crater on the ground.
Sighing, Oni lowered his sword, causing the blood on its smooth surface to run
down to the point and gather in swelling drops. “Got a little ahead of myself
that first time, I guess.”
Kyuuketsuki got up, a little unsteady but able to stand on his own, and circled
the crater to hold up his hand. Oni mirrored the motion.
“Great job, bloodsucker.”
“You too, angel,” he cooed as their hands smacked together, but when he
detected the subtle stick of Oni’s skin, Kyuuketsuki drew his hand back and
grimaced at the blood on his palm. What kind of vampire was grossed out about
getting a little blood on his hands? Not to mention he was already stained red
from the fight itself.
Oni rolled his eyes. “Anyways.” He sighed as he swung his sword out to the
side, flicking the blood gathered on the end onto Kyuuketsuki with the motion.
“Asura-Kannon!” Before his partner could complain about the impromptu shower,
Oni’s sword flamed and sent out its fan of mirror images, and the blood
sticking to both of them disappeared as the entire city reset to before the
rampage—the ground below them swelled back up to level with the rest of the
smoothing road, and cars welded themselves back together as they returned to
their earlier spots. When everything had settled, Oni knelt beside the victim
and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch. “It’s okay. It’s all over
now.”
She nodded slowly. “What happened?”
“You got sucked into despair and transformed,” Oni said, “but nobody got hurt,
so everything’s okay. We got here quickly enough to handle it.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, and Oni returned the expression before she wrapped an
arm around him for a hug. Looking over Oni’s shoulder, she gestured for
Kyuuketsuki to join them, but he stayed back at a safe distance. “No, really,
thank you two so much. You don’t know what this city would be without you.”
“I can imagine.” Oni chuckled, then his earrings beeped, and he pulled back
from the hug. “Well, my time’s up.” He stood and nodded at Kyuuketsuki. “Bye-
bye, bloodsucker. I’ll yell at you next time for your clingy little fuck-up.”
“I’m looking forward to it already!” Kyuuketsuki winked, and Oni rolled his
eyes before dashing off, leaving him to deal with anything left over. That was
how it usually went with them—resetting everything took all of Asura’s power,
so Oni could never afford to stick around afterwards.
Once he was back in the woods and far enough away from the road, Oni found some
trees to hide behind just as his time ran out, and he reverted to his normal
form. Yuu leaned his back against the tree and slid down the rough bark, and
just as his butt hit the ground between the protruding roots, Asura landed on
his shoulder to sleep—after using up his energy like that, Asura preferred nap
first, snack second. Yuu glanced at the kwami and smiled. “Have a nice nap,
little guy.”
Should he return to the school? Well, it had probably evacuated since the
Horseman hadn’t appeared too far away, but he still needed to grab his stuff.
Once he’d regained his breath, Yuu stood and picked Asura up from his shoulder
to hide him in a pocket on his flannel, careful not to wake him—Yuu had learned
the hard way how cranky Asura could be when disturbed from a nap—and looped
back to the woods near the school. After pulling his bag down from where he’d
hid it in the low branches of a tree, he headed towards home. Shinoa usually
drove him home, so walking there on foot was excruciating, but he made the best
of it with a cigarette and his headphones.
He soon walked up to the small, two-story house he’d called home for the last
few years, and as soon as he stepped through the door, he was greeted by the
warm embrace of his adoptive mom Mahiru, who also just so happened to be
Shinoa’s older sister. Except for the length of her tresses, Mahiru’s lavender
hair and brown eyes matched her sister’s, but their similarities didn’t go much
further than that. Mahiru was incredibly kind, and she treated everyone the
same regardless of their background. Yuu loved his mother and had adopted her
values as his own despite how different the two of them were, but with his
rough look, nobody gave him fair treatment like Mahiru did.
“Where were you?” Mahiru pushed him back to arm’s-length and straightened his
hair and clothes. “Your father and I were worried sick. You should have come
straight home on the bus like the school told you to.”
“Sorry, Mom. I just got a little distracted.”
“Well, it wouldn’t have hurt to call, dumbass Yuu.” The much deeper voice
coming from the kitchen belonged to his adoptive dad Guren. His dark hair
matched Yuu’s and led to many people assuming they were blood relatives, but
his purple eyes were all his own.
Yuu pulled his shoes off and followed Mahiru to the kitchen. “I said sorry.”
Guren kept his gaze fixed on the vegetables he was cutting for dinner. “Just
admit you were hot-boxing in Shinoa’s car.”
“Wha—No, I wasn’t!” Yuu stomped a foot in protest. “Do I smell like a skunk?”
“No, he smells like he usually does, dear.” Mahiru returned to her earlier
spot, working next to Guren at the counter.
“Yeah, like cigarettes, which is worse,” Guren said.
Yuu rolled his eyes and slid between them to grab some of Mahiru’s famous
snickerdoodle cookies from the jar on the back of the counter. He held the
cookies between his teeth so he could pour a glass of milk, the smell of
cinnamon filling his nose and slipping down the back of his throat, but just as
he closed the refrigerator, Guren realized what he was doing and whirled
around.
“Hold it, don’t go eating snacks now! We’re fixing dinner right in front of
you, so you can wait a little bit and eat that!” Any chances Guren had of being
taken seriously were crushed by what he wore over his work clothes—aprons
themselves weren’t bad, but this one in particular had been a birthday present
from Shinoa, and it displayed a woman’s figure clad in only a bikini over
Guren’s body. Yuu’s eyes flicked down to the cartoonish design, then over to
Mahiru.
“All the other ones are still drying from being washed, and Guren can’t afford
to get stains on his office shirts,” she said.
“Right.” Yuu turned to head for the stairs. “Going to my room.”
Over Guren’s yell, Mahiru called, “Okay, I’ll come get you when dinner’s
ready.”
After setting his food on his desk and dropping his bag next to his bed, Yuu
pulled Asura out of his flannel’s pocket and set him on his own little pillow
next to Yuu’s. Pulling out his phone so he could listen to some music, Yuu’s
eyes widened when he noticed a text from Mika. Why would Mika have texted
him—oh, right, their little encounter in the cafeteria. Yuu blushed at the
memory of how he had touched Mika’s face when Mika was crying, but then he
flopped onto the bed and curled himself into a ball. How could he have done
that? How could he have touched Mika so casually? What the hell had he been
thinking?! What if he had scared Mika away?!
No, that couldn’t be it.
Yuu took a deep breath and looked at his phone again. Mika must not have
thought it too weird if he had texted like Yuu had asked—and how could Yuu have
done even that?! Had he sounded desperate? Had he been annoying?
Fuck.
Yuu took another deep breath—maybe this time it would stick—and opened the
message.
Mika: Hello, Yuu-chan :)
Yuu sighed. So Mika wasn’t annoyed then.
Yuu: hey is everything ok???
He set his phone down to grab his homework from his bag, but the reply came
only seconds later.
Mika: Yeah, my friends just really upset me.
Yeah, of course they did. They were a bunch of assholes whose only purpose in
life was to bring other people down and boost their own egos. His hands shaky,
Yuu typed out his next text and hesitated, his thumb hovering over the send
button until he gathered enough courage to hit it.
Yuu: u can eat w/ my fam tonite if u want
A long pause, and Yuu shoved a snickerdoodle into his mouth while he waited,
desperate for something else to focus on besides the agony of wondering what
was taking so long. He sucked down crumbs and choked when Mika responded.
Mika: Really?! I’d love to! Thank you, Yuu-chan :)
Yuu: no problem
As soon as the message sent, Yuu grabbed his milk and chugged it to clear his
throat. Mika responded quickly again.
Mika: Okay, I’ll be over in a little bit. :)
Yuu had managed to sound casual, but he was actually freaking the fuck out.
 
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