So, as I hope that I'm not the only one who fell in love with the anime Hōzuki no Reitetsu, I wrote this. And I don't know how to feel about it. Also, it's just the beginning, a mere introduction to what will be (I hope) something funny. And full of smut. (Once again, I really hope)

Thus, here is my contribution to the Hōzuki-Hakutaku's fanbase. I hope that you'll enjoy it!

A week to mend it

The heavy sun of July was currently high in the sky, warming the harvesters' back and fat beads of sweats were rolling on their foreheads.

Momotarō wiped his forehead with his forearm and sighed heavily as he cut another medicinal plant. His eyes twinkled briefly in relief when he put it in his bag and he realised that his hard day of work had finally ended. The former hero straightened his back, grunting when his bones popped with the sudden move after all this time hunched in the Heaven's fields, before he went back home.

The apprentice medic stopped in front of a lovely looking house and he opened wide the door without announcing himself. An outraged scream answered that act and Momotarō face palmed when he saw his boss smiling happily at him.

"There you are, Taotaro-kun!" The celestial beast beamed at him while his partner continued screeching and fussing around to find her clothes.

Momotarō closed politely his eyes and waited until the girl, a Japanese spirit of nature, left the house. It was only when the door closed loudly behind him that he creaked an eye open and sighed wearily.

"Hakutaku-sama," he chided as he put his bag on the counter where the man was currently sitting half naked. "You should stop indulging in those kind of pleasures. Furthermore when you still have to finish the broth that Hōzuki-sama asked you to do!"

"Don't wanna-mon!" The celestial childishly pouted and balanced his legs while he began to check the plants in the bag. "That demon could die for all I care!"

"Don't say that, Hakutaku-sama" Momotarō laughed feebly and he put his apron before he began to cut roots for another order. "You'll actually be really sad if Hōzuki-sama were to die."

Hakutaku's pout increased and he folded his arms on his chest. He snorted loudly and narrowed his eyes.

"That's not true," he retorted before a grin bloomed on his face and he jumped to glomp his apprentice. "What is it, Taotaro-kun? Is it that you're the one who will be sad if that stupid demon finally died?"

Momotarō ignored momentarily his boss, carefully cutting the root in tiny squares before he shrugged to free his shoulders. He let out a small annoyed breath and finally looked at his superior.

"I would," the former hero answered honestly. "Because Hōzuki-sama was the one who helped me become what I am today."

"Eeeeeh~" Hakutaku drawled before he poked the apprentice's cheek. "How boring~ I wished for another kind of reactions... Like 'I wish sempai would notice me!'. That would have been nice!"

Momotarō rolled his eyes and went back to his medicine.

"Don't forget about Hōzuki-sama's order," he reminded the other.

Hakutaku groaned and he ran a hand through his hair while he complained about his employee's uncuteness. However, he took his shirt and put it on before he left the room and went to his cabinet.

ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Tiny paws creeped closer and closer while he carefully held his breath. Now wasn't the moment to make a noise, he was almost there! His eyes glinted ominously and a wolfish grin widened his lips while he prepared himself.

"Oh, Shiro-san," a smooth baritone said just right next to his ear. "It's rare to see you here..."

"GYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The white dog screeched in fear and jumped away. His fur had puffed from his fear and the dog panted loudly while he tried to regain his composure.

Meanwhile, the very same demon that Shiro had tried to surprise was looking at him with his habitual poker face. The demon's eyes looked at bit miffed and Shiro gulped discreetly.

As he was a dog, he could feel that the other was perturbed by something and he concealed the scared whine that was creeping in his throat. Now wasn't the moment to turn his tail, he was on a mission!

"Hōzuki-sama!" The dog exclaimed and the demon tilted his head, waiting for what was to come. "I heard that you were going to visit Momotarō!"

"Indeed," Hōzuki nodded and carefully set back the medicinal scroll back on his desk. "I was planning on going over there today."

"Can I come too?" Shiro asked while he waved his tail happily.

"I don't see why you couldn't, Shiro-san," the demon answered with a small shrug.

"Yes!" The dog barked happily. "Thank you, Hōzuki-sama!"

The demon merely blinked and went back to his scroll. He read some lines and sighed after some time, distracting Shiro from his quick nap.

"I guess it is time to go," Hōzuki muttered with a disgusted face.

He took out his phone and glared at the screen as he dialed some number. Shiro observed him with a puzzled face and nuzzled his muzzle against the demon's leg.

"Hozuki-sama, what are you doing?" He inquired.

"Just telling some cow that my order is better to be ready when I arrive," the other deadpanned. "Or else..."

ψ(｀∇´)ψ

"THAT BASTARD!"

Momotarō raised a perplexed eyebrow and glanced at the closed door behind which his boss was still working. Since minutes ago, the until then silent Hakutaku had taken to scream insults and curses and the apprentice had a inkling that some high ranked demon was behind that strange behaviour.

"CURSE YOU, EVIL BASTARD!"

The small chime of the door opening distracted Momotarō from listening to the celestial beast's screams and he widened his eyes in surprise when he saw the customer.

"Hōzuki-sama! Shiro!" He exclaimed happily while he quickly cleaned his hands.

He jumped to pet his friend while the dog lapped his face happily.

"Momotarō-san," the demon greeted politely as he set his iron pole against a wall. "How are you faring?"

"Pretty good," the apprentice answered with a bright smile. "Hakutaku-sama is teaching me a lot of interesting things!"

"HOW ABOUT THAT, EH, GHIBLI FREAK? BET YOU DIDN'T EXPECT THAT, HUH?"

Momotarō winced and glanced at the still closed door of the cabinet before he looked at the demon. He gulped loudly.

"Hō-Hōzuki-sama," he pleaded weakly. "Please, stay calm..."

"Ha?" The demon retorted while he raised an inquisitive brow. "I AM calm, Momotarō-san. Not like some cow who really needs to watch its words..."

However, the dark vines of smoke that surrounded the man didn't really convince the former hero. Momotarō made a quick prayer and politely invited his customer to sit down while he made them tea. Hōzuki thanked him with a short nod and sat while Shiro followed the apprentice to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, the cabinet door finally opened and a rather ragged looking Hakutaku came out. He was rubbing his tired eyes with his hand and didn't see the customer sitting by the counter. The celestial beast walked behind it and began to rummage in the bookcase until he found a small dial. He swiftly took off the cork and gulped down the transparent liquid. Hakutaku grunted in disgust and rubbed his mouth with a scowl.

"Stupid demon," he grumbled as he turned around. "Always annoyi-..."

His eyes widened in surprise and the celestial beast jumped in fright when he noticed the face set on stone just in front of him.

"Please, proceed," the demon's eyes were now like two dark holes that promised unending pain at the Chinese. "What were you about to say, Hakubuta?"

"GYAAAAAAA!"

ψ(｀∇´)ψ

The Great King Enma hummed happily as he strutted to the canteen and he smiled at the person he met on the way. As his body was way bigger than everyone else, he quickly noticed a familiar face in the canteen and proceeded to join the other once he had his meal. Enma smiled at his second and was quickly rewarded by a polite bow of the latter's head.

"Hōzuki-kun!" The great king chirped happily as he began to dig in. "How was your day off?"

The demon's lips quirked and he tilted slightly his head.

"I wonder," the dark haired male answered while he quietly sipped his miso soup.

"How mysterious," Enma pouted before he suddenly perked up and slammed his hand on the table.

Hōzuki glared at him as the Great King's force was enough to almost break the table and that it had almost spilled his soup. The demon didn't like to see something go to waste. Even more when it was his.

"Eh eh, sorry," his superior quickly apologised like a schoolboy that had been caught cheating during an exam. "I won't do it again!"

"You better, great king Enma," Hōzuki told him calmly.

The "or else" had been implied in the casually thrown red bean at the giant. Enma was still shivering from the rapidity of the said bean and was looking from the corner of his eye at the crater in the wall behind him.

'Gyaaah! There it is, Scary Mother-in-Law Hōzuki!' Enma screamed mentally. He shrugged to get away from all the bad memories where Hōzuki had terrified him with his nags.

"That's right!" Enma clasped his hands happily and smiled at his second. "I just got a message today from the Occidental Heaven!"

Hōzuki didn't say anything and began to eat his pickled radish. However, he hummed slightly to show his interest and Enma grinned because he knew that what was to follow would make the demon happy.

"They are going to host a whole week on the different medicines in the whole world," the Great King added and his eyes twinkled as he finished with, "And they want you to give a brief conference on the Yomi's remedies and ingredients!"

"Oh?" Hōzuki set down his boll of pickled radish and cupped his chin pensively. "It does sound interesting. Who else is supposed to go?"

"I heard that even the old gods from Olympus are going," Enma shrugged and he observed how his friend's face changed progressively.

From uninterested, it went to slightly interested. That was a great feat.

"Then this means that Apollo-san and Asclepius-san are going," the demon muttered under his breath.

He took a small breath and nodded almost for himself.

"I suppose that I can make time for a week in Occident," Hōzuki announced.

Enma's eyes teared up and he sniffed loudly before he began to wail.

"THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME THAT YOU LEAVE ME FOR MORE THAN THREE DAYS, HŌZUKI-KUN! I'LL MISS YOU!"

However, the giant's tears ended soon because he found himself in a close encounter with a wall.

"You forgot about all those times where I left for ambassadorship, Great King," Hōzuki sneered at the complaining immortal and folded his arms. "When will this event begin?"

"On the summer equinox," Enma answered as he carefully palmed his injuries.

There were already healing and he heard the demon sigh softly in front of him.

"Very well," the latter said calmly. "As we don't have a lot of time, I'll make sure that everything is carefully planned so you can't slack off."

Enma whined.

ψ(｀∇´)ψ

"Eeeh~" Hakutaku drawled as he leaned on his elbows on the counter. "It sounds like a drag~"

The man wearing a white robe huffed and stamped his foot. He had chubby cheeks and curly blond hair. But the most marking thing about him were the big and white wings on his back.

"Please, Mr. Hakutaku, I can't go back without you saying yes!" The blond insisted in a heavy accented Japanese. "What should I do?!"

The Chinese almost purred and he narrowed his eyes.

"Well~" he said happily and his pendant chimed softly while he leaned his cheek on his hand. "If you were a girl, my answer would have been different-mon!"

The angel widened his eyes in shock and quickly scurried away. But not without swearing that he'd come back.

Momotarō, who had just came back from the fields, raised his eyebrows as he observed the fleeing angel and looked at his employer.

"Who was that?" The former hero asked with curiosity.

"Nobody interesting," Hakutaku yawned loudly and stretched like a cat before he hopped from the counter and grinned at his employee. "So, did you get the herbs?"

Momotarō nodded and glanced another time at the still open door before he sighed and gave the herbs to his superior.

"And what did that person want?" He inquired once the celestial beast began to concoct their medicine.

"Hmmm," the older man hummed absentmindedly. "Something about a world meeting of all medics and discussing medicine... Or something like that."

Momotarō opened his eyes wide and gaped at his superior.

"And you refused to go?!" He screeched in shock.

"Hmmm," Hakutaku nodded and yawned once again. "It looked like a drag."

"B-but!" Momotarō protested.

"It's great to hear that," a smooth baritone said calmly.

The two pharmacists jumped in surprise and they looked at the open door where a familiar demon was standing. His black kimono sleeves were rolled up and he had a small gash on his right forearm.

"And that's why I don't want to go there," Hakutaku muttered. "If they invited me, he was probably too..."

Hōzuki merely nodded towards Momotarō and ignored the celestial beast's dark mutters while he sat on a stool.

"Hōzuki-sama," the former hero greeted awkwardly. "I didn't expect to see you today..."

"I wasn't supposed to come here," the demon shrugged and then glared daggers at Hakutaku. "But an idiot forgot to finish my order yesterday so I've come back today..."

Hakutaku winced and blanched as he realised something. He vanished in a thin cloud of smoke and the two men left merely sighed while they sat. They knew that it would take some time before the other finished the receipt.

"So you're going there, Hōzuki-sama?" Momotarō asked as he set his cup of green tea down.

The demon nodded and sipped his tea quietly.

"Indeed," he accorded as he put the cup on the counter. "I've heard that some of the greatest pharmacists of Occident are going to be there and I'm intrigued about some of their ways of dealing with sickness. Also, it seems that my work on fusing Chinese and Japanese medicine is getting some interest there."

"That sounds really great!" The former hero exclaimed with a bright smile. "I really wish I could see that!"

"Alas," Hōzuki said as the cabinet door creaked open and a grumbling Hakutaku came into the room. "It seems that a cow is impeding you from going..."

"Shut up," the celestial beast grunted as he threw a vial to the demon.

Hozuki swiftly caught it and at the same time threw his cup of tea. Hakutaku caught it and cringed when he was splattered with hot tea.

"But you should be happy, Momotarō-san," the demon added while he ignored Hakutaku's complaint about his drenched clothes. "Because if that idiot were to go there, he would bring shame to the whole Asia continent..."

Momotarō made a face and acquiesced.

"That's true," he muttered under his breath while his superior exclaimed with an outraged face that it wasn't true. "He would end drunk and teaching the Occidental how to make a powerful love potion or something like that. If he doesn't end before in a brothel..."

Hōzuki assented with a stern face and the two men sighed heavily while Hakutaku stomped his foot.

"You know what?" He exclaimed as he raised his hands to the sky in aggravation. "I don't care about what you think! I'll go there and be the best pharmacist they have ever seen!"

The celestial beast had to jump out of the way of Hōzuki's fists as the demon had tried to bash his skull open with his bare hands.

"Why the hell did you do that!" Hakutaku screeched and his coat began to transform into his mane before he quickly reverted the process.

"Ah, sorry," Hōzuki said with a straight face. "I thought that you were sleep-talking and was trying to wake you."

"You'd have put me to eternal sleep with that!"

"Then you'd have stopped sleep-talking. I don't see any difference."

"You!" Hakutaku raged and he had to stop because he was slowly loosing composure. "You are such an uncute brat!"

The demon blinked and folded his arms on his chest.

"That is logic," he nodded. "I'm way over my childhood after all."

Hakutaku gritted his teeth.

ψ(｀∇´)ψ

The day had finally come.

The two of them were currently sitting in the Yomi's international airport and waited for the legendary dragon who would help them travel to the point of meeting. The both of them had their luggage at their feet and were ignoring each other.

Hōzuki was reading a scroll and scrunching his nose whenever he butted over an unreadable word while Hakutaku was sprawled on his uncomfortable plastic chair and looked with bored eyes at the ceiling. The Chinese sighed heavily for the umpteenth time and the Japanese ignored him.

"I should have taken Taotaro-kun with me," Hakutaku muttered for himself. "At least, he provides better distraction than you..."

Hōzuki continued reading and sorted softly.

"The sentiment is mutual," the demon whispered calmly as he put his scroll down.

"What?" The other man jumped and looked warily at the eerily calm face in front of him.

"Nothing," Hōzuki answered evenly as he furrowed his eyebrows. "I was just wondering how many toothpicks would I need to poke all your eyes..."

"Are mad?!"

"Are you a dimwit?" Hōzuki retorted as he slightly narrowed his eyes.

"Are you a tight-arse?" Hakutaku's eye had already an annoyed tick.

"Are you a secret pervert?" The demon was now standing and almost shouting.

"Are you twisted beyond reason!"

"AH!"

"DAMN! I LOST!" Hakutaku stomped his feet with childish annoyance and began to pout. "Another round!"

"Tche," the demon clicked his tongue with disgust and took back his scroll. "Unless you, I have better things to do."

The celestial beast's pout increased even more and he curled into his plastic chair, going back to look at the ceiling with bored eyes.

ψ(｀∇´)ψ

"Welcome to the Occidental Heavens!" An old man wearing an Armani suit greeted them.

The two tired looking creatures just blinked wearily at him and the man smiled grandfatherly at them.

"I am Peter," he presented himself before he took out of nowhere a book and began looking through the pages with a concentrated look. "Ah, there you are! You must be Kishin Hōzuki and Hakutaku, right?"

The two dark haired men nodded silently, still tired to their bones after the unrestful travel on a dragon's back. Also, the fact that they had fought during the fourteenth hours of travel hadn't helped their state of tiredness.

"Here's your hotel key," Peter said as he took out of his suit pocket a single key.

Hakutaku nodded silently and took it while Hōzuki frowned and opened his mouth.

"Wait a minute," he interrupted as he saw the other two leave the airport.

Hakutaku raised an annoyed brow while Peter scratched his neck with a polite smile.

"What is it, Mr. Hōzuki?" He inquired politely.

"Why is there a sole key?" The demon asked with a no nonsense tone.

Hakutaku blinked and glanced at the key in his hand before he looked at the demon. His brain was finally back on its track and the pharmacist felt his face blanch while he heard the Occidental answer Hōzuki.

"This is because we thought that giving you a room for you two would be better than pairing you with perfect strangers, sir. As you both know, people from everywhere in the world are now in our hotels. I'm afraid that you'll have to share your room together."

"Kuso," Hakutaku poetically resumed in Japanese.

And the first chapter ends here. What did you think of it? Should I post the next chapter?