+ Category: Kishin Douji Zenki
+ Rate: T
+ Genre: Romance / Drama
Authoress' Notes:
Kishin Douji Zenki series belongs to its respective owners - Mr. Kikuhide Tani (Story) & Mr. Yoshihiro Kuroiwa (Illustrations).
LINK to the Illustration of "'Til Death do Us Part" by MikiTakamoto on Deviantart: fav.me/dbw0cif. THANK YOU for another masterwork, dear little sis! **BEARHUGS** ;D
Flashbacks in italics. Thoughts in slashes.
A KDZ Sub-Story, starring the Legendary Azure Guardian Demon God Goki and Kasumi - his **lost Lenore** from 1300 years ago.
Synopsis
On the brink of losing her man and the Love they both hold dear, will Kasumi choose to follow the call of her duty and preserve her family tradition, or will she listen to the voice of her own heart telling her that she belongs with him? Can a Love so forbidden between a lethally handsome pure-blood demon and an ethereally beautiful demon huntress ever have a happy ending or are they destined to break each other's hearts?
Inspired from "El Legado" [The Legacy] by Saeki Yagami & Japanese Myth. Enjoy. ;)
~ 'TIL DEATH DO US PART ~
They ran for what seemed to be an eternity, the whole world was nothing more than a blur of dimming colors at their side as the air steadily cooled and the blood in Goki's veins slowly turned to pure alcohol. Yet, they didn't care, the only thing that mattered then was the ever increasing distance between themselves and Tenryuu Village–– her home… but her home no longer, Kasumi thought bitterly. Everything had changed, and the people she cared the most for there… they would no longer accept her. Her dearest father would no longer accept her…
After a while, the fatigue and pain from the great wound he suffered became too great of a burden for him to bear and Goki staggered to a stop, still refusing to relax his hold on the maiden that he loved so dearly, the human maiden that he had sacrificed so much to have. As his breath slowed, her murmurs of comfort became coherent and he found himself embracing her even more fervently as their meaning became clear.
"Thank you, my beloved… I'm not sure how I would have survived today without you." Kasumi buried her face in the bloody front of his torn garb, trembling still, very gently, within his possessive embrace, the smell of his blood congesting her nostrils. "It's alright now. There is nothing they can do to separate us." She said soothingly as the drops of rain started to seep through their clothes.
He was bleeding all over her when they made it inside their sanctuary - a small cozy cabin in the middle of the forest that sheltered them from the pounding sheets of rain that fell from the dark sky outside. Kasumi quickly got a fire going using a technique her father taught her when young, and hurried to check on the severity of Goki's wounds while he revealed to her the secret of his Immortality. It turned out that being a pure-blood demon didn't make him invulnerable to damage, but it did give him the advantage of much better physicality and durability compared to a mortal. His wounds–– once healed, some would fade away in time while some, if caused by strong force of magic, would not leave without scars eternally embedded in his flesh. And while decapitation caused instant death, severe blood loss also endangered his life and slowed down his healing process, his strength and reflexes, which might cause him to suffer more life-threatening damages.
With all that said, exhaustion had got him. While Goki was by no means fragile, anyone would lose strength having lost that much life-force. It was not solely the injuries, it was also everything leading up to them that was the problem.
And so now with clean bandages and a fresh change of clothes, the Blue Demon finally allowed himself his much-needed rest with the maiden he loved at his side, warmed by the hearthfire. Kasumi initially curled up next to the straw mat he was lying on, but he reached out and gently stroked her cheek. He did not speak, but moved over just the slightest, and pulled back the corner of the thin sheet covering his bandaged torso. She understood the invitation, and accepted without hesitation. She lay down with him in his makeshift bed and gently brushed his damp bangs off his forehead, kissing him softly and thanking every deity she knew for the second chance that was lent to them.
"Rest well, my love." She whispered and he smiled as she nestled against him, mindful not to aggravate his injuries. "I'll be right here when you awaken." He heard her said before drifting off to a calm slumber.
/~~/~~/~~/~~/~~/
Hours later when the Blue Demon awoke, he was cold. The storm was still raging outside, but he could hear the crackling of burning wood in the open hearth nearby and knew that this was not the cause of his chill. The ache of torn flesh and muscles brought his senses awake, but so did the absence of the feel of Kasumi's soft, feminine form settled comfortably against him. He felt cold, for she was no longer there in his arms.
"Kasumi…?" He rasped quietly, feeling his throat dry as he forced his eyes to open. "Kasumi…!"
"I'm here…"
Goki breathed a sigh of relief and turned to watch his beloved maiden from his lying position. Apparently she had left his side to rebuild the fire and now sat in front of the flickering flames which danced about them keeping them warm through the stormy night. Her arms tightly hugged her bent knees against her chest, her back to him.
"Kasumi…" He called, but she didn't respond. "What's wrong?" He asked, but she made no move, not even the slightest twitch of her head, and continued staring intently into the fire as if hypnotized by the orange sparks.
Her silence was quietly destroying him now. But he wouldn't drop it, not until he learnt the cause.
"Kasumi, what's wrong?" He questioned again, his tone was pleading and gentle.
"Goki…" She whispered his name, finally breaking the silence. "What else could we do?" Her voice was filled with sorrow when she asked. "Father and the townspeople had every right not to trust me…" She said bitterly, "You of all people would understand that."
He had guessed right. The Blue Demon's eyes filled with pain at his maiden's words, but he could say nothing to dispel their meaning. Not without denying his own memories. He reached out to touch her, but stopped as he found himself unable to offer any comfort to the one who shared his pain.
"He even refused to listen when I told him about us. Our hope to gain his blessings is lost." She heaved a deep sigh, feeling bereft.
The guilt within his heart ached worse than the wounds he had taken to his body. Half of this was his fault as well. Injured or not, Goki willed himself to rise to a sitting position despite the silent protest in Kasumi's look when she was immediately at his side to steady him.
"Your father… he loves you and wanted to protect you, Kasumi." He said softly, beckoning her to move closer and she did, resting her head on his good shoulder as his arm pulled her into a gentle embrace.
"Protect me? From you?" Kasumi gave one of her soft, enigmatic smiles but did not look up. "Did he ever care for my heart's cry the moment he ran his sword through the man I love?" Her fiery eyes were now fixed on the floor and her hands clenched, shaking ever so slightly on her lap.
"But I didn't die, did I?" He cooed, pressing a soft kiss on her head. "Just some broken ribs, cuts and bruises. Nothing that won't heal."
"It was a miracle you survived. This has never occurred to any demon or monster that is stabbed through the heart with my father's sword." She said, hurt and anger evident in her voice. "My grandfather was a master swordsmith. That was the last sword he had ever forged–– an excellent sword coated in a special kind of silver which makes it effective against non-humans."
"Kasumi… we both know your father couldn't have done otherwise."
The young maiden gave no response, instead she stood up, pacing across the cabin to fetch another two rolls of bandage that she'd carefully stowed in her pack once knocking unconscious all the guards guarding her room, before rushing out just in time to witness her father and her demon lover duel to the death. She lit a few candles and moved the holder to shed a clearer light on the place where her man was sitting, leaning his back against the wall. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Goki's normally erect posture was a little off, his shoulders slightly hunched. But when she turned and walked toward him, his posture immediately changed, shoulders straightening, the tension disappearing as he exuded his normal aura of poise and control.
He was good at keeping his pain at bay, and he could fool anyone… anyone but her.
With a sigh, Kasumi knelt down and offered to change the dressings on his bandages. The one covering Goki's chest wound was heavily clotted with blood when she peeled it off, but thankfully the steady flow had stopped.
It was then she fixed her gaze on the mark more than three inches long on his well-toned chest that was once an epicenter of the crimson, soggy fabric of his garb. The flesh had been cruelly separated, extensively exposing muscle tissue and lifeblood–– his life-force. The wound was ragged and bleeding so badly that she was forced to sew it for it would take too long to heal if she just cleaned and placed a bandage on it, even with his species' heightened healing abilities.
Goki watched as his maiden's hand gently stroke his wound, her slender fingers slowly tracing across the crimson mark on his bare chest, finding it rough and cool compared to the warmth of his skin.
He grimaced. The penetrating wound he had acquired from the veteran was still throbbing and at times sending shooting pains in his chest, making his heart race. After all it was fresh, and still glowing with the after-effects of the magic of the silver sword even if the bleeding was only a sluggish trickle here and there as the skin had almost knitted back together.
But it was something he could live with, in spite of the stress he had been under lately involving his beloved human maiden.
"It'll heal with a little more rest."
He whispered reassuringly and motioned for her to clean and re-dress his wound in a thinner layer of white bandage. There was nothing they could do until the wound healed itself. When she was finally done, Kasumi assisted him in a long drink of clean water for he seemed to be dehydrating.
"I'm sorry, Goki…"
His green-eyed maiden said in a voice that was filled with even more sorrow than before, and he watched her forlorn expression as she leaned in, placing her warm lips against his for a brief, gentle kiss.
"I didn't kill your soldiers, and Kasumi is innocent, please let her go."
Tears started to glisten on her cheeks as she closed her eyes. She remembered what he said when holding a sword at her father's neck, at the very point of achieving all the vengeance that had driven him on the human who'd put a price on his head for a crime he hadn't committed. Yet, Goki had offered the veteran mercy. Offered her father a chance to save them all.
"I don't want to hurt you or anyone here."
He loves me, he loves me enough to put aside his burning desire for vengeance, she'd thought.
But if Goki's words had filled her heart, her father's, instead, devastated her.
"I'd rather see her dead, and you kill me."
He didn't mean it, part of her wanted to believe he didn't.
But she knew he did. He would rather see his only daughter––and heiress–––dead than married to a pure-blood demon––the sworn enemy of the human race, even if she loved Goki. Shock and horror made her cry out. Her father's harsh refusal of her man's offer shattered what was left of her illusions.
Yet, her cry was a mistake. A mistake more horrible than she could have imagined when her man turned at the sound of her voice. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her father's sword flash.
Blind spot. She was his blind spot. "No!" She rushed forward, but a soldier caught her before she could advance. "WATCH OUT!", she screamed. But it was already too late.
"Why are you apologizing, my beloved?"
She came out of her reverie with a deep sigh and allowed her emerald eyes to meet Goki's soulful indigo gaze.
"I feel awful that my father did this to you. I saw what was happening, but I was powerless to help…" She said, sending another wave of tears to slide down her face.
"Don't say that." The Blue Demon gazed at his maiden, his heart wrenched at the sight of her tears. "It wasn't your fault, Kasumi."
"I love him, father. Please!"
"I'll hear no more of this, Kasumi. Make your choice. Choose him and we will never see each other again. You will be dead to me."
"You don't mean that, father."
"Choose."
He'd listened to every painful word of her conversation with her father when the village guardians formed a line, separating them both from him. A crimson pool gradually formed beneath his shins where he knelt. Breathing was increasingly difficult as every slightest breath ignited a furious pain in his left chest as blood continued dribbling down his chin and streaming from his wound.
Damn... it didn't have to be this way.
Goki gritted his teeth, clutching the great wound with his hand as blood gushed from between his clawed fingers as he knelt upright. One look at Kasumi's stricken face when her father had given her his ultimatum was enough. With a ragged breath, his face contorted in pain and the Blue Demon spun, swinging his sword in a sweeping arc with enough force to fend off the guards surrounding him, and with his last reserves of strength and determination, sped away with the maiden he loved in his arms, stunning her father and those present.
He almost wished he had killed the veteran. Almost. But when he'd heard her say how much she loved her father, he knew he'd done the right thing.
Even if his decision almost cost him his life.
"We can't change what already happened, Kasumi, no matter how much either of us would want to." He said, gently wiping away the tear trails on her cheeks with his thumb. The tender concern in his beautiful blue eyes pried loose her tenuous hold on her self-control. Kasumi's body was now shaking and her crying had turned into sobbing as she leaned into his touch.
The real question was: Would he want to? Could he stop?
The answer was simple: NO. If there were some spell to cure him of this love, he would gladly drink whatever vile potion was thrust upon him. He had never loved anyone before, and once he fell in love with her, he didn't want to stop.
"I'm sorry, father. I belong with him."
Kasumi remembered the flash of hurt before her father's gaze hardened at her response, her decision. Her father–– the man she'd loved her entire life. It was hard to reconcile the loving father with the man she'd seen here today, though she knew they were one and the same.
And if she had ever doubted her man's love, she could no longer. Not after what Goki had done for her.
"Kasumi…" He sensed what she was thinking and smiled as he drew her into a heartfelt embrace, "…even if this body perishes, I will never leave you…" She sobbed quietly, trembling in his protective arms, and the Blue Demon found himself rocking his beloved maiden ever-so-slightly. He wished he could save her from the pain or even take it for himself, but all he could do was staying by her side, murmuring soft words of tender reassurance as he held her through the storm of emotions wracking her body. Kasumi's heart was bleeding for so many reasons. The pain was much too raw and there was not a thing in the world that he could do about it.
"I don't regret what was done, Goki. I never have."
He heard her whisper in his arms. His blue gaze grew more intense as he searched her tear-streaked face for the meaning of her words when she slowly stilled, her sobs turning into long shuddering breaths.
Slowly, she met his gaze, her green eyes sparkling.
"Goki, if there is one thing that my mother taught me, it is… that there is no forever in this world."
"What do you mean?" Her words pierced through him like a sharp knife and the Blue Demon was forced to look away this time, unable to bear the pain it caused. /Has she changed her mind?/ If she chose to go back to her father and her people, he would not make it harder on her than it already was, he would not tear her apart any further. But the pain of parting wasn't easy for him the second time around. His chest burned. Every muscle in his body felt teased on a razor's edge, reverberating with tension and restraint.
"I chose to love you both, but my future is with you, Goki."
He jolted still, clearing his ears, refusing to believe he'd heard her right. Kasumi's emerald eyes were luminous as she waited patiently until Goki looked at her again.
"There is only right now. There's never a guarantee for what is to come." She placed her hand on his bandaged chest, just over his heart and leaned forward until her face was only a few inches from his. "All we have is the present, right now." Her eyes welled and her voice became a bit shaky. "Would you be mine right now? For whatever hell has past and whatever is to come in the future, would you be MINE? No promises, no guarantees, just now."
She remembered their first meeting under the full moon, when he killed those werewolves with such grace that amazed her. She remembered her decision when she found him inside the cave, unconscious and on the verge of bleeding out by his merciless attackers. His icy blue gaze at the river bank, when she almost believed he felt nothing for her... And then, he was there, risking his life to save her, defending her against the fierce onslaught of those monsters...
No matter what, Kasumi had sworn she would take care of him. It was as true now as it was back then.
No matter how difficult her decision, she knew she'd made the right one.
No matter what, she wanted to love him and take care of him. No matter what, she would create a whole new life together with Goki–– the demon-man who had owned her heart from the moment she beheld him––– far from her family and friends - their tormentors, and far from human interference.
Goki's hand found hers then, palms touching gently as their fingers interlaced, his other hand holding hers over his heart. "Kasumi…" He said, his voice rumbled with the effort to constrain the emotions surging in his chest, "This land shall be your new home––our home. From today onward, you and me… we don't need anyone to approve what we know in our hearts."
At that very moment, all Kasumi could see were his warm smile and sapphire-blue eyes, mesmerizing, full of Light and Hope. There was no answer really, no answer beside what he gave. Wrapping his arms around her waist as a subconscious action and pulling her closer to him until her soft, feminine form was fully pressed against his bruised and battered one, Goki leaned down and kissed her with everything in his heart, praying that what he felt could pass from him to her. There were words in his heart, thousands of words, more words than stars in the sky. He could not fathom where to begin, or how he could ever express them all. He'd thought he was meant to be alone, but now he knew he'd only been waiting for her. She'd chosen him, and he'd make sure she'd never regret it. Kasumi responded eagerly, clinging to him like ivy climbing a tree trunk, silent tears ran from her eyes and mixed with their kiss. Here she was safe, here in his arms while he kissed her. There was no need for more words that night, because what needed to be said, Kasumi had said already. They could listen to each other's hearts, they could feel the beating, for they spoke their secret language, and they would understand.
The End
== Authoress' Notes ==
Hello everyone and WELCOME to my second installment of a series of KDZ sub-stories centering on the Blue Demon Lord's past love life 1.300 years ago! (^-^)/
My latest findings conclude that Goki was an 'Oni' - a wild demon, or a demon wanderer, without most of his magical powers, some time before his enlistment for the Guardian Warrior Force (672 AD). Notwithstanding being a pacifist at heart (as indicated in KDZ), the Blue Demon found himself getting caught in the crossfire between the humans & non-humans, during which he met n fell in love with a human maiden who later on played a very important role in his life. In other words, their Love is FORBIDDEN.
At his full adult height in ancient days, the Blue Demon Warrior stood at 6'9" (2m05), slightly less than his Red comrade (7' = 2m13), as inferred from KDZ Original Manga. His human maiden/1st wife was around 5'6" (1m68).
It was until Goki joined his Master -Enno Ozunu-, a High Priest with a prestigious history & the future Bodhisattva of Japan, on the quest to save humanity that his status ascended even higher–– to a 'Kishin', or 'Tatakai no Kami' [God of Fighting], as his magical forces fully awakened and he earned the title of the "Demon GOD of Azure Light, of Protection & Re-Creation/Revival", in virtue of the Blue Lord's compassion & love for mankind, as well as his magical healing power & exceptional abilities in controlling the Five Cosmic Elements [Aether-Water-Earth-Fire-Wind].
Ancient records also depict Goki with a sword even when the noble Blue Lord is widely perceived as a Master of Boujutsu & martial-arts. A Peace-Loving Demon Warrior who pursues Justice & Truth.
THANK YOU for your reading & support! As always, feel free to comment n spread your love for KDZ series. ;D