AN: one of the FEW OC fics I will do. As in, I don't normally do OC unless asked and bribed heavily (I got candy and a lot of help with other fics, also the girl happens to be a great fan. And friend.) that being said, I'll only do it without bribes if I get interested, or bored, so ask anyway.

Warnings! : Supernatural, het, OOC Yoseob, OC Kristine Yuu and Kari.

DISCLAIMER! : Do not ouwn is not real, I mean come on! Have you SEEN Yoseob with wings? Didn't think so. Enjoy!

Your soul is all that you possess. Take it in hand and make something of it!

~Martin H. Fischer

A set of black wings flew into a lighter moonlit sky as buildings passed by slowly beneath the winged figure. Alighting on a rooftop the figure sat, sighing as slightly pale masculine hands ran through ragged long blond locks and pulled dark grey robes closer to the thin body. A breeze ruffled the blond hair to reveal brown eyes locked on a figure walking in the night. A sigh went through the figure again as the wings slowly melded back into the shoulders of the figure. Smelling the light perfume of an untainted soul, the figure stood and hopped off the corner of the tiled roof, following the small kimono donned figure. Making to stay in the shadows the figure followed the small brown haired woman as she looked around before grasping the small bundle in her arms tighter and knocking on the dark red trimming of a shoji screen nearby. The door opened slightly to show a Geisha with wildly colored hair and a thin black kimono around pale shoulders. The two figures chatted slightly before the brunette gave the parcel to the other figure that bowed and closed the door.

The being took to the skies again before being noticed by the woman. As the blond circled with the ratty hair flipping slightly around a softer face an arrow came from a nearby house to puncture a glossy black wing. The blond fell from the sky to land harshly on the ground. The previously warm brown eyes turned cold as the wings melded back into strong shoulders. The blond turned in the small clearing the crash made to see the attacker.

"Beast!" a few of the surrounding villagers pointed assortment of weapons, all pointed at the blond. "Why have you come here? This is not your native land!" a brass villager with ratty brown hair pointed a katana at his chest. "You'll find no victims here Beast. Leave this village." The blond who had previously dropped the hard gaze he possessed to the ground before opening the onyx wings to their full breadth. Looking up the blond smiled.

"Beast…perhaps." The blond growled in a low voice as the wings flapped once sending large clouds of dust up from the dry soil. The blonde's head twitched once to the side as the blond hair swirled in the wind the wings made. "But atlas; you'll find that 'Demon' is a much better title…human." The blond gave a dark chuckle as brown eyes melded into blood red.

"We are strong in our numbers and shall overcome you Beast!" the villager still yelled as a few of his companions looked skittish. The blond chuckled again.

"Then bring your best and find your end. This should prove to be entertaining." The blond cracked his slim fingers and laughed as they attacked.

All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I cannot name.
~Andre Breton

"Kristine. It's not going to kill you!" a girl's head peeked from behind a light red velvet curtain. The girl had her dark brown hair shot through with a dark blue and red. "Come on it's almost our plane!" another girl a few feet away in the airport bathroom looked up from her perch on the sink.

"Do you ever NOT yell Kari?" Kristine asked defiantly. The girl with the dyed hair grinned and shook her head. The girl slipped into the bathroom after scoping the area. The girl had light pale skin and a black corseted dress that reached fish-netted knees.

"Not now, not likely. Damned if I ever!" Kari triumphantly laughed as she dragged the bag from its resting place in the corner. "Besides it's only Japan!" Kristine sighed and wiped her slightly sweaty hands on dark blue jeans. "Besides, what if you find yourself a-" Kristine clamped her hand over Kari's mouth with a groan.

"If you say one more time about how I need a guy…" Kristine left the threat open as she brushed her light blond hair behind her ears. "I don't need anyone." Kari laughed earning a glare from Kristine. "OH go snog Yuu Kari." Kristine muttered as she grabbed her bag from her 'kidnapper'. Kari gave a large grin.

"Why do you think it took so long for me to bug you?" Kari gave a wing as Kristine shuddered. "Hey, at least I wasn't blatant about it…this time." Kristine groaned as they headed to the 6A plane terminal. A small plane sat there and Kristine looked at it skeptically. Tilting her head to the side as she fidgeted she pulled on Kari's arm.

"Is that going to survive the trip?" Kristine asked as they walked closer. "If an engine fails how long will we be in air? It so small…" Kristine bit her lip nervously.

"It's a good plane." Kari gave a laugh. "And if an engine fails, the other one will take us to the scene of the crash, bet you we beat the paramedics by half an hour!" Kari gave a morbid laugh as Kristine hit her shoulder. "It's lucky it will…since that's where we're going!" Kristine hit Kari again as they came to the side of the plane.

"You sure this'll help?" Kristine asked, seriously toned as she hitched her bag higher on her small shoulder. "Korea didn't help. And I love Korea." Kristine ended in a murmur as she sighed. She was feeling so strange lately, stir-crazy, bored…strange.

"Well, one way to find out huh?" Kari chirped as she threw her bag up to the smiling attendant. "Besides…we still got to try China if this won't help!" Kristine smiled slightly at her friend as she looked the plane over. God Kristine wanted this to help. She wanted the strange feeling past her so she could get back to feeling normal. Kristine climbed the small stairs to the entrance to the plane looking at the other people in the plane. Sighing inaudibly she settled in a seat by herself as the plane hiccupped into the air.

Each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against ourselves.

~Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

The blond Demon stood with a grin up at the coming dawn, his clothes stained with red. He lifted a slightly clawed hand and licked off a trail of blood as he watched the sun rise before retreating into the dark forest. The pile of carnage behind him was starting to draw animals and lesser demons. The blond walked where he pleased as he followed his nose to a hot spring to clean. As he walked into the spring, a faint trail of red following him as he waded waist deep. Peeling his clothes off, his honeyed hued flesh held a collection of scars. The ratty blond hair smoothed out and lightened as the demon worked at it, as he cleaned the water around him grew murky and dark. Walking further in to cleaner water he cleaned his clothes before getting out. Setting the clothes on a branch he flexed his wings and lightly beat the wings to air dry his nude body and wet clothes. In the summer heat the clothes dried quickly with the added help. As he dressed, getting his lower half covered the demon jolted at a noise. An arrow came from the left, where his hair blocked his view and pinned an arm to a tree. The tree growled and tried to pull away before noticing a seal on the arrow. A being shrouded in a black robe came from the forest with a pitch black bow with a string of black smoke as the string. The blond demon narrowed his eyes at the demon, baring his teeth. Beneath the large black hood white eyes stared impassively at the demon. The large arrow imbedded in the bare shoulder turned to a smoke winding around the body and the tree, before turning into a shining onyx chain of sorts the demon recognized from a class of demons.

"Why is a Reaper here!" the demon yelled at the black hooded figure. The figure opened the large robe to reveal four more arrows, and shot them at the tree itself. The chains had criss-crossed the tree looping twice over the toned chest of the demon. The demons arms were pinned open against the large trunk of the tree. His dark wings melded as the demon shook his head roughly to ride his head of the haze overcoming him. "Why!" the demon fought against the chains blearily seeing impossibly pale flesh and a skeletal like hand wave over his face before his eyes closed.

As the demon passed out the hooded figure brushed a hand over the face, almost lovingly before cutting a thin line on a bicep. The cut on the arm turned into a small rune-like writing. The demon stirred slightly before his head rolled to face the ground, his now sleek blond hair covering his features. The hooded figure then turned and walked back into the forest as if nothing happened, hiding the dark bow in the folds of the cloak. The cloak itself turned a light blue. The hood brushed back and the figure beneath formed a young woman. Lightly curled black hair and piercing blue eyes. Never leaving the figure was the light skin tone as the deathly pale lips drew a dark read hue as the figure pressed the demons blood to 'her' lips. The figure now by all appearances completely human vanished into the forest as the sun rose shining across the blond hair of the demon, who didn't stir.

Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.

~William Shakespeare

"Kristine, go have fun for the love of god!" Kari groaned as Kristine stood in a shop with her staring at a light blue shirt. Kristine looked up and looked around slightly.

"Um, what?" Kristine smiled, slightly lost as she dropped her hand away from the shirt. Kari looked around before grabbing a map. Thrusting it at Kristine she pointed to it.

"There go take wild-life pictures or something! All you've done for a week is follow me around!" Kristine opened the map and sighed. Kari shoved her out of the store and stood looking to the casual eye determined to get away from Kristine. "If you don't take at least fifteen-thousand pictures, I will have you arrested for being a downer." Kristine gave a slight laugh at the empty threat. Before nodding and waving Kari off. Kari smiled and went back in the store as Kristine looked at the map.

Being very detailed of the surrounding area Kristine found it odd that there was a small blank spot. As if that area simply didn't exist…by the scale of the map the area was a ten mile wide circle. Kristine shrugged. At the very least it was interesting. Kristine went to the small wooden inn that the three had been staying at, Yuu, Kari, and herself that is. Kristine went to her room at the end of the hall on the second floor of the two story house and pushed the rice paper screen open to root for her camera in her bags before taking a small army duffel bag she bought earlier on with a cute character print on the inside as the outside had dark grey denim. Kristine set off to find what the empty space was all about.

After half an hour of walking where the empty space was Kristine sat down in the shade of a tree with a tired sigh. She had been wandering out for four hours; all that she'd seen so far was forest. Kristine closed her eyes and thunked her head against the hard black bark. Kristine opened her eyes with a jolt scrambling away from the tree. Since when were trees coal black?

"The hell?" Kristine started to breathe heavy seeing the area for the first time with focused eyes. There wasn't any grass near the tree. And the soil was dark brown like she had seen before. But only on highly acidic soil. Kristine opened a water bottle from her bag and dripped water on the ground, shrieking and moving to the grass when the water turned black. The water starting hissing and bubbling and Kristine could feel herself freaking out. The tree was black, soil that made things turn black…and no animals for…Kristine looked at the map where she had marked a grove where she saw white rabbits. Kristine desperately tried to remember if that was the last time she saw animals…a groan left her lips. It was and the mark was half a centimeter from the blank…about a mile from here. Kristine scooted to the edge of the grass and took a breath. Slamming her hand on the dark grassless soil she expected her hand to melt. Kristine opened an eye slowly…nothing. Kristine slammed her hand harder, again nothing. Kristine stood and jumped on the soil, feeling stupid. When nothing happened she took out her camera and took a picture of the tree. Then walked closer; this had the reason they left it blank. Kristine looked up noticing birds diving around the space above the tree. "So it's old if animals learned to stay away right?" Kristine bit at her lower lip looking back at the tree and the rather smooth bark. Kristine tilted her head and pulled her hair back into a ponytail as she studied the tree. Easily the strangest tree she had ever seen. Kristine touched the bark slowly. It smelled like cinnamon and dirt. Kristine ran a nail over the bark, stopping at a rough band in the bark. "What? Only this is..." Kristine followed the rough black bark around the tree, noting as other rough bands came to intersect. Kristine jolted to a halt as she came to a weathered piece of fabric. Kristine pulled at it, jumping when bark gave away to more fabric, protected by the bark; it was stronger than the piece she had ripped off. Kristine looked over the tree then screamed; there was a skeleton trapped in the tree! Kristine dropped her bag and pulled at the bark, yelling when her hands scraped harshly across metal embedded in the bark. Kristine took a breath and uncovered a black chain. She pulled hard at the chain; making an ungraceful sound as the chain cracked through the bark showering her with black pieces. Now the tree smelled like, something dead, but there was another smell there that reminded Kristine of something. Ignoring it, Kristine pulled the rattily covered skeleton from the tree. The skeleton was covered in the black chain and had a groove in the shoulder blade. Kristine carefully unwound the chain before taking the length of chain and setting it near her bag yards away. She carefully coiled the strange chain up and set it down on the right side of her bag.

"O-namae wa nan desu ka?" Kristine nearly yelled at the low voice behind her. Turning Kristine nearly screamed the skeleton was standing…and walking to her. Kristine watched with wide eyes as tendons and flesh melded from the soil as it walked toward her. The soil lightened to a normal color as a strange being looked at her with hypnotizing red eyes. Kristine knew she should be scared out of her mind…but she couldn't. The being shook its shoulders then looked around the slapped its pale hands against the tree bark. Black wings shot out of the beings back as the black tree returned to a normal state. The being was blocked by large dark wings and the creature twitched them. Repeating what it had before.

"I'm sorry I don't speak…" Kristine could have died happy as the wings disappeared with easily the most beautiful person she had seen so far in this country. "Wow." The being gave a smirk at the amazement in her voice before looking around at Kristine, circling around her.

"What's your name?" the, now obviously a man, asked leaning close to her ear. Kristine clapped a hand over her ear and skittered away from him.

"You! You just…from a tree! And then walked…the, the soil! The water! And then the, the skin melding thing. Wings and-" Kristine fainted from overstimulation, flopping to the ground in a heap. The being gave a small laugh before looking down at the sad condition of his clothes. He looked Kristine over, laying her flat on the soil and brushing her hair out of her face. The being tilted his head slightly as he ran a knuckle down a soft cheek, her chest rising softly. He watched as blue eyes opened, surrounded by her lashes and slightly dazed. Kristine lifted a hand to her forehead then jolted up and skittered yet again away from him. A smirk appeared on his face as he noticed her red cheeks.

"You are not the first mortal to find my appearance attractive 'Cherub Cheeks.'" Kristine narrowed her brows before grabbing a rock and throwing it at him. Then she rushed to her pack and hurriedly packed it, the being stared at the rock in shock. No one had ever done that. "Do you realize what I am mortal?" Kristine gave a laugh as she threw clothes at him, not caring if they fit.

"Hey Casanova. When you're done with your dress, you might want to think of something called pants. And cute or not, pretty faces don't mean you're worth the air you breathe." Kristine raised the clothes. "Besides you look like a homeless person. Not attractive. And my cheeks are always red Einstein." Kristine stalked into the forest toward town fuming. Also forgetting exactly how the being came to be. The being looked at the clothes and chuckled and held up the pants and smirked as smoke engulfed the clothes. The black pants turned into leather pants with a white metal and leather belt. The pink tee had turned into a white t-shirts with stylish rips, and a black sleeveless tunic. The being stripped off the tattered robes and donned the apparel. As he stood he saw the small knife Kristine had left, forgetting to stick it back into her pocket. He grasped the knife and chopped at the blond hair.

If you want to be loved, be lovable.

~Ovid

"Kristine where have you been all day? There's a festival tonight!" Kari got on Kristine to go as soon as she entered her room. Kristine gave a laugh.

"No, Kari. I've had a long day, I'm tired." Kari grinned. But left her alone as Yuu came in.

"Sumimasen. Kristine-san, the festival, you come?" Yuu's broken English made Kristine smile, until the Japanese made her remember the man in the forest.

"Iie Yuu, go ahead and have fun with Kari." Yuu gave a large smile as his brown eyes glittered. He nodded flipping his longer black hair out of the way, then pausing as Kari put it in a short ponytail. "I promise to be fine." Kristine reassured, recognizing the look in Yuu's eyes.

"Hai, Iro… ikuso." Kari tugged on his arm to their room across the hall. Leaving both doors open and Kristine heard both of them talking as she lay on the bed.

"Ne, Koibito, Kristine speak Japanese?"

"Hah, no Yuu she only knows, 'yes', 'no' and 'where is the bathroom, washroom, food.'" Kari's laugh made Kristine smile, then wince. She really didn't know that much Japanese.

"Soka? Hontoni?" Yuu seemed amazed and Kristine held back a laugh. She could hear him mutter and Kari hit him. They really were rather cute together.

"You should talk, your English is so broken it could be humpty dumpty after the fall."

"Nani? Why are you talking about humping?" at this Kristine couldn't stop laughing and Kari popped in with a smile and pulled the red-faced Yuu in with her. Yuu stood behind Kari and wrapped his leanly muscled arms around her waist as she told Kristine what they would do. "Ne Kristine-san?" Yuu asked interrupting Kari. "Why is there soot on clothes, and feather in hair?" Yuu reached out to grab the feather but it turned into a puff of smoke and Yuu looked at her with wide eyes. "Karasu Oni.." Yuu muttered whipping his hands roughly on Kristine ridding her of any trace of the forest. Kari pulled Yuu's hands away from Kristine as he started agitated muttering in Japanese.

"Yuu? 'Crow Demon'? Really now? This is the twenty-first century Yuu…Yuu…Yuu!" Kari pulled his slightly angular face to her. "Daijoubu desuka…Yuu what's wrong?" Yuu muttered again. "Mou ichido itte kudasai. Slower you idiot." Yuu took a breath and slowly pronounced what he murmured not looking at Kristine. "You're being stupid. Come on maa ii deshou. It's alright. You're just nervous because of your grandma. Come on lets go get Takoyaki." Kari waved apologetically at Kristine and scooted Yuu out. Kari closed the door and Kristine could hear her clomp down the stairs. The door opened again and Kristine looked up to see a nervous Yuu. He pulled at his black sweater and stared at the ground.

"Ano, gomen." Yuu muttered looking quickly at her before rubbing his arm and shuffling slightly. "The demon with wings…dangerous." Yuu bowed low and went out of the room. Kristine scrambled up on the bed.

"Yuu! Wait!" Kristine stumbled out of her bed to open the door as Yuu stepped back up the stairs. "What do you mean dangerous?" Yuu paused, most likely to translate in his head.

"Karasu, winged oni…usually very nice. But…it's corrupted." Yuu pointed at the hand that had held the feather. "Something corrupted oni."

"Corrupted him? He's a jerk! Are you telling me he used to be nice?" Kristine half-yelled. Yuu looked behind him as Kari yelled for him and bowed before he left. Kristine went back to the room shaking her head. "Nice my left camera lens." Kristine brushed off what Yuu said as she pulled her ponytail out to get in her bath, finally getting used to the Japanese bathing style. Kristine watched as steam left the high window. She closed her eyes in bliss, finally letting the long day melt away. In the window a black bird came in with a faint flutter as Kristine sank lower in the water with a faint smile. The bird hopped down onto the toilet and changed into the man from the forest in his customized clothes.

"I see that not only your cheeks turn red." He smirked and she jolted, falling into the bath and coming up sputtering and coughing. Kristine yelped and grabbed a light blue terry towel and brought it up to cover her chest as she stumbled out of the bath.

"How did you get here?" Kristine asked as she brushed her wet hair out of her face. "You're…" Kristine looked him over as he smirked and she secured the towel. "Well, at the very least you don't look like a hobo." Kristine dried off her hair as he frowned slightly. He had meant to get her upset, wasn't that what normal women do when you stumble upon them naked? "After all if it's going to be imaginary, might as well be dressed right." Kristine walked to her bag and lifted a nightdress Kari bought for her. The light blue lace whispered slightly as it fell to mid-thigh and she sat on the edge of the bed drying her hair. "Since you're all in my head, do you know where I forgot my Nikon camera? I need it back, I forgot a memory card in-" the man pushed Kristine by her shoulders on the bed.

"So you think I'm imaginary?" Kristine nodded and put the towel under her head so the bed wouldn't get wet. Her light brown hair fanned slightly over the light blue cloth. The man sighed. Then got a small smirk. "How do you know I'm imaginary?"

"Because you don't have a name, also because I've been feeling odd. Your probably food poisoning from the kimchee in Seoul." The man grinned wider.

"So, all because I don't have a name?" the man laughed and set a hand on each side of Kristine's head and leaned close, his dark eyes staring into her lighter ones. "So if I did have a name?" he asked dropping his head and a kiss to her bare shoulder having her jump. "What if I bled?" he dragged his mouth up her shoulder speaking against her flesh. "Among other bodily functions." Kristine gave a slight laugh.

"That just means I have an imaginative mind." Kristine chirped. The man gave a small humming sound as he lightly bit her chin. Kristine swatted his head. "Oh stop. God my imaginary friends have become dirty." The man gave a chuckle.

"So if someone saw me?" Kristine thunked her head against the bed as she thought. The man continued to assault her neck. "Would this all be real then?"

"Yeah I guess, no one can see what's in your mind." Kristine conceded. The man gave a smile that made Kristine give a slight shudder. "What?"

"Let's make a deal…" Kristine nodded, signaling for him to continue. "If I'm real…you do something for me." Kristine gulped then nodded. The man sat back with a grin. "Great!" he turned and pointed at strangely cut hair. "So if I'm real you'll fix this?" Kristine stared and narrowed her eyes then started laughing. The man turned as he scratched his neck. "What?"

"You had me thin that you wanted se-" Kristine widened her eyes then noticed Kari's clothes. "x pot revenge clothes to go with your pants." The man made a slight face.

"If I knew what that was…I think that would make more sense." The man got up and opened the door and took a deep breath then screamed. Within a minute a man came up/

"Sir what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the Miss over there?" the man shut the door on the strangers face. Then turned and smirked pointing at his head.

"Now…fix my hair." The man pulled a chair to the middle of the room and sat in it. "I am a demon of the highest caliber and I will not have my hair all messed up like a kappa oni." Kristine gave a laugh and stood and looked in drawers for scissors.

"So if you're real…what's your name?" Kristine stood with red scissors.

"Yang." The man nodded as if it were the simplest question ever. Kristin walked to him thinking then nodded a she started evening his hair.

"Yang like yin and yang?" she asked as she trimmed. The man sighed.

"No Yang like the black part of it. Did you not notice my glorious wings mortal?" the man gave a sigh as Kristine gave a laugh.

"Are you trying to be frightening? Because it isn't working. Besides my name is Kristine." She moved to the front of his head to finish. She gave a squeak as he pulled her into his lap.

"I can't frighten you; you saved my life from Reapers. That was a cursed tree. Another week and my soul would be eroded into that bark." Kristine smiled slightly as the man draped his arms over her waist. "Perhaps mortals are quite as useless as they seem to be."

"You're welcome." Kristine laughed.

"Kristine I was not thanking you." Yang looked confused.

"That's what you think." Kristine finished trimming his hair and moved to leave. "Let me go Yang." Yang gave a grin. Then he hitched her legs up on his lap enjoying the slightly flustered look on her face.

"Tell me about this time. Last time I was aware women got stoned for showing shoulders. Now…" Yang motioned to her outfit. "I like this time already." Kristine gave out a surprised laugh.

"Well, you need to experience it, besides you should lose the tough guy act until you need it then." Kristine giggled then frowned. "You're lucky; usually I'm hitting any other guy in your position right now." Kristine brushed off the trimmed off hair and smiled. "Yang huh?"

I like not only to be loved, but also to be told I am loved.

George Eliot

"Kristine. What does this do?" Yang, or as he supplied a month ago, Yoseob, pointed to a pencil. Kristine laughed. "Seriously. You explained everything but that." Yoseob grabbed the pencil and held it out to her in a thrust of his left arm. "It's your duty as my savior to acclimate me to the current social climate." Kristine laughed again.

"That, right there is dangerous." Yoseob's eye widened slightly as he turned his hand to look at it. Kristine fought not to laugh. "If you hold it for more than fifteen seconds you die." Yoseob immediately dropped the 'dangerous' object and then glared at Kristine as she burst into laughter. "That dark end you write with like an ink brush, except for the other end erases if you made a mistake." Yoseob picked up the pencil.

"Oh, and you use it with that paper object?" Yoseob asked smiling when Kristine nodded. Kristine cleared her throat as Yoseob analyzed the object. "Yes?"

"Can I finish my shower now?" Kristine asked with mild humor. Yoseob nodded then held up a finger.

"Unless I find something else." Yoseob murmured before walking out. Kristine shook her head and giggled remembering how he reacted to her lie. "I was NOT fooled!" Yoseob shouted from the other room. Kristine laughed harder. "I swear on the seven rings of hell!"

"Then you are going to hell for lying!" Kristine yelled, as was her habit.

"Where else is a demon to go might I ask? Heaven is quite boring!" Yoseob shouted back making Kristine giggle quietly. "I get those 'pancake' things! I made you giggle again!" Kristine laughed remembering her bet that he wouldn't get her to laugh fourteen times in a row.

"Okay! Chocolate chip or Blueberry?" Kristine shouted as she stepped out from behind the solid blue plastic sheet. The door opened making Kristine let out a high pitched yelp. "Get out Yang!" Yoseob shushed her and closed the door handing her clothes.

"There's a Reaper. In your living room looking for us." Yoseob murmured quietly turning so Kristine could change. "Because we haven't officially made the needed contract. Those damn things…" Yoseob finished in a strange language Kristine didn't understand.

"What are you talking about? What contract?" Kristine asked as she pulled a dark blue Korean Pop t-shirt over her head. Yoseob turned and sighed.

"When a human saves a demon from the Reaper's punishment, they must contract. A sign on behalf of the human assuring the demon wouldn't revert into his old ways."

"What did you-" Yoseob cut her off shushing her and Kristine shuddered feeling like she was stuck naked in a deep meat freezer. Yoseob noticed the goose-bumps on her skin and pulled her into his embrace and rubbed at her arms. As the slight shadow on the floor passed Yoseob nodded. "Do the contract. Now." Kristine ordered. Yoseob sighed.

"You don't understand it." Yoseob stopped short as it passed by again this time Kristine let out a slight muffed whimper as her head felt like it split open.

"I don't care. Tell me afterwards. Besides you don't seem that bad." Kristine clenched her hands as the presence moved closer. Yoseob let out a growl as his eye bled red.

"In any case we are out of time." Yoseob muttered quickly holding up a hand with long elegant fingernails with razor edges and cut a line across Kristine's collarbone. Kristine hissed softly as it stung in the open air. "Just do what I tell you if want your soul." Kristine nodded as Yoseob cut his forearm and dragged the wounds together as he simultaneously spun Kristine around and away from the door as the Reaper stepped through. Kristine gave a shout as her chest burned and Yoseob sighed once. The Reaper had shoved a black knife through his middle, staining the white tee he had on. The Reaper gave a small growl from a pitch black mouth with small yellowed fangs.

"Don't think that jusssst by ssssinging the contract at the lasssst moment that it will lasssst Karassssu." The Reaper had scaled bone white skin and yellow eyes with slanted red pupils. "Ssssealssss wear off ssssooner the later." The Reaper flicked a long black nail at Kristine as she had to hold onto Yoseob's forearm as she panted with pain. "You will regret contracting an sssserial killer." Kristine moved to slap him but Yoseob held her arm back.

"You shut the hell up!" Kristine yelled. Leaning so only his head was through the door the Reaper smiled and pretended to slice his throat. Laughing the Reaper melded through the door completely.

"Yoseob my chest…" Kristine moaned slightly as the surrounding area of the cut throbbed. Yoseob bent down and licked the wound clean of excess blood and held out his forearm. "What?" Kristine asked blearily as the pain intensified.

"Lick." Kristine bent forward and did as ordered before dropping with relief as the pain melted into a subtle throb. "Now the contract is complete." Yoseob tried to focus his eye as his vision wavered as his eyes went back to the soft brown they usually were. He picked up Kristine and carried her to her bed and gently set her down. "I'm sorry it happened like that. I hate contracts." Yoseob did seem miserable and Kristine frowned.

"Why are they so bad?" Kristine moved over as she noticed a slight feather tattoo like image on the forearm where the cut was. Kristine guessed it was the seal.

"If I mess up and kill anyone, for any reason, you get my punishment and I get oblivion." Yoseob muttered as he moved onto the bed and stared upward. "It's nearly the same as a mating mark, would be if we ever…" Yoseob sighed and rubbed his face. "Reapers never checkup like this though, I've never seen a Reaper look like that. They take the appearance of the soul of…" Kristine pushed at him.

"Tell me." Kristine pushed again until he waved at her.

"Reapers are demon contracts gone wrong or broken." Yoseob admitted and sighed again, feeling very old. "I shouldn't have contracted with you. The most they could do to you was take your soul." Kristine laughed.

"That's the least they could do? Is there anything worse?" Kristine regretted the question as soon as she saw Yoseob's face after she asked. "In any case, you are needing waffles." Yoseob gave her a confused look.

"What are 'waffles'?" he asked as he helped her stand up.

"Do you want to ask questions or help cook?" Kristine asked, smiling when the subtle gleam entered his eyes again. Yoseob gave a softer smile then she had seen him have.

"If you were a demon, I would be proud to be you're almost mate." Yoseob grinned slightly before sighing as they walked past the living room. The entire room was filled with a black smoke and had the smell of fresh blood. Yoseob gave a grimace and shuddered before lifting a hand and light grey smoke swirled up from the floor around the black smoke and seemed to drag it into the carpet. Kristine gave a slight cough as Yoseob's unique scent covered the smell of blood. Kristine patted his shoulder in thanks before walking to the kitchen.

"Yoseob? Why did you kill people before?" Kristine asked as she took out what she needed as they started cooking. Yoseob took a bowl from her hands and placed his hands across her temples. He gave a shy kind of smile.

"I haven't showed anyone this." Kristine nodded before gasping as pain entered her mind. Kristine grabbed Yoseob's arms as her knee's weakened. "Relax, it helps."

In Kristine's mind, she was in feudal Japan in the middle of an old room. The room was bare for a woman who was heavily pregnant. A man burst in and slapped the woman. Yoseob came in as the man started yelling in Japanese. Yoseob was wearing a pure white kimono. Kristine felt pain in her ears and the words seemed to switch into English. Yoseob moved to the two and Kristine noted wings as white as the kimono behind him.

"You know the rules Kikuyu! Yet you mate yourself to a human? You taint our bloodlines with your folly!" The man raised a small slender dagger and made to stab her stomach before Yoseob moved in the way, groaning at he was struck with the sharp blade.

"Killing it won't help anything." Yoseob muttered as he went to stem the bleeding. The man growled and crimson flames appeared on the floor burning the woman in an instant. Kristine gasped in horror as Yoseob fought the man. At the end of the fight, with the man barely alive, Kristine watched as Yoseob killed the man and the woman appeared as the crimson flames died. Yoseob went to comfort the woman as Kristine watched his wings darken. She also noticed a look of slight hardness that wasn't there before in his eyes. And so it went. Scene after scene in her mind showed Kristine the subtle travel downward of Yoseob as his wings grew darker, his eyes grew harder. His heart colder. With every person he killed it seemed his heart was lost a little more to the dark. Kristine wandered along with Yoseob as he was banished for helping a human princess from aborting her baby, helping her run away with a commoner. Kristine watched as Yoseob survived out in the wild with demon and mortal beast a like, gaining more scars. Kristine watched as Yoseob grew more jaded and distrustful until he became quite the monster the Reaper seemed to think he still was. Kristine even watched as Yoseob followed the girl, knowing that his intentions weren't as innocent as they might have been millennia before. Kristine watched up until Yoseob blacked out at the tree.

Coming back to the present Kristine opened her eyes to see that Yoseob was less than an inch from her with red and black eyes and elongated hair. His claws were pressing into her temples making them bleed slightly as his hard unblinking gaze bore into her. His black wings behind her twitched once as dark grey smoke wound his body. Kristine watched with wide eyes as almost cat like teeth came in on her, going for her throat. Kristine shuddered slightly as she felt his canines pierce the soft skin of her throat. She heard a slight considering sound as a sandpaper like tongue rasped over the cuts. Yoseob leaned back as his pupils widened and narrowed as his tongue darted over his lips stained slightly with her blood.

"Yoseob." Kristine watched those unsettling eyes focus in on her, finally blinking once. "Come back to me." Kristine gulped as the creature with Yoseob's face leaned in closer.

"Yoseob?" the voice was low and lulling as the smoke seemed to throb upward.

"Yang is my demon and I want him back." Kristine stated firmly hoping this part of Yoseob couldn't smell fear or she would reek. "He is under contract."

"What type of contract? A beautiful thing like you…" the demon took out his claws of her forehead as he licked it off circling her again. Kristine smelled that same scent as the tree. Kristine turned to face the demon fully and pulled down her shirt to show the cut that had started to throb faintly. "Oh that's not from Yang. Prove it is his mark on your body." Kristine frowned then did the most demon thing she could think of and grabbed the sealed forearm and bit the mark hard.

"I want my Yoseob back now or I swear to you I will find a way to kill you." Kristine bit the mark again, tasting ash on the cold flesh and rusted metallic of Yoseob's blood. Kristine locked her jaw as the demon with Yoseob's face thrashed his arm. Refusing to let go until she hear a soft growl. Kristine let the arm drop out of her mouth and noticed the demon hadn't changed, though the black in the eyes resembled more like a cat's eye in the dead of night.

The demon murmured softly and advanced on Kristine, changing slowly back to Yoseob with each step. Until only the eyes remained, blinking for the second time Yoseob lifted his arm without breaking eye contact and slammed the uninjured arm to the wall pinning her next to the refrigerator. He nuzzled up her neck like a large cat taking giant breaths that fanned out across her throat. He paused at her ear, nuzzling behind it.

"Do you know how good you smell?" Yoseob asked lowly in her ear making Kristine wonder if she got Yoseob back at all. Kristine finally shook her head slightly, and in doing so knocked her jaw lightly against Yoseob's head. "Lick." Yoseob ordered demonstrating on the shell of her ear. Kristine gulped before obeying hoping it was Yoseob that was in that head. As soon as the skin was healed Yoseob lifted her hands with his and pressed closer to her. Kristine's breathing hitched before he pulled away completely. His eyes were back to the slightly warm brown eyes making Kristine feel relieved and disappointed at the same time.

It is sad not to love, but it is much sadder not to be able to love.

Miguel de Unamuno

"Yoseob…why can't I sleep? This whole week haven't slept well." Kristine asked. It was the third month after the contract was made. Yoseob came in from the roof and grinned.

"Because." Kristine groaned as she turned over. Lying on her stomach Yoseob chuckled. "Relax Kristine. It'll being morning before you know it." Yoseob sat on the bed as Kristine gave a poor imitation of a laugh. "Do you want a back rub? I learned from the best." Yoseob offered. Kristine merely shrugged as Yoseob moved his hands to her back. "You can't sleep because I can't sleep. It's why I hate the seal. What affects one, affects the other." Yoseob sighed, as he had often done in that night. Kristine set her head on her forearms and turned so her head laid flat. Yoseob brushed back her hair slightly. "You look so much like that girl…"

"Is that why you can't sleep?" Kristine asked as Yoseob's hands stopped smoothing the muscles in her shoulders. "Because of what happened before the tree?"

"It was my last day in complete control." Yoseob softly murmured setting his hands in his lap. Kristine turned and sat up taking a hand feeling her collarbone pulse. "The tree did more than I thought. It is unsettling…" Kristine gave a small smile before smoothing his hair back. Yoseob twitched a smile. Then he stared at Kristine in a similar way from before. "Leave. You can live anywhere on earth. The Reapers know how to find me, but they won't find you."

"Well, that's all fine." Kristine smiled sarcastically. "Except for the itty-bitty thing called the i-don't-want to clause." Kristine lightly tapped his head. "Besides you still think the microwave is evil." Yoseob's face turned slightly pink. "And as long as the guy that still wants to help in in there I can deal with a horny demon that wants to mate." Kristine gave a laugh.

"He said that?" Yoseob asked softly. "It's a dual personality thing, I don't know what he does but he's aware of everything that happens." Kristine thought, scooting back to the headboard. Yoseob moved to lay next to her.

"That makes sense, nearly thousand years you were tied to a tree." Kristine shifted so she was looking at him. "Why am I so comfortable with you, even though you're a demon?"

"Well, you're not like many people Kristine. You saw a man meld onto bone and supernatural things, then throw a rock at his head." Yoseob muttered the last part bitterly as he rubbed the spot on his forehead. "Then you try to…what was it called again…?"

"Bitch slap a Reaper?" Kristine laughed making Yoseob laugh.

"That very articulate of you Kristine." Yoseob chuckled out. Kristine mockingly mimicked him. Yoseob smirked at her and pulled her down so they were face to face. "Why aren't you afraid of me?" Kristine smiled.

"You know that when you first came from the tree I hadn't told anyone where I went." Kristine mumbled as he rubbed her temple. She moved closer as the open window brought in the cold almost winter air. "You could have easily killed me when I hit you."

"How could I kill you Kristine?" Yoseob asked softly. "You saved me, I have enough honor left in me to not kill one who could have left me die. You wouldn't have been the first one." Yoseob slowly pulled his hand back.

"You always had honor. You gave them a warning, granted not a nice warning. They were positively hostile. Everyone." Kristine moved closer as another breeze came in the door. "Ah I hate being cold." Kristine murmured reaching for the blanket before Yoseob drew her close and wrapped a grey wing around her. Kristine stared wide-eyed for a moment before curling up to him. "Ah, how is it so warm?" Kristine closed her eyes as Yoseob looked at the window raising a hand. Small tendrils of grey smoke closed the window slowly then pulled the curtains. Yoseob curled an arm around Kristine as she drifted off, smiling slightly.

"Well," Yoseob smiled as Kristine gave a soft laugh. He set their foreheads together as she fell asleep. Brushing strands of hair from her face. "You." He brushed his thumb over her slightly parted lips then frowned as the tip of his thumb melded away.

Tears are words the heart can't express

~Unknown

Kristine woke with a jolt. Looking around she noticed the smell of cinnamon was gone. She scrambled out of her bed, throwing the sheets off. Rushing to the kitchen looking for Yoseob, then the bathroom, then climbed to look on the roof.

"Yoseob! Yang where are you?" Kristine slid off the windowsill and back into the room and picked up a feather that had swept into the corner of the room. Rubbing it against the seal on her collarbone Kristine traveled back to the bathroom biting at her lip. "He'll be back. He always comes back." Kristine nodded then turned on the shower. "He doesn't have a reason to not come back does he?" she stripped slowly, worried what might, could, or had happened to Yoseob. "What if…" Kristine paused then shook her head. "I have to trust him."

"Kristine, you got left." Kari murmured. "I mean, he was attached at your hip, couldn't do a thing on his own." Kristine bit her lip and hid her face behind the diner's menu. The plaid tablecloth rustled with a plastic complaint as Kristine shifted. "Then after all of that, he's gone. It's why you don't have men live with you." Kari stated making Kristine ache to slap her.

"Really Kari? Nice speech, never mind that Yuu has lived with you longer then Yang's lived with me. And that You and Yuu, damn I hate saying that, have been living the exact same way as Yang and me. So…shut. Up." Kristine slammed the menu down and got up to leave. Kari rushed to grab Kristine's arm. Turning Kristine she tried to smile, but her mouth failed.

"I'm sorry, but ever since you two got together…"

"We aren't together." Kristine groaned. Ignoring her mind that wished otherwise.

"Anyway, you two have been so close that…I was lonely. So I'm kind of mad and agitated, because he left and you're all like this." Kari rubbed the back of her head self-consciously. "I'm just going to shut up now." Kari went to sit back down and sighed.

"He's going to come back. I have to trust that." Kristine murmured as she hugged Kari slightly before leaving. Kari smiled then frowned, slumping on the table.

"It's been a month and a half Kris." Kari sighed and left the old prairie styled diner.

"Kristine, get up!" Kari jumped on the bed and started shaking the curled up body.

"Kari stop it's my chest! Stop it hurts!" Kristine yelled rubbing her chest that was burning. "I haven't hurt this bad since there was a Rea-" Kristine stopped and jolted up looking around her apartment. "Are you cooking cinnamon rolls?" Kristine stood up and walked to the kitchen opening the oven to look inside. "Kari, where is that smell coming from? I hate that smell." Kari looked confused as she followed Kristine. "Reminds me of-"

"Me?" Kristine froze as she held the microwave door open to turn to the low voice. "I heard you were upset." Yoseob scratched at his arm as he shifted nervously.

"Why?" Kristine didn't move but the room dropped degrees from her voice alone.

"I was…I can't tell you now…" Yoseob looked at Kari ignoring as Kari rolled her eyes.

"Can't tell me?" Kristine's voice rose before she took a breath. "And why can't you tell me Yang? You just can't tell me why you were gone for two months after just leaving?" Kristine's voice was even and cold as she walked over to Yoseob. Kari narrowed her eyes.

"Wait what the hell? I thought it was Yoseob not Yang!" Kari stalked to Yoseob before Kristine held up a hand, seeing red bleed into brown eyes for a second.

"Kari. Out. Do not start on either of us and leave or I'll tell Yuu about Choi Min." Kari paled slightly then rushed out. Yoseob gave a small laugh and took off the large coat. Kristine moved to hang it up before sighing again. "Why?"

"Remember the tree? And that strange rope?" Yoseob started as he sat running hands through ratty hair. "Apparently if I stay away from it too long…well let's say I take a trip back."

"What? You just left." Kristine strode over to Yoseob and swung out her hand ready to hit him. "Just left." She dropped her arm slowly and sighed. Yoseob smiled sadly and drew Kristine in his arms as she hit him half-heartedly.

"I didn't want to, it would have taken both of us. I had to get more than four miles away from you in less than three minutes. I didn't have time. Didn't you find the feather?" Yoseob smiled as Kristine nodded.

"Why do feathers matter? You have hundreds of feathers." Kristine muttered pointing to the long dark feather on a nearby table. Yoseob picked up the feather and smiled.

"It's a prime feather, my kind only has a few feathers like this. Notice no down or anything? And that it's still black even though my wings aren't?" Kristine sighed.

"So how did you get back? How did you get out?" Yoseob pointed at her with the feather. "ME?"

"You kept the feather, though I ended up at the tree. Because you kept the feather, it convinced the person in charge of the Reaper's that you will keep me from going back."

"Back to what?" Kristine asked as she let him pull her close again.

"Being a jack ass." Yoseob laughed. "At least that's what Kari called me, among other things but I don't think I should tell you those words." Kristine gave a slight laugh.

"Kari's been rude…the leader of the Reapers?" Kristine asked. Yoseob pulled her gently to the couch and sat with a groan. Kristine, though her mind screamed not to, curled up next to him, wrapping an arm around her. "What is that?"

"Reaper's originally aren't meant to be seen. No Oni is unless it's…hostile." Yoseob tilted his head slightly as he thought of the word making her smile slightly. "Reapers are to judge demons, demons that potentially threaten entire species of demon, undo the balance. No one remembers Nightmares as being anything more than bad dreams. No demon correlation, no Faye, Kappa and lower demons were the first to be forgotten" Yoseob got a sad look on his face as he started to card his hands through Kristine's hair. Then stopped noting that his nails had grown. "Humans, mortals…must never remember us. Never had, until you actually. A Nightmare would come and take the memories." Yoseob gave a laugh. "You just yelled at it, what's with you and yelling at demons? Have you no self-preservation?" Kristine laughed softly.

"I remember that dream, you were in the same clothes as when we first met. It was all fog. And you had your hand out. But the dream Yang had an eye tattoo. Creepy actually."

"Mark of a nightmare, when it's taking human form that is." Yoseob muttered. "You dream of me? Nightmares usually take insignificant forms, or the form we desire to see the most." Kristine turned red.

"Yeah, yeah moving on." Yoseob smiled and gave a soft kiss to her cheek then her forehead. Kristine mumbled embarrassed and flushed.

"Where was I? Reapers aren't meant to be seen, yet you saw two. The leader was most impressed with your…unique character that he let me go. Permanently." Kristine sat up stuttering slightly before getting her thoughts in order. "Yeah. Here to stay. You know in the demon world time moves faster? I was still hoping that you hadn't forgot me in the time it took to get to you." Kristine smile and hugged him.

"Never. Ever, ever ,ever." Yoseob laughed and pulled her in his lap.

Kristine walked onto the wood deck at Kari's house, nervous to say the least. Then four days after that first night back a beautiful reaper came to talk to Yoseob. In the following month, he kept leaving. Kristine tried to understand, but Yoseob leaving no hint of when he had to leave had her afraid to sleep. After all, what if he didn't come back?

Kristine sat on the edge of the deck with her feet in warm green grass as she thought. It wasn't that she had no self-esteem, it was that she thought Yoseob was so beautiful, she wouldn't blame if he, traded in for a better model. Kristine shook her head and sighed. The last few weeks had be full of fights. She had screamed at him to just leave her. She hadn't meant it.

"Maybe it really won't work." Kristine murmured as she fell back to look at the dark sky. "He didn't even tell me if he loved me yet." Kristine jolted as she heard the piano in Kari's house start playing, she got up to follow the music. Kristine stopped as she saw Yoseob's back to the piano. Yoseob softly started singing and Kristine swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Maybe we need just a little more time." Yoseob's back shifted under a black tee as his arms moved. "Time that can heal, what's been on your mind." Kristine took a step closer as he continued, soon having to brush her eyes as her vision blurred. Kristine noticed small changes in the man she hadn't seen often. "I still believe my life is right here with you. So just hold on, and it won't take long." His voice had a softer almost sad tone to it. Kristine almost regretted sneaking here to hide from him. It seemed to hurt him. "If you want to be free I'll never stand in your way. But with all that I am, I'm asking you to stay." Yoseob shook his head, now with medium short brown hair, slowly turning darker. "I hope that you can love me when the pain is gone. Don't want us to fall through the cracks of a broken heart."

"Yoseob." Kristine's voice cracked and Yoseob turned his head to her then nodded and scooted over as he kept going so that she could sit next to him.

"You can try to be strong and keep the light burning on. It took a lifetime but I found it in you." Yoseob's voice was softer now that she was next to him and Kristine didn't know what to do so she just listened. As Yoseob's clear voice died out with the soft cords from the piano she gave a watery smile. "I wanted to surprise you better." Yoseob murmured as his hands rested on the keys of the piano.

"Well, you'll just have to play it again huh?" Kristine sniffed slightly. "Was this why you were gone?" Kristine asked softly. Yoseob nodded.

"You know that Reaper, the girl that you don't like? She taught me piano." Yoseob muttered. "She sends her regards, then asked if you would mind when you died to let her copy your eyes." Kristine gave a laugh and leaned on Yoseob's shoulder.

"You're not blond anymore." Kristine commented.

"Yeah, I'm human not, completely. I don't want to have to live more then you." Yoseob turned and kissed her head. "Or have to watch you die. I heard watching you loved one die is quite painful." Kristine smiled again and leaned up to kiss hic cheek.

"Love you too bird brain." Kristine teased.

"Hey! I am not! Had wings? Yeah? Had a bird form? Hell yeah. Bird brained? Not. Damned. Likely." Yoseob growled slightly as Kristine laughed at him.

"Don't get your feathers in a twist." Kristine stated running as Yoseob tried to tackle her. "Remember birds aren't that fast on land!"

"Yeah? Watch me throw you somewhere unpleasant!" Yoseob yelled.

Love is how you get the Hooker to stay without giving her money.

~Cyma