Under the willow tree

The river was quiet and motionless, so clear that the reflection of the full moon filled the land with silver light. The graceful willow branches swayed, moved only by the gentle caress of the warm south wind.

"God damn it! Fucking light is giving me a headache!"

Chirping crickets and the croaking of frogs mixed into a chorus of natural melodies.

"Oi oi! You're noisier th'n old man Kidomaru when he's bangin' some chic! Che, what a loud motherfucker he is!"

The smell of the pure water and the freshness of the lush green plants were only interrupted by the foul stench of alcohol. Sheltered under the willow's long branches was an Oni. Dark and tall, he sat with his muscular back pressed against the trunk of the old tree. He poured the crystal clear sake into his large cup and sipped it under the large bizarre stupa that covered half of his mouth. He cursed and moved it to expose his mouth.

In the beauty of the perfect scene, he was drinking himself stupid. Then again, he probably wouldn't appreciate the splendour of the nature around him. Yeah, a violent psychotic demon like Ibaraki Doji didn't have much respect for anything besides the old fox woman, Hagoromo Gitsune.

He poured more of the clear alcohol into his oversized sake cup. As he swallowed it in one gulp, he gritted his teeth in frustration, "Shut up you stupid frogs! And you too you damn crickets."

He drank more sake, "I'll ki-kill all ov ya damn fuckers!"He ran his hand through his black spiky hair and sat on his side, starring off at the moon with an irritated expression.

"Too damn peaceful. A bunch of stupid branches blowing around!" he stumbled to his feet, a sake bottle in his hand. Ibaraki toke a gulp of the sake and flopped to the ground, resting his back against the tree trunk again. "Ah. Sake's finally working!"

"Too nice of a night to be drinking alone neee~!" said a goofy voice.

Ibaraki frowned at the figure perched on the tree branches and growled, "What the hell do you want, stupid monkey?!"

Hihi giggled and leaned on his hand, a sly grin spread on his face, "Oooo~! I'm soo happy you remember me."

Ibaraki's glare darkened, "Che. I always remember those whom I want to kill."

Hihi batted his eyelashes and titled his head, "Hehe. You don't look very dramatic now. You couldn't kill me now that you're too drunk nee~!"

Ibaraki stumbled to his feet swaying slightly and fumbled for his sword. "Shut the hell up!"

"Don't bother. You can't even draw your sword," Hihi laughed loudly. Ibaraki gritted his teeth and finally gripped his sword. He stood firmly and pulled on his sword.

This seemed to amuse Hihi even more as he studied the Oni, "Hehe~. Watch out. That thing's sharp you know."

But, his lack of firm grip prevented him from completing one smooth draw of his sword. Ibaraki fumbled with his blade until he finally managed to clumsily pry it out of it's sheathe.

"Pfffffft! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hihi wiped tears off his cheeks, "Oh God! That was hilarious! Hahahahaha! Y-you cann-n't seriously be ready to fight with tha-t thing! I'm surprised you didn't cut yourself." By then of course, Hihi was busting his gut laughing. He could barely keep himself balanced on the branch.

"Sh-SHUT UP YOUR FUCKIN MOUTH! I WILL KILL RIGHT HERE AND NOW!" Ibaraki's face flushed and he tried his best to assume a fighting stance. That was hard to do though; he couldn't stop his body form trembling in rage.

"HAHAHAHAHA! You're soo funny!"

"GET THE FUCK DOWN FROM THAT TREE AND FIGHT ME!"

Hihi composed himself wiping his tears of laughter, but he still grinned and analyzed the Oni below him with amusement. "If I do that you'll only hurt me~," He sarcastically said with fake horror.

"THIS. IS. NOT. FUNNY," Ibaraki hissed through his teeth, his rage at maximum. He definitely wanted to kill him. Now.

"Ehhh~? I think so. Ahh, my sides hurt so much. Why don't we call it a truce tonight?"

Ibaraki paused, "What the fuck are you talking about?" His glare intensified, he got a bad feeling.

Hihi hopped down from the tree, "Let's drink together. I can't let you get lonely drinking all by yourself nee~?"

That was the limit. Ibaraki swung his sword at Hihi, "GO TO HELL YOU PATRONIZING BASTARD!"

Hihi dodged him easily. Ibaraki attacked again and again, swinging his sword like a baseball bat. Hihi jumped about skillfully avoiding Ibaraki's drunken attacks. Ibaraki breathed heavily and leaned on his sword, "H…h…hold st..still damn it. I…I'm gonna waste y..you..Fuck it!"

Hihi smirked, "Are you done yet?"

He swiftly side stepped behind Ibaraki. His eyes traveled down Ibaraki's back, "Nice ass," Hihi giggled and cupped Ibaraki's butt.

"DON'T TOUCH ME YOU PERVERT!" Ibaraki yelled at the top of his lungs, his leg swung up as he planted a hard kick right in Hihi's face.

Splash! He kicked him so hard he flew into the nearby river. Hihi caused a huge commotion in it. Water sprayed everywhere.

Ibaraki swayed slightly and smirked, "Serves you right dumb ass!"

Hihi surfaced and gasped for air. He finally looked a little angry, "That a little bit of an overreaction you savage." He pouted removing the strands of hair covering his delicate face and glared at Ibaraki.

Ibaraki flexed his arm, "Yeah right! You molested me."

Hihi frowned, "It was only a little tap, no big deal." He began to ring out his kimono and he plucked off pieces of green plantlike goo. "Aghh! Look at my kimono! It's soaked and covered with algae crap." Hihi made a face of disgust as he combed through his drenched hair.

Ibaraki crossed his arms, "Che. Just shut up! I don't give a damn about your bitching!"

He turned around and began to walk away, "Tell someone who gives a damn." Hihi fumed and tossed a large piece of green plant goo at Ibaraki's head. It splattered all over his head. He yelped in surprise, icky swamp goop running down his face.

"What the hell was that for?!" Ibaraki leapt into the river and grabbed Hihi by his soaked kimono.

Hihi glared at him and crossed his arms, "Serves you right for kicking me into the stupid river."

"Why you-"

"You got a taste of your own medicine."

"Shut up! You deserve that kick for molesting me."

"That was no big deal! You over-"

"NO I DID NOT! You creepy freak!"

"You're the freak who glues wood to his face!"

"Glues WHAT!? Have you stopped making sense or something. It's my father's grave."

"IN YOUR FACE!?"

"YES!"

"How is that even possible!?"

"Like hell if I should know!"

Hihi finally let out his anger, "Never mind! I guess I'm the stupid freak for being in love with you-Ack!" Hihi put his hands over his mouth. A long awkward silence passed as both men stood still as statues, both of their faces turning red as tomatoes.

Hihi was the first to speak. He touched his cheek, "Ahh! That came out wrong! Umm. Uhhhh." He began to nervously flail his arms around, "Gaaahhh! I'm so embarrassed."

Ibaraki didn't know what to say, "Are y-you sure? We're enemies." He whispered awkwardly.

Hihi gritted his teeth, "Of course I'm sure! If I wasn't sure, do you think I would embarrass myself like that?" He hung his head. He sighed and wished he was more like the Supreme Commander who shamelessly confessed his love to Yohime. He and the Supreme Commander always talked about sexual stuff and he didn't feel embarrassed. Mainly because he loved to see Gyuki's shocked and embarrassed reaction when he bluntly discussed sex with him. Gyuki was a bit of a prude. Hihi felt love still confused him a little; it made him nervous.

Gyuki would love to see me like this. thought Hihi.

Ibaraki smirked, "You look ridiculous, by the way."

Hihi wacked Ibaraki on the head, "So do you, you arrogant moron."

Hihi stared at him and began to cackle hysterically. Ibaraki looked confused and irritated until he heard the croaking of a frog right on his head. He gritted his teeth and threw the green frog into the river. Ibaraki tried to regain his dignity but he cringed when he glared at Hihi who laughed even louder when Ibaraki tried intimidate him.

Ibaraki sighed and pouted, "I give up." He extended his hand to Hihi. "You can drink with me. Just keep your hands to yourself. Got it!?"

Hihi smiled perversely, "Heehee~! I'm not making any promises." Ibaraki helped Hihi out of the river. Both demons sat side by side by the tree. Ibaraki poured Hihi a drink in an extra sake cup he had. He blushed when their hands touched as he handed him the sake cup. They both sat in awkward silence for a while, still blushing. After a few drinks, they lightened up and began to talk again.

"Why did you come here, monkey? Aren't you close to your weirdo friends?" Ibaraki gulped down more sake, his flushed face showed how drunk he was getting.

Hihi giggled and hiccupped a little, "Uhhh~ I got tired of Hitotsume and his non-stop bitching."

"Eh? Old one eye?"

"Yep. He said something about me not takin' him seriously…blahblah You don't respect me! Blahblah I have a big fat mouth and a reeeeaaaaalllyy ugly face. Something like that, not like I was listening or anything."

Hihi giggled and stared at Ibaraki, "Why were you here, ehh?"

Ibaraki poured more sake into his cup, "God everyone's so fucking annoying. The old fox and her parade of lovers running around, making so much fuckin' noise. Shokera with his "evils" of alcohol crap. Like I give a damn about his fucking religious shit. And Kidomaru won't shut up about his ex-girlfriend. Since when did I care about his feelings?"

Hihi laughed loudly, "The male ego's a fragile thing. Kinda like a flower."

Ibaraki glared at him, "My ego is not fragile."

Hihi leaned on his broad shoulder, "Suuure it isn't."

Ibaraki looked at Hihi, his face flushing slightly. He held him closer with his arm. Hihi lowered his head to Ibaraki's face, his lips at Ibaraki's earlobe.

Hihi's gentle breath caressed Ibaraki's ear and he whispered, "How do you feel about me?" Ibaraki twitched and turned a deep shade of red. He looked away in embarrassment. Hihi licked his earlobe and planted a kiss onto the nape of his neck, "Please be honest with me." Ibaraki's breathing became hitched as he felt Hihi's tongue lick his neck. He gently pushed Hihi away and looked him in the eye. He held him close, their lips close to each other. He gently pressed his lips against the other's lips. Hihi was surprised but he returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around Ibaraki. Ibaraki held Hihi closer to him to deepen the kiss. He then gently pulled away.

"That's how I feel about you." He looked away, his face still red.

Hihi paused with a blank expression and then burst out in another fit of laughter, "Heeheeheeheehee~! It's about damn time!"

Ibaraki pouted, "Sh-shut up! It's hard for me to express my feelings."

Hihi giggled and latched onto him, "I'm so glad you reciprocate. Your face is so cute when you blluushhh!"

Ibaraki faced him trying to resist the growing urge to strangle the man he loved, "I'm not cute!"

"Yes you are~!"

"You're so damn ANNOYING!"

"I know, but that's what you love about me neee~?"

"Shut up!" Ibaraki put his arm around Hihi's shoulders and held him close. He had never had someone confess their love to him like that. He never even considered the possibility that someone could fall in love with him. These foreign feelings made him feel awkward and scared in some way. Unsure, which usually didn't happen. That scared him more than anything.

"It's damn hopeless when it comes to love. What a stupid cliché moment. Under a tree in the middle of a forest with a full moon in the sky. "

"HEHEHEHEHEHEH!"

"Stop laughing."

Hihi grinned, "Will you meet me here again tomorrow?"

Ibaraki stared off and blushed, "Sure I-I guess."

"Under the willow tree… How romantic…"

"I hate romance."

"I do too. But I still want to see you again."

"I want to see you again too." Even if I don't like admitting it. He thought.

"Do you think this will work out?"

Ibaraki held Hihi's hand tightly, "I'll make sure of it. There's no way in hell that I'm going to let anyone stop me from being with you."

"Ibaraki?"

"Yeah?"

"That was so romantic."

"Shut up!" Hihi laughed and squeezed Ibaraki tighter. Ibaraki frowned but then smiled looking into Hihi's eyes. It was the first time he had smiled in a long time. And despite his inner protests and how he thought he probably looked like a "fucking moron", he continued to smile as they both watched the sun go up in the sky.

A new day, a new future. Under the willow tree.

Cliché but fun nee~?