A/N: Someone said "Let's make this fandom bigger! More Fanfics!" But there was a disturbing lack of any. In English. Plus less than a handful of Haku/Oni.
So this was written.
Warnings: Deathfic, unbeta'd, lots of reading between the lines b/c I have bad writing skills.
Please don't burn me. Enjoy.
"Hey, are you dying?"
The Beast Deity stands before the demon's bed, the room atmosphere disturbingly solemn. By Great King Enma,'s request, everyone else had exited the room, leaving only the two of them. Hakutaku wondered if Enma saw or knew something. It was incredible how protective he was of Hoozuki sometimes.
But he is here in Hoozuki's private room in he palace. Despite being the only ones in the room, the mood is too heavy to breathe in.
"What do you think, pig?" Hoozuki narrows his eyes. He wishes we could at least fling a book across the room and straight into the quite literal bulls' eye. Atlas, he has not even the strength to do so.
"Your horn and ears. They are gone." Hakutaku says. He sits on Hoozuki's death bed, face away, looking towards the ground. It wasn't as if he had no tact; he was just curious. "Tell me, does it hurt, to die?"
"I'm not dead yet, damn ungulate." Hoozuki spat. He punched the other, but it only comes out as strong as a jab on the back. It was a bad decision; his breathing only comes out even more rough.
Hakutaku grabs the other's hand before it fell back on the mattress. There was a strong urge to connect with the other, so he acted upon it.
"I don't know how it's like to die. I'm a God, if you have forgotten."
Hoozuki does not have the strength or will to repel the touch. "It hurts, of course. Dumbass of a God." The other's hand is warm.
For once, Hoozuki thinks, it's fine if they do not fight.
"Hakutaku-san."
"What?"
"This is my second time dying."
Hakutaku closes his eyes and sighs. "I know." The grip tightens, uneasiness climbing.
"You do?" Hoozuki asks. "How?"
"I was there when the village sacrificed you to call upon a God for a favor. I was called and I saw everything. I'm sorry." The God confessed. "There were very little Gods in Japan back then. I happened to be passing by."
Their eyes till does not meet. Hoozuki frowns. Something tugged at the back of his mind. His consciousness was trying to tell him that he had forgotten something very important. He closed his eyes for a moment, before a vivid image flashed in mind.
It almost hurt. He had conversed with the God before. In that memory, Hakutaku had introduced himself as a mere tourist at first, but then had shown his true form to the child back then. A warm and friendly Beast God. It was strange, why is he able to remember this, and only this fragment of his past now?
"Liar. I'll get the minions to have your tongue pulled out. You didn't just happened to be passing by, did you?"
Hakutaku gulped. "Yeah. You remember?"
"I don't." Hoozuki admits. His memories before becoming a demon are almost completely incoherent. "The poison and the shock from dying messed up my memories. They are in bits and pieces. That said," He takes a deep breath. "I do remember your other form's face."
"I bet." Hakutaku grins, mocking at the other with his grinning teeth and narrow glinting eyes. "You always liked animals, you shitty brat. Why are you so not cute? Oh, could it be? That you have a thing for animals?"
"Don't call me that! I'm not into animals like that, you perverted, disgusting, fetish maniac! Walking pork chop! I'll kill you!" He spat with venom.
"来吧! Try it if you can!" Hakutaku forces out a laugh. "You can't do anything to me right now and I can't die anyway!"
"You-!" Scrunching his face up, Hoozuki is suddenly forced to suck in air, cutting his comeback short. This banter isn't good for his state at all, although he had known that in the first place. He suddenly feels his hand being adjusted, a pair of fingers placed upon his wrist.
The comeback is completely gone when he sees the look on the other's face. It is now wearing the same emotion he saw when he was fading the first time.
"I'm sorry. You shouldn't talk anymore. The demon flames inside you are burning out. You will still live even if they burn out after that. Not for more than a few days, though." The man in white finally turns around completely to face the other before bowing his head down. "I'm so sorry. If there was a way for me to… Back then… Even now... I"m an useless God."
"It doesn't matter anymore."
They don't say anything for a while. Hakutaku is too riddled with sudden feelings of grief and dread. The very same one when he watched the human child from back then slowly die from poison, from a ritual he could not intervene. Regret also came this time, for not confronting about each other's connected past.
The bedridden man thinks. They should have talked about it. The constant fights and banter they had had been only a smoke created by the two to look away from the past neither wanted to talk about. It also greatly pissed him off whenever he saw the other man flirt with woman, so he vehemently insulted and beat the other up whenever they saw each other.
But no, maybe they shouldn't have. If the dirty perverted God couldn't fall into hell no matter what, then being riddled with grief and regret would be a fitting punishment! Hoozuki could torment the God even if he wasn't around anymore!
How absurdly childish.
"Really. We are both idiots." Hoozuki sighs. He then moves his hands towards his mouth and closes his eyes. Exhaling a breath, he breaths a piece of his demon fire onto his palm and offers it to the Beast God.
The fire burns and flicker. Hakutaku shakes his head. Irritation builds within him. "I don't want to take it. This is more or less your life. You're cutting your time short."
"I'm not giving it to you, pig. I'm lending it. Jizo said I would reincarnate. So hold onto it until I come back to hell."
The unspoken trust is unwavering.
Hakutaku takes the flame without a word and stores it within him. As it enters, the flame is warm and gives a sense of calmness. "I'll restore it while you're gone. That's fine with you, right?"
"You already took… it… stupid…"
"Stop calling me that." Hakutaku touches the other's forehead. Hoozuki is slowly drifting into sleep, his breathing evening out. The warm hand is smoothening to the touch. Hoozuki still has time, but little. "Tired, brat?"
"Mmn…"
Hakutaku almost wants to cry. "Hoozuki, good night." He probably won't come back again. It's too heartbreaking to watch the other die a second time. Heck, it might even drive him mad.
"Hakutaku-san." Eye bags now apparent, his eyes closes and lips turned upwards. That's the first time the Beast God had called him by his name. But before he could call out the other on it, Hoozuki had fallen asleep.
Hakutaku lifted his hand from the other's forehead. Tears flooded his vision. It took all of his will to force them back down. When he has calmed down enough, he finally walks towards the door.
"I'll wait for you, so come back."
With that, Hakutaku exited the room, and was off.
A/N: Hello, hello! Due to the nature of this website, if you can leave a review or even a favorite, it would help and encourage me immensely. Please consider to do either one before you go off! I'm planning another HnR story, so this would be a huge boon. Have a nice day!