Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Kiss of the Demon Rose
Romance: Ryou x Yuusuke/Yuusuke x Ryou
Other Romances: Yubel x Juudai x Johan
Other Characters: Fubuki, Honest
Word Count: chapter: 2,123||story: 2,123
Genre: Romance, Drama||Rated: PG-13
Written For: Diversity Writing Challenge, section H5, a three-shot; One Ship Boot Camp, #30, rose; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #15, 6,666; One Big Series Bingo, #006, a threeshot; Valentine's Day to White Day 2015, day #18, include a character giving another a flower; Advent 2015, day #22, write an AU; New Year's Mini-Advent 2015-2016, write a fic between 5k-8 k
Notes: This takes place in my Shadow Demons universe, where Ryou is a demon prince, Yuusuke is a shadow mage, Fubuki is an angel, and now introducing Juudai, Yubel, and Johan.
Summary: Many people wish to give flowers to the ones that they love. The king of the demons isn't any different in that regard. No one ever told Yuusuke that loving a demon prince meant having to pluck a rose that has opinions on being plucked, much less being a demonic floral delivery service.
Yuusuke stood just outside of the circle, the thirteen round stones that made it up glowing in starlight. There wasn't any moon tonight; he'd been instructed to work this spell only on the dark of the moon.
He cast a quick glance over his shoulder to where Ryou stood, arms folded over his chest, the spade-shaped tip of his tail flicking ever so gently. That alone told Yuusuke that he wasn't especially thrilled about this.
"I don't have to do this," he offered, and Ryou shook his head at once.
"Yes, you do. Either you call him or I have to go there." And he did not look any more thrilled about the latter option.
Yuusuke did not sigh, but he turned his attention back to the circle. Only the two of them stood here; the message they'd received had been very clear that Honest and Fubuki weren't welcome for this meeting. Yuusuke didn't know where they'd gone off to, though he didn't think it was all that far. Even after five years of wandering the world, Honest didn't completely trust Ryou, much less any other demon. So he would likely be somewhere where he could count as 'not here' but able to see what was going on and if Yuusuke would need any help.
He concentrated on the spell as he began to weave it. It was stronger and more intense than any he'd ever done, even the one that ended up calling Ryou to him. At least this time he was summoning one of the greater demons on purpose. He assumed it was a greater demon. There weren't many who could give commands that Ryou would obey, reluctant as he was.
Scarlet smoke filled the stone circle as he chanted, concealing the center from sight. As he came to the end of the spell, he spoke a name. It wasn't a true name; he could tell that much. But it was a name of power nonetheless, power that put Ryou to shame.
Moments after he'd uttered the name, the smoke cleared, revealing a figure lounging back on the large rock that had been in the center. In accordance with the summoning, Yuusuke had set a bowl of fried shrimp there. The figure there now munched on one of them.
He didn't look like a demon. He didn't have wings or horns or a tail. He looked amazingly human, simple dark hair and an ordinary tunic and trousers of red and dark gray.
But then he sat up and looked at Yuusuke and his eyes glowed like new-minted gold and the power that he radiated sent Yuusuke down on one knee without even thinking about it.
"Hey, there!" He waved at Ryou cheerfully. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yes, it is." Ryou stepped up behind Yuusuke and rested a hand on his shoulder. "What is it you wish?"
"Gee, why don't you sound happier to see me?" The demon king, for that was who this had to be, laughed, a merry sound unlike anything Yuusuke had ever heard before.
Ryou's hand tightened on Yuusuke's shoulder. "Because you never want to see anyone who isn't Yubel or Johan unless there's trouble of some kind."
"You're wrong." The king pouted. Yuusuke had never imagined that he would see the king of Hell itself pout, but he did. His life ever since meeting Ryou had been a chain of events he'd never thought would happen.
But now the king stood up and brushed himself off and looked at them both. "You're right on one thing. I do need some help, but there's no trouble going on."
Ryou remained silent, but Yuusuke could sense the slight raising of his curiosity. He wished he knew who Johan and Yubel were and what relation they had to the king. Ryou hadn't ever told him that much about Hell or it's hierarchy and now he really thought it was information he needed.
"It's our anniversary soon. I need to get something for Yubel and I know what I want, but I can't get it, because if I went to get it, Yubel would know that I left, and there wouldn't be a surprise anymore." He fidgeted, looking like nothing so much as a simple human with a small problem, as long as Yuusuke didn't look at his eyes. Those were not the eyes of a human.
Ryou let out a long-suffering sigh. "And why are you asking us?"
"Because what I want to get is on Earth and you're the only demon who is spending any time up here who would actually be able to get it for me."
Yuusuke swallowed and decided that this wasn't going to just be a conversation between Ryou and the king. "What is it, Your Majesty?" After all, if they were going to go somewhere, then he needed to know if they really could get there. He would know that better than Ryou would.
He could feel the cool weight of the king's regard on him a heartbeat later. It was much like Ryou's attention but far weightier and more powerful. Then the king spoke.
"You definitely chose a good one here. He's got some nerve. I like that."
Cool fingers seized hold of Yuusuke's chin and tilted his head so that his eyes met those of the king. He hadn't even seen the demon coming closer to him. He hadn't even known that the demon could reach through the circle. But it hadn't been to enclose a demon, he recalled, just to make certain there was a safe space there where no one could detect him.
Apparently there were a lot of people who didn't want the king of Hell to make even a half hour's visit to Earth.
"I want a Demon Rose. They grow in a garden tended by a descendent of Johan's ancestors. Only a demon and a human working together can enter the garden and claim one of them. The owner won't protest if you can get through the challenges."
Yuusuke swallowed again, steeling himself. "And if we can't get through them?"
The king chuckled, though there wasn't a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Then you'll die, of course. My dear prince here won't, but he'll welcome you to Hell when you get there. So it's not that much of a problem, except I won't have what I want."
Ryou's grip tightened even more. "One Demon Rose. That's it?"
"If I wanted anything else, I would've said so. Bring it to the palace when you've got it." Then he looked over to the left, eyes glowing, and snorted. "Oh, I suppose your angels can go with you if you really insist. Pesky things, aren't they?"
"I wouldn't be here to do this for you if it weren't for Fubuki," Ryou said, a hint of dry humor in his tone. The king grinned, a look of bright joy in the expression.
"Maybe I'll thank him for it one day, then."
In between one breath and the next he vanished, taking the bowl of fried shrimp with him. Yuusuke looked in the direction he had and wasn't surprised to see Honest and Fubuki coming toward them.
"He wants you to get a Demon Rose." Honest did not look pleased. But he seldom did when the demons were involved.
Fubuki's eyes lit up with a joy all of his own at Ryou's nod. "Oh, that is just lovely. Those three are so wonderful together. Some of my best work."
"Should I ask?" Yuusuke wondered as he pulled himself to his feet. Ryou tapped him on the shoulder.
"You should know the answer to that by now."
Yuusuke managed a small smile, even as tired as he found he was now. Summoning took a great deal out of him, especially when what he summoned was as powerful as the King of Hell. "You're right." He shouldn't ask. But that didn't mean he didn't want to know.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and not having a lot of luck doing so. He knew what he needed, and with his demon prince and his angels in tow, he headed back to the inn where they'd rented a room for the night. It would have a soft bed and plenty of good food and in the morning he could figure out just where they were going to go and how in the world they could get there.
Ryou wished at times that he could do something to convey to Juudai exactly how unwelcome some of his visits were. Being the King of Hell did give the guy some perks, though, which included telling lesser demons – and that was every demon who wasn't Juudai or Yubel themselves – to do things for him if he wouldn't or couldn't do them for himself.
Part of the bargain that kept Johan with Juudai meant that the demon king couldn't get the rose for himself, no matter how much he wanted to. Anywhere Johan's blood still lived was off limits to him. But other demons could go there if they dared. So far, in the last thousand years, none of them had.
But that would change now. Ryou had never been to the garden, but he knew where it was, and he'd heard rumors about the challenges they would have to undergo to get there. There was indeed a real chance that Yuusuke might die, and anyone who died in that garden would be damned by default.
He still hadn't managed to convince Yuusuke to make a pact with him that would leave them bound to one another and make Yuusuke immortal, or at the least very long-lived, and bound to come to Ryou when he did die. All they had keeping them together now was the spell that Fubuki had tricked him into casting five years ago, a mere droplet of time in Ryou's endless life, and if anyone broke it, then Ryou would be cast back into Hell.
Not that he expected it to happen; someone would have to know his true name for that, and aside from Honest, Fubuki, and Yuusuke, no one in this world knew it.
But going to this garden put Yuusuke at risk and if anyone else had told him about this, he would've told them to forget the very idea. One didn't tell Juudai no, though. Not having something wasn't a concept the King of Hell understood.
If they were mortal, it would even be somewhat sweet. Bringing flowers to the one that you loved, asking someone else to do it only because they would notice if you were gone that long to get them.
But they weren't mortal and this had so much risk to it. Risk to himself Ryou would never care about. Risk to those few who held a small slice of his heart? That he always cared about.
Yuusuke slept next to him on the inn bed, his energy only slightly revived by the meal he'd had. The sleep would do much more for him. He would be ready to hit the road in the morning, and they could probably get far enough out of town for Ryou to take them to the garden and get this mission taken care of.
He touched the tips of his talons to Yuusuke's forehead. Sometimes he changed a little so his fingers were more like human fingers than a demon's claws. But those times were far more intimate than what he did now. He refused to let anyone hurt Yuusuke. Yuusuke was his and he was Yuusuke's. If that meant shredding someone down to nothing, then he would gladly do so.
Demons didn't need sleep the way that humans did, but there were times when he found it worthwhile to close his eyes and let himself rest for a time. It cleared his head and let him focus more, as well as passing the time until Yuusuke woke once again.
He knew the angels were talking about how dangerous this was and they didn't have half the information that he did about the garden. If they did, then they wouldn't want to go there any more than he already did. He would have to tell them about it before they got there. It wouldn't be the most pleasant chat they'd ever had over breakfast, but he wanted it settled before they got started.
He closed his eyes, folded his wings around himself and Yuusuke, and let himself relax enough so that he could sleep. Whatever happened, he would do whatever he needed to stay with Yuusuke, or have Yuusuke stay with him. The angels would just have to accept that. If he could, they could.
To Be Continued
Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.
