Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Kiss of the Demon Rose
Romance: Ryou x Yuusuke/Yuusuke x Ryou
Other Romances: Yubel x Juudai
Other Characters: Fubuki
Word Count: chapter: 2,302||story: 6,666
Genre: Romance, Drama||Rated: PG-13
Written For: Diversity Writing Challenge, section H5, a three-shot; One Ship Boot Camp, #30, rose; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #15, 6,666; One Big Series Bingo, #006, a threeshot; Valentine's Day to White Day 2015, day #18, include a character giving another a flower; Advent 2015, day #22, write an AU; New Year's Mini-Advent 2015-2016, write a fic between 5k-8 k
Notes: This takes place in my Shadow Demons universe, where Ryou is a demon prince, Yuusuke is a shadow mage, Fubuki is an angel, and now introducing Juudai and Yubel.
Summary: Many people wish to give flowers to the ones that they love. The king of the demons isn't any different in that regard. No one ever told Yuusuke that loving a demon prince meant having to pluck a rose that has opinions on being plucked, much less being a demonic floral delivery service.
Every step they took deeper into the garden had Yuusuke searching for any sign of the Demon Rose. He didn't know what one looked like, but since it had to be persuaded, it probably had ears of some kind, and it would be big, more than likely. Dangerous, without a doubt. Plenty of poisonous thorns.
The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that Honest might've had a point in the first place.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a low laugh echoed all around them. He almost didn't stop, but Ryou's hand on his shoulder pulled him back.
"There," the demon prince said, indicating with one hand where to look. Yuusuke followed the gesture and swallowed in surprise.
He'd been right and he'd been wrong. It was big, but there weren't any ears. Each thorn on the vines – and he could not count how many there were – gleamed as sharp and bright as a warrior's sword, with a thin thread of something gleaming at the tip.
The blossoms themselves shone as red as blood, and the entire flower tilted toward them.
Prince of my people. Two angels. And a human. An unusual group to come seeking me.
Yuusuke couldn't see any mouth, but the words echoed in his mind nevertheless. He steeled himself and raised his head to look at the lovely blossom.
"We were sent here by King Juudai. He wishes to present you to his consort as a celebration of their anniversary."
Does he indeed. Has it been five thousand years already? Time flies, be it Heaven, Hell, or Earth. Slowly the rose turned and if it had possessed eyes, Yuusuke would have sworn that it looked at them all.
It did anyway. It didn't need eyes.
You passed into the garden, which means the gatekeeper allowed it. You passed the gates, which means you are on this quest willingly, for none who spoke their name without meaning it would have opened the gates. But now your third task awaits: to persuade me. Which of you will attempt this and risk their immortal soul?
Yuusuke glanced quickly at the others, but before any of them could declare it, he stepped ahead of them. "I will. Prince Ryou can return to Hell whenever he chooses. Honest and Fubuki can go back to Heaven. If anyone is going to be at risk here, it's going to be me."
The flower tilted toward him, not close enough to touch, but Yuusuke could breathe in the sweet aroma of the blossoms.
A brave mage you are, Fujiwara Yuusuke, who walks with two angels and loves a demon prince. Tell me, then, why I should allow this request of yours and not damn you for all time? There was a soft, amused chuckle then. You share the bed of a demon prince. But damnation is far, far worse than his embrace could ever be. You are aware of this, I presume.
"Of course I am. I don't want to be damned, but it's only right that the person who is genuinely at risk be the one who has the most to lose."
Ryou's hand hadn't left Yuusuke's shoulder. Now Honest rested his on the other one, and Fubuki folded his on the back of Yuusuke's neck. They weren't trying to protect him. He would have known if that was what they had in mind. Instead, they stood by him, supporting his right to do this.
So be it, then. Speak, mage of shadows, and persuade me. I have a comfortable home here and have lived here a thousand years. Why should I wish to go elsewhere? Why should I wish to sink my roots back into Hell, even in such a lovely place as the King's palace?
Yuusuke raised his head firmly. "I honestly don't know. I've never been to Hell. I don't really want to go, unless I knew I could come back safely." Ryou's offers to visit had always been sincere, but they weren't something Yuusuke felt comfortable accepting, not just yet. "But the king wants to give you to the person that he loves. That has to mean something, doesn't it?"
Perhaps it does. Perhaps it doesn't. But you make a small case. Love is rare among demons. Your lover knows this well. And the King of Hell has found it twice, once among mortals and once among immortals. Rare as it may be, is that enough for me? Speak again, mage, and tell me what you truly think of his.
Yuusuke didn't see a reason yet to give up. He forged forward. "I think that it's a shame that he couldn't come here and talk to you himself. I don't understand all the reasoning on why, but I have to believe that they make sense, because I trust Ryou."
He paused for a breath and the Demon Rose spoke.
You trust a being that you know wishes to damn you, so that the two of you will be together forever. Despite knowing this. Despite the advice of two angels.
Yuusuke's mouth quirked. "One angel. Fubuki doesn't want me damned, but he thinks Ryou and I make a good couple anyway."
I am corrected. Was that humor he heard there? He thought so.
"But, I do trust Ryou. I'm going to have to do something, sooner or later, or I'm going to die and we'll never see each other again. I don't want that." He shook his head, not even wanting to think about that. "I don't know what I'm going to do, just that I have to do it."
He frowned, trying to pull his head back to where it belonged, persuading the Rose. "Is that a good enough reason? For the sake of love among demons?"
I said you made a small case, not a good enough one. Not yet. But it grows better. I ask this, then: if I said no, would you just let me kill you? You know that is the penalty for failing. You could not be here and not know it.
"I know." Yuusuke glanced at his companions. He couldn't read Ryou's expression, but that wasn't unusual. Fubuki was smiling, but he almost always smiled. It was when he didn't that things got even more dangerous than they were now. Honest just watched the Demon Rose with caution. "And if I fail, then no, I won't just let myself die and be damned." He had magic tingling in his fingertips, shields to protect himself, ways to avoid being hit by the thorns, and he wondered if a sheet of fire would be enough to incinerate a Demon Rose. He would find out, if he had to.
Your courage pleases me. But I still have heard no reason as to why I should go back to Hell.
Yuusuke racked his brains, trying to find an answer. The rose's words repeated in his mind as he tried to find something, anything. He had the oddest feeling the Rose was trying to help him work through all of this.
Why should it go back? Just because King Juudai wants it to? Kings among mortals had great power and could command works that were just short of miracles from their magicians. What could a demon king do? Why should his words mean anything to a creature that did not live in his lands anymore?
For the same reason that Ryou obeyed those commands, he thought. Because the King of Demons commanded and demons obeyed.
But he still couldn't bring himself to say that. It didn't feel right. He pressed his lips together, searching for an answer that would be right.
His gaze flickered over the rose, catching sight of a few small bumps here and there. Seeds? Are those seeds? Perhaps. And if they were…
Yuusuke knew what to say now. "You don't have to go yourself. The King just said to bring him one Demon Rose, not you in particular." He gestured toward the bumps he could see. "If those are your seeds, then you could send one of those." Another idea flickered in and he took hold of it with strong mental hands. "Because you're a flower, you see. And flowers spread with their seeds. And where else can a Demon Rose grow to their strongest except in Hell itself, tended by the King of Demons and his consorts?"
Absolute silence fell. The thorned vines moved slowly, inching closer to Yuusuke, and he prepared himself, ready to cast any defensive spells he could do at a moment's notice.
Your quickest spells would do me no harm, Fujiwara Yuusuke. As you said, I grew to my strongest in Hell, tended by my King and his consort. And so shall my offspring. Catch.
One vine rose up until it hovered over Yuusuke, the largest of the bumps swelling until it cracked open and a seed fell into Yuusuke's outstretched hands. He stared down at it, aware of how hot it was and of how he could hardly believe what had just happened.
The vine dropped down to touch the side of his face. None of the thorns touched him. It felt almost like a gentle caress.
You are strong, young mage. Perhaps more than you know. I am very pleased to have met you. The vine shifted, now indicating something on the opposite side that they'd entered by. Go through there. You'll find yourselves outside of the garden.
Yuusuke caught his breath, holding the seed closer to himself, and wondered if this were all some kind of strange dream. But the others urged him onward and he moved that way. His steps only faltered when he heard the Demon Rose call out for Ryou.
He wished that human mouths could shape the language of demons, because if he could have persuaded Ryou to teach him the tongue, then he would have known what the Rose said. Instead, all he heard was a group of sounds that meant nothing to him coming from each of them in turn.
When they were done, Ryou turned back, and Yuusuke's jaw fair dropped, since his lover was smiling. It wasn't often that such an expression could be found on his features, let alone one that flooded Yuusuke with such warmth when their eyes met.
"What happened?" He thought he deserved to know that much, at lest, as they headed for the gate out of the garden.
"Demon Rose gave me some helpful suggestions, that's all. I'll tell you about them later. Now isn't the time."
As much as Yuusuke really wanted to know now, he knew there was only so far that one could push Ryou, even when he was that one. Not to mention that despite having been here such a short period of time, what Yuusuke really wanted was rest. Arguing with a demon of any sort took it out of him.
"I'll take this to the palace," Ryou said, taking the seed as Yuusuke handed it to him. "I'll meet you again after you've left this kingdom."
Ryou wanted to spend no more time here in Boltwood than eh had to. Every inch of the place made his skin crawl and his wings itch. Better to take the seed to where Yuusuke couldn't go and hand it over, then come back once the others left the area. Much less chances that way of anything going wrong.
He pressed his lips to Yuusuke's, enfolding him once more in the magic that made it clear the shadow mage lived under a demon prince's protection, then snapped his wings open, sinking into the deepest shadows. When his vision cleared, he stood outside of the royal palace of Hell. The guards there snapped to attention as soon as they realized who stood out there, and he walked by them without a word. Bound to live on Earth for the duration of Yuusuke's life or not, he was still one of the highest ranking princes of Hell and that commanded respect.
Soon enough he stood in front of Juudai, who accepted the seed with a gleeful squeal.
"Yubel's going to love this! I'll plant it in the garden tonight. It should sprout just in time." He glanced toward Ryou. "You can stay, can you? It's been too long. Shou misses you."
Juudai glanced over to the corner where a demon smaller than Juudai himself, let alone Ryou, stood watching them. Shou hadn't gained his full growth yet; his wings weren't big enough so he could fly and his tail was just a small nub instead of the graceful whip that Ryou sported. But he smiled when he saw his brother there.
"Big brother," he murmured. "Are you staying long?"
Ryou shrugged. "Not all that long. I have someone to go back to."
Shou's eyes lit up with a light that at times made Ryou wonder just how much of a demon his little brother really was. "I heard about that! Is he really a human? What's he like? Can I meet him?"
Ryou let out an amused breath. "Maybe later. When your wings are strong." He'd said that many a time before. Shou needed to grow before he'd be allowed on Earth. Right now he was too vulnerable to demon hunters and those who would cause problems of any kind for their people. Having come from Boltwood, Ryou wasn't going to take any chances on what the people there might try if they knew about him.
But for now, Ryou had a little time to spare, and he'd been away from home for a long time, at least by human standards. "What have you been doing while I was away?" And he would be very glad to spend it in the company of his king and his brother.
The End
Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.
