Faux Caw
For Yuletide 2013
Oh yeah, this is the life. Kouryuu smirked, pinching Kohaku's pudgy cheeks between forefinger and thumb. The streetlight overhead cast an unholy gleam on his gleeful face. He could barely understand her blubbering for him to stop "S-stop...!" with her mouth stretched out so wide. Not that he would, anyway. And to think, he'd almost passed this up.
The human world was entertaining, and the best place to feed- but only when you could find someone interesting. Why bother with a boring meal? Everyone had been so frigid that night. Blah blah blah, "I have work in the morning", "are you even legal?", who cared. Kouryuu wanted some fun, darn it!
He even asked the crows to look for him -they could always be counted on for taste- and that had been his lucky break. An angel on Earth? That wasn't unusual, but ruler of the dump dorks Kohaku? What was God thinking, sending that airhead down here?
Well, whatever, she'd only been a quick flight away. Wandering around after dark, what a loser!
Crow laughter edged him on; he pulled even harder on her cheeks, and then squished them together again. Fish face! Kouryuu shared a gleeful glance with the bird overhead, positioned to give chase in the unlikely event that Kohaku escaped his pinned hold against the garden wall and flew away on her dumpy little wings.
It was late, the street was deserted, where would she even go? Nowhere, is what! Unless she was going back to heaven, but...
"Caw!" came a cry of warning. Kouryuu frowned as a human turned the corner. Keep walking, ignore them, isn't that how it's supposed to go?
He felt an intense, piercing gaze on his back, though the footsteps didn't falter or stop until a few feet away. Kouryuu ignored him, and gave Kohaku's cheeks an extra hard tug for effect. But Kohaku wasn't looking at him anymore.
'Help me, please,' her eyes pleaded just over his shoulder.
Grrr, that darn human. It was just getting good!
"...what?" he snarled, whipping his head around to glare.
Dark eyes gazed calmly back. The human was tall, broad shouldered, and well dressed, smoking a cigarette. His face was familiar, but Kouryuu couldn't place it.
Something about him ebbed Kouryuu's anger into disgruntled frustration. Was it the face? Handsome, sure, he'd love a round or two before feasting on that soul, but it wasn't physical. This guy was just captivating. He wanted to get closer and find out, test out the skin under his collar; maybe leave a mark or two.
"Pweese 'elp me!" Kohaku exclaimed, getting angel spit all over his thumbs. The interloper had the nerve to meet her pathetically wobbly eyes. She should be cowering under her tormentor's glare!
The man's eyes sought out Kouryuu's again, expression unchanged. The cigarette he held between two fingers was slowly turning to ash.
"What's going on here?"
Kouryuu bristled, grip tightening. "None of your business!"
"Ee 'urts!" Kohaku flinched, tears dripping down her cheeks.
"You should let go," the man said calmly. The remains of his cigarette were discarded and stamped out as he took a purposeful step closer.
Who the heck was he to tell him what to do? No way! Kouryuu backed away and dragged Kohaku with him, who whimpered even more pathetically with the sudden motion.
"It's none of your business what we're- owww!" Kouryuu howled against the sudden pain in his ear. The human tugged firmly at his ear. Kouryuu responded by flailing and dropping Kohaku, safely caught by his assailant.
"Leggo, let go!" The demon became increasingly louder, startling the watching crow. It took off; no more fun here.
The human tugged him away from the wall, and Kouryuu flailing behind. He was released as nonchalantly as he'd been attacked; Kohaku gained all the guy's attention.
Ouch, that hurt! Kouryuu rubbed his stinging ear.
"Are you okay?" the man asked, eyeing Kohaku's pudgy pudding-like body.
"Y-yes. Thank you so much!" She looked up at him with wide, shiny eyes, hovering just under his nose. "You saved my life." Her pudge made a second belly as she bowed. "My name is Kohaku. What's your name?"
"...Shuichiro. Kudo Shuichiro," he replied, nonplused. After a second of eye contact, he reached out and tugged at her wings.
Kouryuu's snickering was muffled by Kohaku's cry of pain. Maybe this guys wasn't so bad after all.
"Those are real," Shuichiro said. He rubbed his fingers together, looking back at Kouryuu. "And your ears."
He'd forgotten he was only half in human disguise by this point. "Yeah." So what? It was like this guy hadn't ever seen an angel or a demon before.
Shuichiro squinted at them. "What are you?"
"I'm an angel!" Kohaku said happily, at the same time Kouryuu proclaimed proudly, with a thumb to his chest, "Kouryuu, best demon you'll ever meet!"
They turned on each other and glared. "Best demon? You're just a big bully!"
"Haha! You just make it too easy, bubble butt! What a pathetic excuse for an angel."
A strong hand grabbed the back of their collars and pulled them apart. "Quiet down, angel..." Kohaku gave him an apologetic look, dangling from his grip. "...demon." Kouryuu huffed and crossed his arms. "I've been in surgery all day, and even if I'm hallucinating, don't bother the neighbors."
Kohaku perked up. "You're a doctor?"
"Yes." Shuichiro looked between them, and then sighed. "I think it's time to head to bed. It was an eight hour operation, it wore me out, so I thought I shouldn't drive home. Instead, I end up sleep walking."
"Oh, no, sir, you aren't dreaming. You're wide awake!"
He gave her a sharp look. "You're telling me I'm awake."
"Yes," Kohaku gave him a sunny smile.
Shuichiro peered at the two of them, bringing them closer to his face with a tug of his arms. "And you're an angel," she nodded, "and you're a demon," Kouryuu started a 'heck yeah' before Shuichiro looked back at Kohaku, "and you're hurt."
"I- yes?" Kohaku questioned. Her cheeks were a little red, sure, and there were scratches on her arms from when the crow had cornered her, but nothing major. A little sunlight, a few hymns, it would heal right up.
Shuichiro's eyes narrowed even further at the angel, assessing the damage. Hah, humans and their fragile skin. This one looked like he'd made a decision as he straightened and dropped Kouryuu back on his butt, marching down the street.
Kouryuu sputtered and shook out his ruffled feathers before rushing after the guy, wings blooming open behind him in an aggravated burst of power. "Hey! Where the hell are you going?"
The human glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Home." As if it were obvious. The heck, did this guy's expression ever change? "I have a first aid kit there. The hospital's too far... not that I'd treat you there."
Kohaku was looking at that human with big, swollen eyes again. Grrr, no way was he letting her out of his sight!
A sudden gust of air brought a chill under his blankets and Kouryuu curled up further against his pillow, into his deep and warm cocoon. Has to get warmer. Smaller, warmer, body heat missing. Tune out the voices approaching. Want to wake him up. "Five more minutes."
"I'm so sorry!" A high pitched whine accompanies the sudden outburst, and Kouryuu is sitting up and fighting against the blanket in less than no time. "Please forgive me!" Kohaku was nearby!
"It's fine," said a second voice, smooth and calm. The human, Shuichiro, delicious specimen of a man walked into the bedroom, toweling at his hair. Kouryuu licked his lips, more than a few fantastic scenarios playing out in his head. Shuichiro met his gleaming eyes, and noted, "You're small."
Ugh, curse the sun! Kouryuu bristled, and pointed at Kohaku, hovering self consciously behind Shuichiro. "Not as small as that idiot!"
Shuichiro's gaze followed his finger, but looked back at Kouryuu a moment later, unimpressed. "She got bigger."
"I'm not able to take on my true form at night. Angels need the light of the sun," Kohaku remarked helpfully, a dorky grin on her face. "I'm able to perform spells much better. " As she continued, her smile fell and droplets welled at the corners of her eyes. "That's why..."
"What did you do?" Kouryuu asked, smirking.
"I, I didn't mean to!" Kohaku excuses. "I just wanted to help!"
Shuichiro glanced between them, wet towel slung over his shoulders. The upper sleeves of his yukata are soaked through.
"She watered the garden." And him too. This was just too much! What an idiot! Kouryuu lets out a howl of laughter, hammering his fist on the grown in mirth.
Shuichiro headed past Kouryuu's futon and his own, toward the inner wall and slides open a closet door.
"I'm so sorry." Kohaku corners the human up close with a pleadingly pathetic expression, hands clenched, begging forgiveness.
"The trees are watered." His gaze meets hers squarely. "I'd consider us even."
Kohaku hangs her head. "No, I made a mistake." She looks up at him, resolve solidifying in her watery eyes. "I'll do better next time."
Shuichiro turned away, pulling off the wet towel and dropping it to the floor. "It's fine." He grabbed a handful of dry clothes and found a determined Kohaku suddenly on his other side.
"It isn't fine. I can't return without repaying your kindness. You saved me. You took me into your home to heal me. Please, let me help you again," that loud mouth continued. "If there's anything you wish for, I'll grant it.
"Let me stay. Angels don't need food or water. I can be small, you won't even know I'm here! Please, I promised to grant your wish!" Kohaku was almost nose to nose with Shuichiro, unwavering gaze meeting his wide eyes.
"Pfffff!" Kouryuu stifled a guffaw, hands covering his mouth, but he couldn't keep it in, clutching his stomach as he howled. "Oh, that's rich! You couldn't grant a butterfly wings!"
Kohaku's cheeks puffed out as big and round as her nighttime form as she turned to huff at him. "Don't say anything! You don't know anything about gratitude, you're just a big meanie!"
"Oh, I wouldn't mind repaying for last night," Kouryuu smirked, eyeing Shuichiro speculatively.
Kohaku flew between them, spreading her arms to block the human from view. "Leave him alone! Shuichiro's kind, he doesn't want any of your tricks!"
Kouryuu rose above the futon, making a show of picking lint off his sleeve. "I'd make sure he enjoyed himself, angel." He clenched his fist, lightning crackling under his fingertips. "Unlike you!"
"Not here!" Kohaku raised her arms up defensively, face aghast. Kouryuu made a circle with his thumb and middle finger, power thrumming. Ready to flick her square in the forehead. Expecting the worst, she steeled herself, ready to protect Shuichiro at any cost.
Something heavy and wet flew at Kouryuu and knocked him back onto the futon. The demon pried it off, shaking his head and sputtering. He was surrounded by a puddle of Shuichiro's yukata. Before he can recover, a hand reached out and the back of his collar. He opened his mouth to protest, furious, but was interrupted.
"Go wait in the hall," the human says calmly. Kouryuu stares him down stubbornly, but finds the dark eyes unwavering.
"Ur, fine," he mutters, arms crossed defensively. He's not giving up, but under Shuichiro's stare he can't dredge up the assertiveness from before.
He shrugs out from under the yukata and flies to the door, grumbling under his breath about humans and pathetic little angels. Kohaku stares him down with the threatened look of a cornered mouse. She skirts between him and the human on his way to the door. Like he'd try anything now.
Kouryuu stews in the hallway, glaring at the sliding door. He can hear Shuichiro shifting around and Kohaku thanking him merrily. Just wait and see, he'd make her cry a river later! With frogs and snakes and an extra hard pinch!
When the sliding door opens, he's almost glad. Shuichiro has changed into a clean business suit. "It's time for breakfast," the human remarks calmly. Gurgle, Kouryuu's stomach agrees.
"I'll help!" Kohaku is quick to offer. Shuichiro gives her a cursory look, but doesn't say anything. He exists the room and heads down the hall, presumably toward the kitchen, Kohaku quick at his heels.
Kouryuu snickers. He can't pass this up. Perfect time for revenge! He quickly darts ahead, sticking his tongue out at her on the way. She puffs her cheeks, but he gets there first.
Angels don't eat. They only need sun and air to survive, and maybe some milk or honey if they're feeling adventurous. Demons are different, they feed on souls, but there's nothing stopping them from eating human food. Kouryuu had developed a taste for it himself, cruising around with Earth's other tasty morsels. Some of his prey even insisted on feeding him first; not that he was complaining.
Shuichiro opened the door and Kouryuu flew through before him, right passed his nose and that same bland expression. Laughing to himself, the demon opened the refrigerator and looked around. Hahaha, perfect!
"You can start with this!" he announced, shoving a fish in Kohaku's face.
"Gasp!" She looked faint, but glanced at the human. Kohaku clenched her fists. "I... I will!"
"Here you go!" Kouryuu shoved it at her. She caught it reflexively, squeezing the cold dead flesh to her chest. The angel let out a shuddery breath, eyes unfocused. Wobbled, and fell into Shuichiro's arms in a faint.
Oh, this was the best! He couldn't stop laughing. "How are you going grant a wish like this?" he cackled. "What a loser! You can't handle the human world."
Kohaku stirs at his comments, and jumps into awareness. "Yes, I can! I can grant Shuichiro his wish even if it's with this!" She brandishes the fish at him, but when she gets an eyeful of its gaping mouth her eyes cross and she wobbles on her feet.
Shuichiro grabs it by the tail with one hand and encircles his other arm around her waist in support. In a grand motion, he throws the offending object back at Kouryuu, who catches it in surprise.
"Do you know how to use a knife?" Shuichiro asks, cutting through their argument like it's nothing.
Is he questioning his skills? "Wha- yeah!"
"Then you can help."
Breakfast is made over the course of Shuichiro shoving things at him and Kohaku interjecting faintly from the sidelines. Kohaku insists on carrying things to the table, and joins them, even if she isn't going to eat anything. Kouryuu laughs in her face and almost makes her drop the miso, which is saved by Shuichiro's lucky catch.
Kouryuu grins over the spread of delicious food; and Kokuyo thinks he's helpless. He can't tell if Shuichiro appreciates how good the food is because of his presence, but he must be. Why else would he have started eating so quickly?
Kohaku can't take her eyes off of Shuichiro. Blah, blah, hospital shampital. The fish is his favorite. Kouryuu likes it, too, and steals a chunk from his plate. Kohaku glares at him, and he grins gleefully back.
How thoughtful of the angel to clean the table when she was too much of a wuss to help with anything earlier. Shuichiro had pulled out a paper after he was finished, and read quietly.
Kouryuu leaned back on the cushion, hand over his full gullet, and let out a contented sigh. Man, that was good.
Kohaku comes in from the kitchen, grinning sunnily. "Is there anything else, Shuichiro?"
"No," he says, with a glance at his watch. He stands, folding up his paper and tucking it under his arm. "I have to go to work."
"Have a nice day!"
"...you're going to stay around the house?"
"Um, yes!" Kohaku replied enthusiastically.
"Should I call a baby-sitter?" Shuichiro wonders to himself, eyeing the two.
"No, it's all right! I'll keep an eye on him, I promise!" Kouryuu snorts, but she ignores him to stare down the human with another pleading look. He must be sick of that by now, because he folds.
Kouryuu hears them exchange goodbyes and sappy reassurances from his spot at the table, too comfortable with a belly full of food and a good night's sleep to move. It would have been even better if there had been a hot and heavy snack to go along with it all. Sinking his nails into those broad shoulders... But he wasn't going to complain. Yet.
When the cushion started to dig into his back at an awkward angle, Kouryuu relocated to the bedroom. Shuichiro had rolled the futons up, but left the pillows out. Kohaku puttered around the yard and the porch intermittently as Kouryuu lazed, chatting about air headed nonsense with the birds.
Eventually, sure that Kohaku was occupied, his boredom drives him to snoop. She'd throw a hiss fit and stop him, the bore. Didn't know fun if it hit her in the face. If he were stronger, he'd summon Hari and Ruri. They knew how to entertain a guy. Stupid sun.
Shuichiro turned out to be as boring a guy as he should've expected. Closet: clothes. Drawers: clothes. Kitchen: dishes. Other rooms: domestic stuff. A stack of boring old books and papers in the study. A rabbit doll in a corner of the bedroom with big floppy ears and button eyes. A cracked vase under the porch.
Only thing interesting was in one of the guest rooms: an extensive collection of women's kimono. Unless Shuichiro managed to shrink himself, he didn't have any cross-dressing habits. They were made for someone short and slim, less dumpy than Kohaku. He imagined the angel in one of them for a moment. The white one with the yellow birds, maybe. Covered from throat to the tips of her fingers, wings put away in respect for the limits of Shuichiro's house. He snorted to himself. She'd trip over herself as she went between rooms because her legs were too restricted.
Tsk, didn't suit her at all.
"Kouryuu!" Kohaku gasped in horror. "What are you doing with Shuichiro's things?"
"Ack!" Quick, must run!
Shuichiro returned at dusk to find them fighting over a pair of socks in the front hall. Kouryuu wanted to dump them in the wash and color them pink, but Kohaku wouldn't let him. They froze, caught in the act.
Kohaku was the first to recover with that same stupid sunny smile. "Welcome home!"
Shuichiro let out a sigh through his nose. "I'm home."
Dinner went the same as breakfast: Kouryuu stealing Shuichiro's food, Kohaku looking queasy, Shuichiro interrupting their arguments with authoritarian-phrased comments.
Kohaku offered to clean up again. Kouryuu helped, too, by using his true form's height to loom over the angel and pile dishes into her arms until she wobbled under the weight. Shuichiro grabbed him by the back of the shirt and took his own share of dishes. "If you're not going to help here, go lay out the futon."
Somehow, Kouryuu always found himself doing what he was told under those steady eyes.
Shuichiro ended up fixing the lopsided futons and tangled blankets. Kouryuu had given up halfway through and just dumped them all in a pile, settling in comfortably on his own. Few things beat sleep and the nice, warm comfort of doing nothing.
Kohaku watched him stretch out slowly, making himself at home. Gave him that pouty, disappointed look between uncertain glances at Shuichiro.
He looked different in his yukata, made Kouryuu want to reach his hands under the drooping neckline and purr against his neck. Run his finger tips along a collar bone, follow with his tongue. The human took a moment to stare down at Kouryuu before reaching under him and pulling out a pillow.
The demon squawked. "What was that for?"
Shuichiro didn't answer, making a nest out of that pillow and a sheet for Kohaku in the space between their beds.
"Thank you," she said.
Kouryuu huffed and rolled away from them. Stupid Shuichiro. Stupid Kohaku. Neither of them could read the mood if it hit them in the face. His stomach grumbled. Human food was as good as a snack to a demon. Soon enough, he'd need more.
Shuichiro threw something at his back. "Here."
"Hey!" Kouryuu grumbled, sitting up and picking the offending object up by its ear. It was the droopy eared bunny plush from earlier. "What's this for?"
"You looked lonely," the human said.
Kouryuu snorted. "Isn't this for kids? What're you doing with it?"
"...I thought it was yours."
Kouryuu dropped it like a hot potato. "No way!" Why'd he think something like that? He didn't need anything like it. No matter what anyone said, he wasn't a kid.
Shuichiro didn't comment. He lifted up his blanket and climbed into bed. Kouryuu stared at him a moment, and then grabbed his blankets and dragged them over his head in a burst of misplaced aggravation.
"Good night," Shuichiro said softly in his smooth voice.
Kouryuu puffed out his cheeks and didn't say anything.
"Good night," Kohaku replied, turning out the light settling down into her cushion.
Moments of quiet were hard to find like this in Hell. Kouryuu wasn't sure what to do with them. Not ready to sleep yet, he had something he wanted to know. It seems almost a shame to break it, but Kouryuu has always done the shameful thing with a grin on his face.
"Why did you think it was mine?" He can feel the rabbit plush against his leg, somehow wormed under the blanket and all.
No reply comes, and Kouryuu thinks maybe Shuichiro's gone to sleep. Another moment, and then, "It felt like you."
What is that supposed to mean? Kouryuu grumbled. But there was nothing else keeping him away, and closing his eyes, he fell asleep.
Demons don't need sleep. Kouryuu's a glutton; he loves it, can't get enough of it, especially with other people and the potential for other, even more interesting, activities.
Maybe some demons do, but Kouryuu hardly ever dreams.
"There will be a price." Smoke billows around the man's head, snaking through the room. Full of the energy his essence; it makes his skin buzz.
He shoves away from the table with a snort, body sprawled and open but not half as graceful as the man's boneless pile. "I figured."
He reached for the tea cup again, not sweet enough, and clutched at fur. Fake fur. He tossed it away. It wasn't enough. No substitute for warm skin. He reaches crawls out, reaches. Finds it. Curls himself around, limb by limb, and clings. Sleeps, again, much more soundly this time.
Kouryuu woke warm and sated the next morning, tucked comfortably against a nice warm side. Body contact he'd been missing, so used to sleeping with other people. He let out an appreciative murmur and drew closer, hand grasping out to encounter not skin, but beads.
"Hm?" he wondered, cracking open an eye. He held a bracelet. Attached to a chubby arm. Belonging to a chubby butt angel sprawled comfortably over a human's chest.
"Erk!" He let go in an instant, too warm and complacent for his 'must-wake-up-her-up-and-make-her-cry' kneejerk reaction to kick in. What was she doing here? He remembered rolling over last night, reaching out for contact. Finding it, holding it, drawing closer. He'd thought it was Shuichiro. Well, it was: but her too.
He did what anyone would do. He reached over and pinched her dumpy cheek.
"Eeeeek!" she whined, waking in an instant. Tears fell instantly. Kohaku let out a whimper, rubbing her smarting cheek. "K-Kouryuu!"
He snickered. He snerked. He fell into total laughter, bracing himself against Shuichiro's toned bicep.
The arm under him moved a moment later, knocking his butt onto the futon. Kohaku fell the other way. Shuichiro sat up, peering blearily the angel and demon on either side of his stretched legs. "You're both small in the morning."
Over the next few days, they fell into a routine. Kohaku would wake up with the sun and water the plants. Shuichiro made breakfast, and Kouryuu would join them at the table once it was ready. Shuichiro went to work. The angel took care of the garden, sang and talked to the birds, and the demon would nap between stop-and-start attempts to entertain himself. Depending on if Kohaku found him or not, it usually ending in tears and a mess. The angel would clean it up as best she could, but ended up making it worse more than half the time. Shuichiro would come home to a disaster zone, or Kouryuu cackling over a tubby little angel, pull them part by the back of their shirts and sigh. The house was orderly by dinner time with Kohaku's apologetic enthusiasm and Kouryuu's huffy attempts under Shuichiro's calm instructions, and they would go to bed only to wake up in a pile and start the cycle again.
Kohaku said goodbye to him at the door every morning. Kouryuu hung back, making faces at her back. After a week, Shuichiro pulled out a key ring. "Here," her said, handing it to the angel.
"Thank you," she said with a smile, holding it in cupped hands.
Shuichiro eyed her a moment, thinking. He did that a lot. This time it ended in an accepting nod, and he left for work.
Kohaku looked at the object with an absent smile. "Though, what is it?"
"Hahaha, what an air head!" Kouryuu laughed. "It's a key to the house, idiot!"
"To the house?" Kohaku frowned at him, more concerned with Shuichiro's present than the demon's teasing. "But where does it go?"
Disgusted with her stupidity, Kouryuu flew over and grabbed it right out of her hand. "Like this," he said. She followed him outside, into the street, and he showed her the lock on the gate. "You put it in here, and turn it, see?"
"Oh!" she gasped in wonder. "That's what Shuichiro does every day!"
"Yeah." Kouryuu rolled his eyes.
Kohaku tilted her head to the side in thought; he knew the next thing out of her mouth would be stupid. "But can't anyone just come in over the wall?"
Kouryuu scoffed. "Humans don't have wings, you bubble head."
"You're right." Kohaku looked down, embarrassed. Kouryuu watched to her try to process that information. Angel didn't have a clue about anything.
"Ah!" Kohaku pounded a fist into an open hand. "How do we get back in?"
Kouryuu lost control of his wings in surprise and dropped to the ground. He came back up rubbing his head. What a spazz! He almost shouted at her, 'we've got wings? Did you forget? How much of an idiot can you be?' but a thought hit him. He rubbed his chin, considering. Yeah, this was perfect.
"Guess we have to look around until Shuichiro comes home."
"You think so?" she wondered, seeming to like the idea. "I've always wondered about the human world."
"You've been here how long and you haven't gone out yet?" Kouryuu asked skeptically. "Hmph. Then, come on."
"W-wait!" She reached out and stopped him by grabbing the edge of his pants. "We don't look like humans, won't we...?"
Kouryuu crossed his arms. She had a point. "Hm. Do you know what human clothes look like?"
"N-no," she admitted sheepishly.
He sighed. "Fine. Let's go."
"But-" she tried again. He didn't stop for her this time, flying higher and faster. Into the clouds, over the city center. Kohaku followed him, eyes wide and searching at the crowded streets below. Kouryuu slowed as they approached a shopping district, billboards galore. Kohaku stopped in front of one that caught her total attention: a young human in a hoodie, cargo pants and ball cap.
Kouryuu snorted. "Try that."
"Yes, of course." Kohaku nodded. It took less than a moment to weave her clothes into an exact replica. She kept her wings out, looking over at the demon for approval. "This is for me, but for you...?"
It was day, he wasn't at his full abilities. He couldn't blend in with his shrunken form. "Leave that to me."
He darted down to a shopping center and, quick as a snake, returned with a large bag, big enough for him to fit comfortably in. He shoved it at her, and she took it in surprise. There was a moment of blank face before realization hit. "Kouryuu!" Kohaku protested, almost dropping it into the street.
Kouryuu rolled his eyes. "Go pay for it, if you care so much."
Kohaku looked down, ashamed. "I don't have any money..."
"Then get Shuichiro to later." Kouryuu shoved her down towards the street before she could protest further. "Now c'mon, get down there. Humans don't float, remember? You're making enough noise to get us noticed!"
Wide eyed, Kohaku followed his instructions and dropped down to the sidewalk. Kouryuu ducked into the bag, not too soon to see a passerby eye the angel in surprise.
Kohaku noticed, too. She gave the guy a smile, and bowed. "Hello!"
The guy gave her a shaky smile and returned the greeting. Kouryuu snickered to himself, loud enough for Kohaku to shush him. This earned her another odd look, but her carefree smile made people question their own perceptions.
Kohaku spent some time wandering around the clothing stores and novelty shops. She didn't stay too long, just to look and marvel at the ingenuity of humans. Kouryuu would mutter smart comments at her, which she ignored for the most part.
At a bookstore, she stopped long enough to bend down and flip through a magazine. The bag was placed in front of her, and Kouryuu could see the contents of the manga: a young lady declaring her love for her upperclassman. She didn't have much time, only a month to live, let them join in body and soul! Kouryuu snorted. Kohaku frowned down at him.
A group of middle-school boys clustered together further down the aisle, muttering to themselves.
"Is that a girl?"
"No, it's gotta be a boy, right? Look at what he's reading."
"I've never seen a boy that pretty, though..."
Kohaku glanced over at them, made eye contact. They froze under the weight of her innocent smile. "Don't worry, I'm not a boy or a girl. And, can you tell me what's going on in this manga?"
The school kids back tracked from here, sputtering nervous nonsense. Kouryuu couldn't contain himself anymore and howled with laughter. No matter what she didn't, Kohaku couldn't shush him. With an apologetic nod to the boys, she put the magazine back and left the shop. Kouryuu only stopped laughing because of the bumpy ride and the elbow squashing him in the gut.
It was late in the afternoon by that point, and Kohaku headed back towards the house. Not late enough for Shuichiro to be home, though. She stopped in a park not too far away and found a seat on a bench, dropping the back down none too gently beside her.
"Owww," Kouryuu protested, tumbling out. "What was that for?"
"You were being too loud," she accused, staring him down. "It would be bad if they found you, right?" Her look bordered on anger, and something else he wasn't sure about. It made his stomach flip, but he backed up, on uncertain footing for the first time that day.
"Yeah, er, it would have been." He didn't like that feeling. He's the one that knew the human world, who was she trying to tell what to do. Demons were just more suited to Earth than angels. That's right. "What are you doing on Earth, anyway?"
Kohaku's shoulders tensed and she lost that look in her eyes. She balled up her fists. "None of your business!"
On the defensive already? "Yeah, huh! I'll find out anyway, so you might as well spill," Kouryuu boasted. "Even you can't be stupid enough to run away from Heaven. What, did you get lost in a cloud?"
"No! I-I have to find-!" Eyes wide, Kohaku shut up her mouth tight and hid it with her hands, afraid it would betray her further. She shrunk in on herself and tried to angle away from him, but he wasn't giving up that easily.
"Find?" he wheedled, flying around to her other side. Trying to box her in despite is small size.
She shoved him away with a loud declaration of denial. Kouryuu didn't ask about her reasons again, still picking the twigs out of his hair at dinner.
They explored the human world further, and Kouryuu teaches her everything she needs to know. Like how caterpillars are a human delicacy, such hard creatures to catch. She brings back a handkerchief full of proudly-caught specimens, leaves and sticks stuck in her hair. Kouryuu laughs his ass off. Shuichiro takes one look at her glowing grin and thanks her. He takes the handful into the kitchen to add to dinner, but Kouryuu sees him sneak them out the window instead. He doesn't tell Kohaku, just laughs harder than ever.
Kouryuu hasn't stopped pinching Kohaku's cheeks or throwing her down completely, it's just too fun, but Shuichiro put a dimmer on being so obvious. The guy doesn't get his jokes, or react appropriately. At least he's a hot piece of ass.
He doesn't always hang around the house; he's got to go out and feed, after all. But he hasn't been bleeding anyone dry, either. Just enough that they both have fun.
He's found that stupid rabbit plush in bed almost every night, Kohaku curled up around it half the time. The other day he could've sworn he heard her crying, but woke up smothered by a rabbit ear and her chipper voice singing happily in the background instead.
Life was fine, until he woke up to an empty house.
Demons and angel have a way of always knowing if another supernatural being's around. It's second nature to keep track of a familiar presence, like Kohaku was to Kouryuu. When he squints his eyes under the burning light of the sun and finds that presence gone, he panics.
"Oi," the demon shouts at her gossipy little bird friends. "Where is she?"
They flit around and babbled to themselves, but eventually conclude that she must have gone to see Shuichiro. Forgot his lunch? Really? What was she, his mother or something? How dare she go off on her own, anyway?
As long as they'd lived there, he didn't even know where the human worked.
Kouryuu left them to flit around or whatever the heck birds did on their own, and took off over the rooftops. On his way, his whistled. A murder of crows from the group that had claimed this area responded to his call.
"Find that angel," he instructed, smirking, "and you get to play with her."
The birds laughed amongst themselves, and took off. As friendly as Kohaku had been with those teeny little feather dusters, Kouryuu hadn't left out his contacts with the crows. It was convenient to have minions around when you needed something.
They didn't fly any faster than him, but they had other crows to ask about. Kouryuu crossed his arms impatiently, and watched the clouds in the distance. They were dark and black, headed towards them. Urk, he hated flying in the rain.
A young crow came back soon enough, and he followed it to the hospital, arriving just in time for the first drops to fall. Kouryuu landed in a tree and hid in the leaves, looking down at his target. Kohaku was, surprise, surprise, under the tree, talking in the garden with a little girl.
Are you an angel, missus Kohaku? she asked with her little doe eyes. Yes, she was, blah blah. Kouryuu wiped water from his arms. Yeah, yeah, angels and their heart to hearts. Could they go home yet?
What felt like a bucket load fell over the garden and soaked them through. Kouryuu received it smack in the face, sputtering. Thunder roared in the distance.
"We should get back inside," Kohaku said, covering the girl with her body as best she could.
Lightning flashed way too close, and Kouryuu's hair stood on end. He had barely enough warning to jump back as the tree branch exploded behind him.
He crawled out from under the tree branch, spitting out grass and leaves. Kohaku had the human girl in her lap. Kouryuu felt the healing magic at work, surprised the angel had this much concentration with the wind and rain around them.
A dark form headed towards them from the direction of the hospital. "-ku! -ryuu!" Shuichiro shouted, battling with an umbrella. It turned inside out on him as he drew closer, and he threw it away, gesturing them to come on. Clearly worried. Most frazzled Kouryuu had ever seen him.
Kohaku stood, stumbling under the slight weight of the girl. Kouryuu rushed to help, whatever good it would do, but Shuichiro got there first, collecting the girl and grabbing Kohaku's hand. They exchanged a glance, and turned to Kouryuu in union. Kohaku reached out her hand, grabbed his, and pulled him along behind Shuichiro.
Inside the hospital, they had a moment to catch their breath before the nurses descended. One collected the girl, wrapping her in a blanket. Shuichiro shoved Kouryuu behind him as two more hovered around the doctor. Did he need anything? How was his friend?
Kohaku's hands floundered, out of her depth, and Kouryuu took that moment to crawl under her baggy shirt. "Eeek!" she shrieked, silencing the chattering women.
Shuichiro exhaled a familiar, long suffered sigh. "Is room 105 still unoccupied?"
The nurses confirmed it, and the doctor and his guest relocated there. Kouryuu had the best time making Kohaku squirm on the way. She tried, but failed, to stifle her squeaks, and did a shivery little dance until Shuichiro closed and locked the door behind them. Kouryuu crawled out of her shirt laughing.
Shuichiro threw a towel at him, and Kohaku came at him with a huff. She none-too-gently dried his hair. It felt more like a noogie. At least he got an eyeful as the doctor stripped off his shirt and wrung into out over the sink.
Neither of them were allowed out of the house without unaccompanied for the next few days.
The next few days are a blur of normalcy. Or, whatever passes for normal with an angel, a demon, and a human making house. Kouryuu eats Shuichiro's delicious breakfasts and hangs back when Kohaku says goodbye to him in the morning. He watches Kohaku flutter around like the birdbrain she is, between the house and the garden. he stays put, and doesn't think about the dreams he's been having, waking up under that stupid rabbit's ugly plush ears.
(Kohaku crying into the fur of a bone white cat, who tries to lick the tears from her eyes, only for more to fall in their place. "I love him. I loved seeing him. But now that he's gone... it hurts."
Sorrow on Kohaku's face is different than any other tears he's seen. It's like a punch in the gut.)
(Hari and Ruri on either side of him, purring and responsive. He isn't calmed; he remembers Kohaku's face.)
(In a familiar garden, Kokuyo's unreadable face, more serious than he's ever seen him. "It would have been better if she'd fallen in love with a demon.")
He considers chucking the rabbit plush in a better place, like the trash. Something stops him.
It's gone by the time they find Hisui, or rather, Hisui finds them, anyway.
The thing about Shuichiro is, he's boring. Nice face, fine body, but almost as dim as Kohaku on the joke-o-meter. Sure, nothing got past his notice. What good was that, though, if he didn't do anything to follow up on it? Ugh, it was frustrating.
If only his gaze weren't so intense it made Kouryuu weak in the knees.
The thing about Kohaku is, she's an idiot. She's a klutz and a bubble head and hardly knew her left from her right. Great crier, though. So maybe he'd been seeing her smile a lot lately; so maybe he liked it. That didn't mean he couldn't pinch her cheeks and shove ice down the back of her shirt to watch to squirm.
If only she started to expect that more and didn't look at him with those big eyes all the time.
And maybe he can't admit it, but he just may appreciate them both.
The thing about Kouryuu is, he hates being alone with his thoughts.
That's all the witch had offered him: time. Alone time, to think. A promise to see Kohaku again, be able to tease her and get the better kind of tears following down those cheeks, wasn't something he could pass up.
More precisely, the witch had said: "Time for time. Ten days of knowledge, for ten of ten of power."
Demons weren't humans, they had nothing but time. Sure, maybe he'd have to be in a chubby state like Kohaku for a hundred years, give or take, but that wasn't so bad. Maybe he'd even seal himself up in something, see how she liked it. A bird, or better yet, a stone statue of himself.
Anything would be better than this ugly rabbit plush form.
So he gets to watch, and think, and compare.
By day nine, he thinks he has it figured out: this is all the time he needs to get the perfect prank!
...no. Better still: figure out how to stop Kohaku from become Ms Sorrowful Depressive in the first place.
Kohaku crying under the assault of his fingers, pinching her cheeks red, always gave him a warm feeling in his stomach. When her eyes were on him, it felt right.
Huh. When she looked sad like that, crying and clutching the reincarnation of her cat suitor (honestly, a better match than stupid Shuichiro), it had felt horrible. Not because she wasn't looking at him, but because it was something else that had made her cry.
When she was looking at Shuichiro, all the time, like only the two of them existed in the world, it hadn't felt as bad as that. It had hurt, but not so deep down or as strongly. It was irritating. Disgusting, even, a human and an angel. Kokuyo was right, it would have been better if she'd fallen in love with a demon! At least then she wouldn't cry all the time. If she'd chosen him instead, then-
Oh, was that what it was? A stupid crush? What, that he wanted her attention? That her stupid liquid eyes would always be focused on him?
What a waste of a wish, just to find out that maybe he liked her a little. Tiny. Bit.
That he wanted to wipe her tears away and replace them with some at his own. That maybe he liked her smile, and found her naiveté amusing. That he wanted to see how she could be if she honestly pushed back once in a while.
What a rip off.
One hundred years for the price of ten days; there's no going back on the payment for a wish. From the day of the change to the centennial anniversary a demon becomes a plush. (From the day of the reincarnated Shuichiro's death, he is stuck and fuming.)
It means Kohaku is surprised when she seems him again.
It means she pulls away from a white cat, doing his best to offer comfort.
It means she looks at him, and only him, a hundred years, the amount of time it takes to feel the weight of an intense gaze on him again.
(It means he's so used to children picking him up and hugging him, he goes limp in little Kudo Shuichiro's arms.)