status: on-going
summary: When snarky, know-it-all Ria is forced to live under the same roof as a disembodied demon possessing her new stepbrother, it was safe to assume the gates of hell would burst open. What happens, however, is arguably much, much worse.
word count: 2,040
Whimsical
Chapter One: I Meet Satan
"You got hitched with a prostitute in Japan?" Ria sputtered incredulously, catching the attention of at least five other customers. When confronted with their half-curious, half-mortified gazes, Ria flushed, shut her mouth, and sipped on her boba inconspicuously.
"Ach mein gott, not a prostitute, Ria, a businesswoman," moaned her father, massaging his temple. Despite being forty-one, Karl Heinrich remained ever the bachelor, unwilling to ever be "tied down" to a woman. Karl, while being a successful business man and a naturally doting father, was renown for engaging in promiscuous affairs with exotic women, drinking himself to stupor every Friday night, and occasionally leaving on month-long business trips. "What should I do, Ria? It was meant to be a simple one-nighter—I never expected the woman to want to get married."
Don't get her wrong, Ria loved her father—he was the kindest man in her life, making sure Ria had anything she could ever want, tucking her into bed whenever he was home, still referring to her as "Liebling", despite her outgrowing the nickname—but he sort of ruined her opinion on monogamy.
"You have no problem trampling over every other woman's heart. Why's she so different?" Ria wondered, chewing on the straw of her boba.
"Because she is not just any other woman," snapped Karl, throwing his arms up in exasperation. Ria took note of how frazzled he looked—his hair, usually tamed and combed back, now hung in a disarray of blonde spikes, the gray hairs he worked tirelessly to conceal visible to the naked eye. His eyes were dark and swollen from drinking, though they currently wore an expression of misery. "She is the Ako Mori, the company's most valued trading partner. The woman practically controls all our commerce in Japan! It would be a disaster if she were to get angry and—and—God knows what she might do!" Karl's head collapsed on the tabletop in a fit of sobs.
"Oh—oh my goodness, Ria, what do I do?" Karl wailed, big, fat tears descending from the corner of his eyes.
"You could just reject her and potentially lose your job," offered Ria, cringing when she noticed practically everyone's eyes on them. "...or not. Look, don't be so unreasonable—you've known this woman for what, a few days? One night? Big deal. I'm sure she'll understand if you'd just explain to her how you feel." Ria patted her father's back awkwardly.
"You don't understand!" Karl's eyes widened in fear. "That—that woman is pure evil."
"Aren't you exaggerating?"
"I'm not!" Karl slammed his fists down on the table, leaning in a bit too close for Ria's comfort. She wrinkled her nose at the stench of beer wafting from her father's mouth, pulled out a handful of peppermints from the glass bowl, and shoved it in his mouth.
"She was so lovely at first." Karl swallowed the candy, his eyes glazing over as he recalled the night he met Ms. Mori. "So, so lovely in that blue kimono of hers—she has these amazing dark eyes, you know." He sighed wistfully. Ria let out a noise of disgust at his dreamy tone. "We talked at first, just about the company and things like that. Before long, it became personal. She told me about how her son had gone through a traumatic experience—something about being buried under an avalanche or something—and had started skipping school and going out for days on end without telling her—oh, Ria, just the thought of it breaks my heart. Don't you ever go out in the middle of the night without telling me—"
"Yes, yes, continue."
"Yes, well, she then spoke of how her husband had recently divorced her so he could run off with a younger woman. Honestly, the nerve of that man, leaving his wife and his only son to fend for themselves." Karl lowered his eyes. "And, well, my heart went out to Ms. Mori, it really did—"
"Cut the crap, Karl, we both know you just wanted to jump her bones."
"False!" Karl denied immediately. "And how many times have I told you to call me 'Daddy'? Show your Papa some love!"
"Stop pouting, you're ugly." Ria declared, stabbing the tapioca pearls swimming at the bottom of her drink. "Did you talk to your boss about it? I'm sure he could figure something out."
"He told me to keep her happy unless I want to get fired." Karl fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, suddenly finding an interest in the ground. "And, well, Ms. Mori wanted for us to...erm...settle down with her as soon as possible."
"...where is this going?"
"We're moving to Japan by tomorrow." Karl blurted out, adding a hasty, "Please don't hurt me!"
Ria stared at her father.
3...2...1...
"YOU STUPID OLD MAN! WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS?!"
"N-now, Ria, you're scaring all the customers, please put down the salt—OUCH!"
"Ria, Liebling, time to wake—GYA! STOP HITTING ME! I'M NOT YOUR ALARM CLOCK!"
"Mmff." Ria stirred in her sleep, aroused by the scent of coffee and something sweet. Bleary-eyed and rumpled from the flight, Ria lifted her head from her father's shoulder, lifting a timid hand to grab a day-old water bottle from the cup holder.
"Unhygienic," Karl muttered, watching Ria drain its contents. The latter responded by thwacking him upside the head, muttering something about how gross his morning breath was.
"Are we there yet?" Ria bit into a donut, trying her hardest to ignore the pangs of nausea stabbing her stomach. She didn't know how long her guts could take it; Ria had always been prone to motion sickness, and being stuck in a taxi for five hours straight made her want to wretch on the leather seats.
Or even better—right onto her father's overpriced Oxfords.
"You're not allowed to puke on my shoes." Karl said immediately.
Ria hacked into the donut bag. The driver threw her a mortified glance, increasing the speed by at least five miles.
"I'm going to kill you." Ria groaned.
I'm going to kill him, Ria decided, her left eye twitching.
Presently, Ria and Karl were situated inside the Mori estate, a rather large, spacious piece of land, distinct from the bustling apartments scattering Tokyo. The house itself was admittedly rather beautiful, complete with a traditional engawa and a Japanese-style garden.
No—that wasn't the issue here.
The issue was her.
"It's nice to see you again, Karl-dono." Ms. Mori's eyes positively sparkled. She busied herself by pouring tea onto the various cups decorating a Chabudai table, though her flustered expression gave it all away.
"Karuru-dono?" Ria mouthed in disbelief.
"Ah, Mori-san." Karl offered Ms. Mori a tight-lipped smile, unnerved by the dark aura emitting from Ria. "How are you?"
"Oh, you must drop the formalities!" Ms. Mori giggled. "After all, we did..." she let her sentence trail off, a blush covering her cheeks.
Ria gagged.
Ms. Mori seemed to notice her for the first time. A bright smile spread on her face, softening her eyes, and Ria noticed just how pretty she really was—honestly, she couldn't blame her father for what he did.
"You must be Ria." Ms. Mori reached out, taking both of Ria's hands. Ria noted how soft and delicate her hands were, and so, so warm. "It's very nice to meet you. Your father told me a lot about you, but I never imagined you'd be so lovely."
"Ah—I, um, not really," stammered Ria, heat rising to her cheeks. While she wasn't ugly, per say, there had always been girls prettier than Ria. Maybe it was the blonde hair, or perhaps the blue eyes, but those weren't uncommon features in New York and Germany. However, she seemed to stick out like a sore thumb in Japan. "You're too kind, Ms. Mori. And, for the record, I think you're much prettier than I am."
Well, there was no lie in that. Ria didn't see anything too attractive in herself. She was 5 feet 7 inches of pale hair, gangly limbs, and a comically large forehead. Her snark was her only arsenal of defense. Ms. Mori, on the other hand, was delicate and tiny, armed with the kind of smile that made your guts feel all warm and tingly.
"Oh, you flatter a little woman like me." Ms. Mori waved the compliment off, covering her face with the sleeve of her kimono. Ria shifted uncomfortably, unused to sitting with her legs folded for such a long time. The surface of the tatami mat dug into her ankles, bruising her skin, and it didn't help that her bladder was screaming in protest.
"Oi, old man, I need to piss," Ria muttered to her father in English, jabbing him with her elbow.
"Don't look at me. I don't know where the bathroom is. Ask her." Karl hissed back.
Ms. Mori appeared unfazed by their conversation, an amused smile playing on her lips.
"Go down the corridor, right hall, to the left." Ria wanted to die. Sweat began dotting Karl's forehead. If this woman knew English, it would be impossible for him to plan anything behind her back.
"Thanks." Ria ground out, jerking to her feet. She practically flew out into the hallway, her footsteps echoing through the whole house. The corridor was right around the corner, she thought, mentally whooping in joy.
She threw open the first door found, her hand working on the waistband of her skirt—
Only to have her blood run cold.
The dark-haired male turned his head, exposing his bare chest. Dark, maroon eyes bore into Ria's blue hues, filling her with icy dread.
"Have you no shame in barging into a man's room, indecent woman?" He sounded as if he didn't care much. His eyes flitted across her form, resting on the thin fabric exposed by her partially undone buttons. A smirk formed on his lips. "Black lace? Aren't you a bit too young for that, you pervert."
Ria screamed.
note: Hello to the Kamisama fandom! *waves hand excitedly* I'm simply a rabid fangirl that happens to be infatuated with Akura-Ou, hence, this fanfic came to be! *throws confetti everywhere* Anywho, Akura-Ou, in my opinion, doesn't get much love, so here I am with this ridiculous fic. I hope you enjoyed my 1,700-ish words of stupidity. Just for clarification, Ria, and Karl are ethnically German, but they live in New York. Karl had a one-night stand with Ms. Mori on one of his business trips, and she basically demanded that he marry her. Karl can't say no, because she's one of his company's major trading partners, and she could easily get him fired.
I feel like I have to say this just because there'll be some people who think this is some sort of taboo pairing, but I'll say this beforehand: Ria and Akura-Ou are not related. Therefore, their relationship is legal. Even if they become step siblings, Akura-Ou technically isn't Kirihito, just using his body.
Again, I hope you enjoyed!
bold - English.
ach mein gott - Lit. "oh my god" in German.
liebling - darling, love, sweetheart. Something of that sort. It's a German endearment for those you love.
engawa - basically the porch of a traditional Japanese house.