Darkness. Swirling darkness all around him, and in the distance a familiar figure.

Hozuki?

He runs, reaches out to touch him, but the figure is gone.

"Hakutaku!"

Hakutaku wakes up with a start. Momotaro is standing beside his bed, hands on his shoulders. Blurry eyes search the room, comfortable, familiar, the same as it had been for centuries. Hakutaku was at home.

"It's 3 pm. The shop is very busy today, I can't handle it on my own. Please, will you come and help serve the customers?"

Hakutaku was still half asleep, but he nodded and began to get up — stopping when something shifted inside of him. From behind.

Oh, fuck.

Images flashed in his mind, his brain finally recollecting the memories of the night before, memories Hakutaku would rather forget. It didn't seem so bad when he was horny and drunk out of his mind, but sober, with the light of day shining over his head and Momotaro standing beside him? He'd rather he'd just been beaten by Hozuki and died.

"I'll just get dressed and then come," Hakutaku said, smiling at Momotaro. He had to give the illusion of normalcy. No one could know about this. Momotaro nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Hakutaku let out a long, drawn-out groan. He'd slipped on a shirt last night, apparently, but failed to put on pants before falling asleep. And there was come in his ass. And on the bedsheets.

Did Momotaro notice?

He probably wouldn't say anything even if he did, not that it mattered, he'd just assume it was the aftermath of bringing some girl over. Hakutaku's body...that would be harder to explain.

Hakutaku was covered in both bruises, scratches, lovebites, and actual bites; there was no way Momotaro would assume a girl did this. Hozuki had...marked him. Everywhere.

"How am I supposed to pick up girls like this?" Hakutaku groaned, inspecting himself. "It'll scare them all off." Poking a bruise on his arm and wincing, Hakutaku walked to the bathroom to clean himself up. After finishing, he dressed, and changed the bedsheets, removing any trace of the night before. Now he could pretend it never happened. Satisfied, he left his room and walked through the door to the pharmacy.

A familiar face greeted him as he entered the room.

"Lilith?"

"Hakutaku! You look…" She narrowed her eyes. "Rested. I was visiting Japanese Hell and thought I'd stop by your place. Do you have time for a chat?"

Hakutaku forced a smile; he was lucky this came so naturally to him. Most people wouldn't notice anything was wrong. Most.

"Of course I have time for you," he said, bringing her around back to the door to the living area. "Taotaro, you'll watch the shop for me, won't you?"

Momotaro looked exasperated but said no word in protest. Lilith gave him a charming smile before following Hakutaku through the door.

As soon as they were alone, Lilith ripped down Hakutaku's collar, exposing multiple hickeys travelling from his neck to his collarbone and below.

"I didn't expect you to be interested in the possessive type," she said with a curious smile, "You'd better be careful. I've had men like that before and they're never as fun as they initially seem to be."

"It was just the heat of the moment," Hakutaku replied, straightening his collar, and adjusting it to cover the marks. "It doesn't really mean anything except I can't see other girls for a while. Not for long, my body heals quickly."

Lilith still had that smile on her face, her eyes showing clear interest. Perhaps it was a mistake to invite her in, he certainly wasn't prepared to be grilled about the previous night. But it wasn't in his nature to refuse an invitation from a lady.

"No, those were put there with purpose. Trust me, I know these things. Woman's intuition. Somebody wants you all to herself."

Hakutaku was tired and knew he couldn't explain. He wouldn't be surprised if a girl had motives like that, but last night's companion was doing it thoughtlessly — and even if he wasn't, the only other reason Hozuki would have was to inconvenience Hakutaku. Hakutaku knew Hozuki looked down on him for his frivolous take on relationships, and if he had the opportunity to ruin Hakutaku's chances with a girl, he'd definitely take it. Now Hakutaku was wondering if he really had done it on purpose.

"I assume they're not just on your neck," Lilith continued, giving Hakutaku a once-over. "You can't exactly take girls home looking like that…luckily, I'm not the type to mind that sort of thing. Can I meet you tonight?" she asked, stroking his arm.

Normally Hakutaku would jump at a request from Lilith, but he was conflicted today. He was still sore from the night before, in more ways than one, not to mention feeling mentally out of it. Then again, this could be just what he needed to get Hozuki and last night out of his mind. A distraction.

"Of course," Hakutaku replied with a smile. Maybe this night would overwrite the events of the night before. He'd do anything just to forget.

The next morning, Hakutaku felt even worse than before. Clearly having Lilith over was a mistake, his body ached even more than it had the previous day, and his night with Lilith did nothing to help him forget the memories Hozuki had left with him. It was nothing he couldn't cover up with a carefree smile, of course, but it was still unpleasant. Even so, he served his customers as normal.

"If you're free next week, would you like to come play with me?" Hakutaku leaned against the counter, smiling at the petite girl before him. That's right, he thought. He was still himself in spite of what happened, and he couldn't let the events of that night get in the way of his enjoyment of life. He just had to move past it. He imagined Hozuki was probably doing the same thing; there was no way that stone-cold demon would let one drunken night affect him or his work.

Then again, he wasn't the one who was practically mauled that night, Hakutaku thought bitterly, though not allowing it to reach his face.

"Ah, um, I have a boyfriend…" the girl nervously replied, blushing and looking away from Hakutaku. It was a line Hakutaku heard a lot, but from experience, he knew it was by no means a hard no.

"That's too bad; the offer still stands if you change your mind."

Suddenly arms reached in front of him, holding out a brown paper bag.

"I'm sorry that took so long, here's what you were looking for, miss." Momotaro gave an apologetic smile as the girl took the bag.

"Thank you." She bowed her head before turning to the door, avoiding Hakutaku's eyes, face still slightly flushed.

"Come again!" Hakutaku called out.

Momotaro watched his boss carefully, concern etched on his face. He had lived with Hakutaku for quite a while by this point and was more perceptive than he appeared. Usually, he'd be annoyed at the constant flirting that bordered on sexual harassment, but he knew there was definitely something off about Hakutaku despite his usual cheery demeanour.

"Hakutaku, are you okay? If you're not feeling well you can rest and I can handle the shop today."

Hakutaku froze for a second before reverting to normal, the reaction short enough that Momotaro believed he could've imagined it.

"Ah, you're so kind, Taotaro. But I'm perfectly fine." In a way, it wasn't a lie. His body would probably be completely recovered by tomorrow; the healing capabilities of a celestial beast were quite impressive. His mind, however…that might take awhile. He didn't want to admit that Hozuki could get under his skin this way, but Hakutaku hadn't slept with a man in centuries; it was just too much that his first time in a long time happened to be with his enemy.

I let myself get fucked by my enemy.

Remembering himself submissively squirming with pleasure on Hozuki's cock made him feel sick to his stomach. He forced back a grimace and instead turned his focus to the list of orders that were to be picked up that day.

Hozuki

Of course, his name had to be on the list.

"What time is Hozuki coming today?" Hakutaku asked, not bothering to mask the annoyance on his face.

"Oh, he already picked up his order. You were still asleep," Momotaro replied.

"Really? He never comes that early. Was the shop even open?"

"He called in the day before and asked if he could stop by before opening hours. He must've had a busy schedule. I didn't think you'd want to see him anyway if you could help it, so I told him it was okay."

Hakutaku was surprised. Busy schedule? Hozuki always had a busy schedule and had never made a request like that. Hozuki wasn't busy. He was avoiding him.

Hakutaku knew that Hozuki hated running into him and that he didn't go to Togenkyo often if he could help it for that very reason, but he'd never gone so out of his way to avoid meeting Hakutaku.

Hakutaku felt strange. He was relieved that he didn't have to face Hozuki; the man irritated him enough under normal circumstances, let alone…this situation. But being avoided pissed him off too. Was he running away? He felt a sudden flash of anger.

Take responsibility!

It was a childish thought, but Hakutaku didn't care. Hozuki was being childish too, anyway. He brushed past Momotaro, heading for the bathroom.

"Call me when someone else comes in!" Hakutaku called out, before shutting and locking the door.

Hakutaku splashed cold water on his face, then looked in the mirror. Tired eyes stared back at him. How was he supposed to flirt with girls looking like that? His whole world had turned upside down. Sighing, he sat on the edge of the empty tub, leaned down and held his head in his hands.

Goddamn that demon.