A/N: I'm so sleepy. It's was about 3:45 AM when I started this and now it's 5:33 AM. Well, I had a portion of it written from a previous night when I couldn't sleep. I started it one day at 2:00 AM but it never got finished. Well, ladies and gentlemen, today it got finished. And I am sleepy
Doumeki and Watanuki are already a couple by the time this story takes place. There aren't enough stories out there where they are already dating. Most of the ones I read are of them falling in love or getting to that point, which is fine! I just like to see how they act after all of that takes place.
This is just a little story about a spirit trying to get Watanuki. I'm best at writing horror, which I don't consider this story 'horror horror'. It's more like...I don't know. *isn't thinking right because it's now 5:36 AM*
Enjoy Watanuki and Doumeki (as a couple) try to handle this terrifying spirit.
Watanuki grasped Doumeki's hand as tightly as he possibly could. Doumeki thought his hand was going to break because the other man was holding it so strongly. Normally, Watanuki would hold his hand to show his affection and love. They had been together for a few months now and Watanuki had never been shy about showing how much cared. This time, however, Watanuki was holding Doumeki's hand out of fear, not love; although, Doumeki couldn't say he minded. The look of pure fright on Watanuki's face was enough to convince him that he was needed there.
It was Friday the 13th and the night of the full moon. Yuko had warned Watanuki to be careful numerous times before he left her shop. He wished he had just stayed there. As he walked down the side of the road he knew something was wrong. Sensing spirits was nothing new to him, but this spirit was different. It was stronger and much more powerful than anything he had ever encountered. He couldn't see it and he knew it was because the spirit didn't want to be seen. He had grasped Doumeki's hand in hopes that it would make some of the spirits leave him alone and also to remind himself that there was someone here other than the spirits. Some of the spirits did indeed leave, but this particular spirit seemed unaffected by Doumeki at all. Even so, Watanuki knew it would be worse if the archer was not there.
Perhaps Yuko had called Doumeki or perhaps it was just fate, but Doumeki happened to be walking past Yuko's shop just as Watanuki was leaving. It was late at night but Doumeki's excuse was that he had stayed late at the school for archery practice. He currently had his bow in his right hand and Watanuki's hand in his left.
"Are you alright?" the archer asked. Watanuki just nodded his head without so much as glancing over. He bit his thumb nail nervously. He didn't want Doumeki to know there was a spirit, or rather a demon, breathing down his neck. He didn't want to tell him the horrible things this demon was whispering in his ear. He didn't want to tell him that this demon was powerful enough to ignore Doumeki's pure aura and not be repelled by it.
Watanuki picked up his pace and Doumeki kept right along with him. However, moving faster didn't help any. Watanuki felt as if this demon was riding on his back. No matter how fast he walked the demon was right next to him. He squeezed Doumeki's hand tighter, not noticing the slight cringe in Doumeki's face when he did so. Doumeki just held his hand, hoping that would be enough to comfort him. Once again, the look of fear on Watanuki's face made him think that nothing could comfort the boy at this point.
Even though Watanuki couldn't see this demon he knew that it was looking at his and Doumeki's entwined hands. He heard the demon laugh and for a second he thought it disappeared, but just as soon as the feeling of the demon left it had come right back. Watanuki felt the demon grab his and Doumeki's hands. A scream left his mouth and their hands separated. How could a demon even think about touching someone as pure as Doumeki?
He didn't bother to contemplate it as he stared into Doumeki's face. The archer seemed confused as to why he let go. Perhaps he didn't feel the demon touch him? Or maybe he was just more concerned about Watanuki?
Watanuki's eyes darted all around the street. He couldn't feel the demon anymore, but he knew that didn't mean it was gone. He brought his hands to his hair and shook his head vigorously.
"How far is your house from here?" Watanuki asked, his voice shaking with each syllable.
"It's a little less than a mile," Doumeki said while putting his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders. "We can go there if you prefer."
Watanuki nodded, still grasping his hair. "I don't want to go home. Your shrine should keep them away, right?"
Watanuki looked up into the eyes of the archer. Doumeki's heart almost broke in half. A few tears had managed to escape from Watanuki's discolored eyes, not to mention how pathetic he sounded when he asked about the shrine. Doumeki knew at that moment that Watanuki was not okay. It was rare that the boy would ever show that much vulnerability in front of the archer, regardless if they were dating or not. Watanuki was scared and he didn't care if Doumeki saw him like that. As long as he survived the night he could deal with Doumeki seeing him at his worst.
"Yes, Watanuki," Doumeki answered. He continued to hold his boyfriend's shoulders. "The shrine should be a safe place for us."
Doumeki waited for an answer, but he could only notice Watanuki's eyes growing wider. Suddenly, Doumeki's hands were empty and all he could hear was screaming.
"DOUMEKI! DOUMEKI! AHHHH!"
Doumeki quickly ran down the street after Watanuki, who was on his stomach being dragged by his legs by some invisible force.
"Hang on!" Doumeki called to him.
"HELP ME! PLEASE! HELP! GAAAH!" Watanuki clawed at the sidewalk hoping to grasp onto something, but it was futile. He felt the hands of the demon around his ankles and knew there was no way to escape. All he could do was shriek and hope Doumeki could save him.
Doumeki's heart beat faster as he heard Watanuki's screams. The demon was done playing games. It wanted Watanuki and it was going to have him. The only thing Doumeki could do as he ran was watch as Watanuki reached for him, putting all of his hope for survival on the archer.
"OH GOD! PLEASE, DOUMEKI!" he shrieked.
Doumeki finally jumped and landed on his stomach, just managing to grasp Watanuki's extended hand. He felt for an instant the demon still tugging, but finally it stopped and Watanuki was safe.
The archer sat up and let Watanuki crawl between his legs and sob into his chest. Watanuki only cried harder as Doumeki held him around his waist. The boy's cries muffled as he bit into Doumeki's shoulder. Doumeki hardly noticed his tiny bites because he was too busy looking at Watanuki's hands. While clawing at the street to get away from the demon, Watanuki had managed to break most of his fingernails to the point where they were bleeding. Doumeki held the bleeding hands closer to his face so he could get a better look.
"This needs to get treated," Doumeki said in a low voice, knowing Watanuki was paying no attention. Blood flowed down Watanuki's long fingers and Doumeki just shook his head. He could feel Watanuki's desperation to be somewhere that was safe. It seemed like he would never stop sobbing; the boy barely had the strength to stand up.
This spirit was different than the rest and Doumeki knew it. Watanuki had to deal with spirits on a daily basis, so for him to be so frightened of one spirit meant that it was a force to be reckoned with. It wasn't often Watanuki reacted to spirits in the way he was reacting to this one.
Doumeki gathered the frightened boy in his arms and jogged quickly down the street again, holding Watanuki bridal style. Doumeki's bow, which was dropped at the beginning of the chase, was long gone. He passed the area where he dropped it and it wasn't there. He didn't understand where it could have disappeared to, but he didn't have time to think about it. All he could think about was getting Watanuki to his shrine.
Watanuki's harsh sobs had finally lowered to normal crying. Doumeki figured he must have started to register the pain in his hands. He held his hands in front of him, careful that his fingertips didn't graze or touch anything.
"I-it wants to kill me," Watanuki said quietly between his tears. "It wants to eat me, Doumeki."
"I won't let it." Doumeki noticed Watanuki's cries quieted a bit after he said that. If there was anything Doumeki could do to comfort the boy, even if it was just telling him he was safe, then he would do it.
"I promise I'll keep you safe. It won't hurt you," Doumeki said strongly. Watanuki stopped crying entirely and rested his head on Doumeki's shoulder. He seemed a little bit calmer. Doumeki glanced at him and saw that he had closed his eyes. He looked like he was sleeping, but his harsh breathing said otherwise. Still, he felt comfortable enough with Doumeki to take a small break and that was all that the archer wanted. Watanuki needed rest or he would never recover from his ordeal. Luckily, they were almost to the shrine. It seemed like it took them all night to make it there, but both of them knew the night was only just beginning.
Doumeki ran up to the door of his house and struggled a bit to open it with Watanuki in his arms. When they made it inside, Doumeki laid Watanuki on one of his futons.
"I'll be right back. I need to get some alcohol for your hands." Doumeki said.
"No, no, no, no. Please, stay here with me. Please, stay here. Don't go anywhere. Don't leave me alone," Watanuki begged him. That childish fear and desperation for safety shined through again, but Doumeki didn't say anything. When Watanuki got no response he quickly grabbed onto Doumeki's arm, ignoring the pain in hands. Doumeki instantly removed his hands so they wouldn't get damaged anymore than they already were.
Doumeki, without saying a word, slowly lifted Watanuki to his feet. He waited for him to steady himself and then both men started to make their way to the bathroom. When they got there Doumeki had Watanuki run his hands under the water of the faucet.
"I know it hurts, Watanuki." Doumeki told him when he saw his face etched in pain. "It'll hurt again when I use alcohol but we can't let your hands get infected."
Watanuki just nodded, understanding that he needed to do what he was told. As he watched the water flow over his wounded hands he felt Doumeki wrap his arms around his waist. Watanuki gave a sigh of relief and relaxed into his lover's embrace. Doumeki kissed his cheeks sweetly, then lowered his head to plant kisses on his neck. Aside from being in Yuko's shop the only other time Watanuki felt truly safe was when he was with Doumeki. Watanuki waited patiently for Doumeki to finish kissing his neck. The archer then lifted his head again and finally gently kissed Watanuki on his lips.
"I love you." Watanuki whispered.
Doumeki gave him a tiny smile and reached over to turn off the faucet. He let go of his boyfriend and turned him around so they were facing each other. After quickly re-examining his hands, Doumeki realized that the wounds weren't as bad as he thought. They had looked much better after being washed, so Doumeki could see the true damage, rather than only seeing blood seeping down his fingers.
He motioned for Watanuki to leave the bathroom and head back to the bedroom where they were before. When they made it there, Watanuki sat on the futon again, this time with Doumeki joining him. Watanuki crawled between his boyfriend's legs again and rested his back against his chest. Doumeki had brought everything he needed to treat Watanuki's wounds, so he took Watanuki's hand in his own and began to dab his fingertips with a cottonball covered in alcohol.
"Ow," Watanuki said in a low voice.
Doumeki tried to ignore the small cries coming from his boyfriend. He worked as quickly as he could to keep Watanuki from being in too much pain.
"It hurts, Doumeki."
"I know. It's okay. I've finished now." Doumeki set down the cotton ball and picked up some bandages. He wrapped Watanuki's fingers in them then gently kissed each one of the bandaged fingers. He let Watanuki's hands fall to his lap as he tightly embraced his boyfriend around his waist.
"What was that thing?" Doumeki asked, while kissing Watanuki on his cheek.
A long sigh escaped Watanuki's mouth. "I really don't know. It's something extremely powerful. I felt like…" Watanuki hesitated as he relived the events that had just passed. "…I felt like it was trying to drag me to the depths of Hell."
"I promise to never let anyone or anything take you away from me." Doumeki whispered in his ear.
Watanuki just shook his head. "I don't understand though. This demon was unaffected by you, Doumeki. It was so close to you and it even touched your hand, yet it didn't get repelled by your aura at all."
"Don't worry about all that."
"I have to! I have to because…because he's still here, Doumeki. I can feel him."
Doumeki tensed as he listened to his boyfriend's words. The demon was still here? How was that possible? Doumeki's shrine was the epitome of pure; there were so many charms and protection spells over the place that it should have been impossible for any evil spirit to get in.
"Are you sure, Watanuki?"
As if to answer him the room itself started to shake. Watanuki looked around frantically before finally burying his face in Doumeki's chest. Doumeki held him close as he eyed the bow and arrows across the room. That demon may have somehow found its way into the shrine and somehow avoided the charms and seals put on the shrine, but that didn't mean the two boys were completely defenseless. They were playing on Doumeki's turf now and the archer knew exactly who would be the victor of this battle.
"Watanuki, I need to get my bow." Doumeki said softly, but firmly, already pushing him away. He knew Watanuki would freak out if he let him go, but his bow was their only chance of taking down the demon. Watanuki shook his head furiously, grabbing as much of the cloth of Doumeki's shirt as he could.
"No, don't let me go," Watanuki said. Doumeki knew he was scared, but there wasn't much the archer could do to protect him without his weapons. He slowly began to stand up, taking Watanuki with him.
"Hold my hand," Doumeki instructed. Seeming to forget the damage to his fingers, Watanuki didn't hesitate as he grabbed Doumeki's hand, holding it almost as tightly as he had been earlier in the night. Doumeki ignored the small amount of pain going through his hand and quickly made his way to his bow. He had just managed to grab it when Watanuki suddenly fell roughly to the ground.
"It's got me!" he screamed as he grabbed Doumeki's ankle. The archer also fell to the ground as he felt the force of the demon pulling both of them.
"Do something!" Watanuki screamed.
Doumeki, while on his back being dragged away, aimed his bow. He knew in this situation he had no need for real arrows. His powerfully pure aura would be enough to expel the demon.
Watanuki held tightly to Doumeki as he began to get pulled through the wall. He didn't know what type of world awaited him behind that wall but he knew it wasn't some place he was interested in visiting. He closed his eyes and waited, once again putting his life in Doumeki's hands.
Doumeki couldn't see the demon, but he didn't need to. With his bow poised he shot an invisible spirit arrow into the area above Watanuki. He instantly felt the force of the demon weaken. He shot another one and the two boys weren't being pulled anymore. Doumeki stood up while Watanuki crawled behind him, as if to hide from the demon.
Doumeki pulled his bow back once again and released it, shooting an arrow in area he knew the demon was. Watanuki could see the arrow pierce the demon. It writhed and screamed in pain. Watanuki covered his ears to try to block out the horrendous cry. The demon had three different arrows in it. One was in it's shoulder, another in it's stomach, and the last one had pierced it's heart. The arrow penetrating his heart was the fatal blow. The demon exploded in an array of light coming from the arrow and darkness coming from the demon itself.
The atmosphere seemed to calm as the demon died. Watanuki stood and grabbed Doumeki around his waist while pushing his face into his back.
"It's gone, isn't it?" Doumeki asked.
Watanuki made a sound to indicate that Doumeki was right. They stayed in their position for a bit before Doumeki dropped his bow and turned around to give Watanuki a proper hug.
"I told you I would never let anything take you away from me." Doumeki said.
"I never said I doubted you," Watanuki responded with a slight smile.
Doumeki lightly kissed him on the lips before gently pushing him toward his futon.
"Time to call it a night. You stress me out," he said.
"I stress you out? What do you think I have to go through everyday? I'm the one who's stressed out!" Watanuki threw himself on the futon while still yelling at Doumeki.
"I almost got dragged to Hell today and you have the nerve to say that I stress you out! Sorry to inconvenience you with my spirit seeing abilities! See, now you've got me all upset again! I won't be able to go to sleep!"
Watanuki immediately stopped yelling as Doumeki pushed him farther down on the futon. The archer looked down into the eyes of his loving, yet agitated boyfriend and smiled.
"You can't sleep? That's fine. I can think of plenty of other things we can do to entertain ourselves. "
He leaned down and kissed Watanuki, their long and exciting night far from ending.
