Until Human Voices Wake Us
By aishuu
A Wish fanfiction, with Kouryou/Kohaku, Shuichiro/Kohaku flavoring.
Though his presence is not unnoticed, no one pays him any attention. It's a thin subterfuge, helping maintain him maintain the veneer of evilness that is required by his intrinsic nature.
Kouryuu knows that the residents of the nearby house know he's here (it is impossible to think that Kokuyo is unaware of anything that happens around him), but he wonders if they understand any better than he does why he keeps coming back. It's not like it's furthering his agenda, but he finds a kind of strength whenever he touches the wisteria tree. He tells himself that it's because Kohaku is powerless to stop any of his schemes, but that reasoning wears thin after a couple months, much less a couple decades.
In the seventy-third year since Kohaku... fell asleep, Koryuu welcomes the new year sitting upon the highest branches, underneath the star-spattered sky. He's left Ruri and Hari to sleep off a particularly exhausting session of sex, wanting to spend the evening alone. Not that either of them would follow him to this place, since about fifty years ago he'd threatened to have nothing to do with them if they ever interfered.
He is not a solitary creature by nature, but there is something about the tranquility of this place that moves even his jaded thoughts. He knows that deep within the tree, an angel sleeps, the angel most beloved by God. The sheer powerlessness of Kohaku should make him gloat, but he wants to see her again.
And that's what really annoys him. It is not in his nature to speak the truth, except when it can be used as a weapon against others. Too, it is not his way to lament what cannot be. He's not exactly sure what he wants from Kohaku, but he does know he wants her back. Kouryuu isn't the type to admit he's lonely or that he misses anyone. He is a demon, and he must use others, not care about them.
But Kohaku has always been an exception to every rule.
He knows that someday the bubblehead will awaken, since God had gone to such lengths to give her the happy ending with her one true love. He spends his time imagining elaborate tortures to inflict on the sweet, naïve Kohaku and how she will shriek and protest as he does his best to make her life difficult. Sometimes he slides into the fantasy that Kohaku will awaken and not find Shuichiro, and it will be just them again.
That human, the one who had died and left Kohaku on her own. He had liked Shuichiro, but after hearing Kokuyo's explanation for his attraction, his memories had become tainted with hatred. How could that stupid human hurt Kohaku so badly? Kohaku was his to hurt. Maybe someday she'll even realize that Kouryuu is important to her. If Kokuyo and Hisui could make it, then there's the chance, the possibility...
But he never lets himself imagine that far.
He sits upon the tree, which blooms even in the middle of winter, dreaming and scheming for the day when Kohaku awakens. He's already lived the grand occasion a thousand times in his head, about all the different things he can say to watch the little angel flip out, of ways to fluster Kohaku so badly that it takes her more than an hour to stop crying.
And then he begins to speak, talking about what has gone on since she'd left. He wonders if she can hear him while she dreams – he likes to think she can. Kouryuu understands he will not be the one to awaken Kohaku. It will take a human – a special human as kind as he is antisocial – to break her sleep. She will recognize Shuichiro's soul no matter the shape of his body.
"Twenty-seven more years, bubblehead. You'd better be ready for me to do my worst," he says, and while it should sound threatening, it's actually a promise. He will be here when she comes back.
But for now, all Koryuu can do is wait. He wonders if God had realized what he was condemning Kouryuu to, when he sent Usyagi with the message. For while Kohaku can sleep the time away, Kouryuu must be awake and alive, and realize what he's missing.
They say that a demon is created when a being denies God's love. Kouryuu will become truly powerful, because now his hatred against the Almighty is personal.
Hisui steps back from the window, letting the curtain fall into place against the glass. She wears a worried expression as she returns to the arms of her beloved.
"You shouldn't waste your time worrying about him," Kokuyo says, laying a line of kisses along Hisui's smooth neck. "He'll be fine." He knows that it's futile to say this, because one of Hisui's main gifts is her empathy. But he's also incredibly selfish with his love, and doesn't like it when the former Angel of Wind is thinking about someone else. Especially someone like Kouryuu.
"It seems so cruel," she replies, even as she arcs her head to provide him better access to her skin. "He's in love with someone who will never return his feelings. And like angels, demons who fall in love never can fall out."
Kokuyo's hands fall to her waist, pulling her closer. "Things may still work out. It's not like Shuichiro will always be there for her," Kokuyo says in his pragmatic fashion. "No matter what, he will always be human. He will die again, and for a while Kohaku will be left alone."
"And that's supposed to help? Who knows if she will be again granted such a sleep to dull her grief?"
He pulls back so he can look directly in her face. "It would be best if he didn't. Next time, I think she will be prepared for how things will be. And she will be mature enough to wait for Shuichiro to come – and Kouryuu will wait with her." She gasps, but he presses a finger against her lips to keep her from speaking. "Just because you love someone doesn't mean it's impossible to fall in love with another. Kohaku has room in her heart for more than one."
Hisui's eyelids flutter as she recognize what Kokuyo is implying. "Kohaku... and Kouryuu?"
"Kohaku, Kouryuu and Shuichiro," Kokuyo corrects. "You know love and relationships can take many shapes."
The concept of a threesome makes Hisui's head hurt. "Really," she replies, unable to think of anything more coherent to say.
Kokuyo's smile is made of sheer devilment as he starts to drag Hisui's robe off her shoulders. "Well, for some people. I wouldn't share you, angel, so don't even think about it."
Her smile of reply is coy. "Why would I, when I already have you?"
And deep within the ancient wisteria, a small angel slumbers on, lulled into gentle dreams by the loving thoughts directed at her.