You know that feeling when you think something's such a good idea, and then when you go to sleep and wake up the next morning, it seems like a totally stupid idea? Yeah, that's kinda how I felt about this story this morning. FFFFFFF... Oh well, I hate leaving things unfinished (*cough*don'tlookattheotherfics*cough*), so I'll get this one done. There still needs to be more DeSu fics! ;w;

I guess I can't expect a review for a while, since the fandom's so small, LOL. Oh well.

And...uh...wow. This chapter is like half the length of the first one. hdjhjakEnlfjawkdkneaksd Maybe I should shorten the first one? It DOES seem to go on and on... Ah, whatever.

I DON'T OWN NAOYA OR THE MC. THEY WERE DESIGNED BY SUZUHITA YASUDA AND BELONG TO ATLUS.
If only I could draw as well as Suzuhita Yasuda... We're talking about the artist of the Durarara! manga here! ...But anyways.

NOTE: This chapter takes place after Naoya's route.

~*King of Demons*~

"Are you well enough to be up?"

Naoya looks up at the sound of his voice, and his red eyes meet his cousin's blue ones. He smirks at the boy.

"Of course I'm well enough. Who do you think I am?"

The boy frowns and, in Naoya's opinion, he would look cute if he wasn't wearing his imposing black cloak. No—he still looks cute even with it on.

"What's with that look?" he continues on. "Don't you have faith in me, cousin?"

"Of course I do! But you were hit by such a powerful attack… Your wounds are still recovering, aren't they?"

Naoya chuckles, turning his gaze from the boy's blue hues to the red sky outside. "You're going to grow old before your time. You shouldn't worry so much."

"How can you tell me NOT to worry?" he bursts out. "It's my fault you were injured in the first place!"

"Oh come now, none of that." He moves over, patting the boy on the head. "I'm fine, see? Besides, you didn't exactly get out unscathed either."

The boy looks down guiltily. "Even so…"

Naoya sighs, growing a little impatient, but carefully concealing the fact that he feels touched by his cousin's concerns. "This conversation's just going to keep running around in circles if you don't drop the subject, already."

"It's 'cause you're so stubborn, Naoya…"

"Who's the stubborn one, hmmm?" he retorts, pulling on the boy's right cheek.

"O-ow! Hey! Don't treat your Overlord with such disrespect!"

Naoya smirks again. "That's more like it." He lets go of the boy's face, patting his cheek. "Now that you've quieted down, I can finally ask you: how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, thanks to you…" Naoya knows he has dropped the subject, but he still seems troubled as he walks towards the window, staring out at the crimson sky. Naoya doesn't inquire; he knows his cousin well. He will eventually tell him what is on his mind.

And after a few moments, he does. "Naoya… Do you think we're doing the right thing?"

"…Oh?" Unbeknownst to him, Naoya smiles, amused. "What's this all of a sudden?"

The boy looks down at his feet. "I mean, I'm glad no humans have been killed yet, but… Fighting against God… It's going too far, isn't it?"

"Going too far? I think not." Naoya walks closer so that he's standing behind the boy. "Even so, it's too late to back down now, brother. You shouldn't worry about the humans; the angels assume you don't care about them, thanks to your apparent neglect of them."

He knows this, and the guilt of it all plagues him like an illness. "Yuzu… And Keisuke, and Midori… I wonder how they're doing…"

Naoya says nothing in response, just stares over the boy's head and out at the red-tinted earth.

All of a sudden, he speaks again. "Naoya… Why did you save me?"

"Hm?" He looks back down at the boy. "…Do you really have to ask?"

Silent for a moment, the boy turns to look up at his older cousin, his large blue eyes searching Naoya's red ones. "Did you do it because we're cousins?" he asks. "Or…did you do it because I'm the King of Bel?"

Naoya offers him a mysterious smile, with an equally cryptic response. "A bit of both, I suppose."

The boy sighs and turns around again, his eyes at his feet once more. "…Whatever the reason, don't do that anymore, okay?" He clenches his fists, though his cloak hides it. It doesn't conceal, however, his trembling frame. "If you died, I…"

He doesn't finish his sentence, but Naoya sighs and wraps his arms around the boy from behind him to comfort him. "You shouldn't fret so much…" he says, his voice soft. "Every one of us is nothing more than a pawn to you. Once we outlive our usefulness, discard us. That will save you a lot of trouble in the future." He rests his chin on the top of the boy's head. "That's the way things are in this world."

The boy shakes his head. "You're wrong, Naoya… You're not my pawn. Nor are Kaido, Atsuro, Mari…" He looks up at Naoya. "Everyone is a precious friend to me!"

"…You're too soft, brother." As he says this, though, he holds the boy tightly. "You'd better be careful—the angels could use that to their advantage, you know."

The boy closes his eyes, leaning against Naoya. "…I know." He starts trembling again.

The silver-haired man frowns. "…What's wrong? …You aren't scared, are you?"

He is mildly surprised by the answer. "…A little."

"…Well, aren't you an honest one." He leans in to whisper into the boy's ear. "Don't be afraid, brother. We're fighting for a good cause."

"A…good cause?"

"That's right… If we win this war, we can have a world of freedom, a world where no one will suffer from unjust judgement. Your friends will live without fear… And so will we. A world that is just for us…" He smirks again.

"A free world…huh…?" He seems a little less troubled now. "A world without fear?"

"That's correct." He strokes the boy's cheek, notes how soft his skin is despite the battles he's been through. The action seems to relax him, and the anxiety that was so evident in his tense figure dissolves.

He speaks up again. "But there will always be fear, Naoya… Even if we defeat God, won't the people just hate me instead?"

"Perhaps," Naoya replies thoughtfully. "Of course, that depends on how you rule them. Will you be a kind king?" he asks. "Or will you rule with power?"

"What do you think?" The boy pouts accusingly.

"There you have it. But remember, we have to win no matter what the risks. If we lose, we're finished—and so is the rest of humanity."

"I understand, Naoya," he says with a grim resignation. Naoya wonders about the stress he must be feeling from bearing such a heavy burden.

"We will win. Don't worry." He holds the boy tightly, protectively. "And until the day we win, I will protect you, King of Bel… And my beloved little brother."

Yeeeeah, can anyone say cheesy? :B Anyways, hope you enjoyed this read. x)

If it wasn't clear already, I'm only doing these particular routes because these are the routes where Naoya and the MC interact. That's pretty much all the routes except Gin's, so yeah.

'neways, if you read it, hope you enjoyed! x)

The next chapter will be Yuzu's route. It also might not come for a while, since I haven't started on it yet. Feel free to kick my ass/PM me if you think I'm taking too long. xD