So here I am again. We aren't even at the middle of the week and yet, there is a lot of progression. At least, that's what Sekhmet thinks. That woman lives in such a fantasy. I'm jealous.
Also, I want to thank everyone who reviewed and/or added this story to their favorites/alerts. It's really heartwarming to see that this insignificant story is liked. (And I can't find out why when it contains so many OC and doesn't even centre on Hōzuki and Hakutaku...)
And now, to answer all of the anons and guests:
Fangirl Anon: THANK YOU, YOUR WORDS ARE TOO KIND! Hakutaku already knows about the fanclub and he's postponing the moment where he'll tell it to Hōzuki. He doesn't want to die yet after all. And the whole world ships them. Just wait until it becomes official (in this story that is).
Anon: Thanks! I don't know how but this story ended being like this, with Hōzuki and Hakutaku almost being side characters... I honestly wonder what went wrong. Everyone should be like Sekhmet, it'd make things funnier. Also, this story could be resumed in a sole word: "Innuendo". Believe, it could. Also, I want a picture of Hakutaku braiding Hōzuki's hair. But that's just me fangirling.
Guest (1): They are in character? Thanks, I'm trying to! (But the moment Hōzuki declares in undying love to Hakutaku, they will stop being so IC...)
Guest (2): And struggle they will. Hakutaku will. But I can't see Hōzuki doing that. He'd probably ignore whatever is happening and taking it on Hakutaku.
Doodo: They are indeed very cute. But how couldn't they be when they are acting like children? I have this strange headcanon that Hōzuki can't sleep well unless it's on Hakutaku's lap.
Guest (3): Ooooh, thank you very much! I'm really trying to make them in character so it's really great to see that it looks like that!
And that's it for the reviews. Now, I'll let you read this chapter. It's longer than the others and I feel like the next one will be too...
A head with fuzzy white hair tilted and green eyes narrowed while he furrowed his eyebrows. He began to munch on his underlip and a sigh passed through his parted lips while the loud clock continued ticking in the deserted room. He rubbed his sweaty hand on his white kimono and furrowed his brows even more.
The statue in his other hand was weighing more and more and he really didnt know if he could enter in the room when the demon wasn't there to give him the green light. Frowning with a disappointed sigh, he put down the statue and scratched his head.
What was he going to do?
The demon wasn't there and he just couldn't let the statue in the corridor...
Familiar steps came around the corner and he tilted his head before a wide smile stretched his lips.
"Karauri! Karauri!" He called loudly while he waved his hands happily.
"Geh!" The small minion with peach fuzzy brown hair exclaimed and he quickly stalked to his friend with a grimace. "OI! What are you doing in front of Hōzuki-sama's room? Do you have a death wish? You know that he's in a holiday and that he doesn't like to be awakened!"
The white haired minion blinked and cocked his head with an abashed smile.
"I forgot," he muttered softly before he raised his head with a big smile. "Ne, Karauri! Do you know where is Hōzuki-sama?"
"Didn't you hear me? He's in his room, like always when he's in a holiday!" Karauri folded his arms and sighed heavily.
The brown haired demon couldn't believe how dense his friend could be sometimes. But then, if he wasn't like this, it would have been really strange.
"But he isn't there," the other retorted calmly. He scratched his neck and looked with pleading eyes at the brown haired minion. "Do you know where he could be? I finished his golden fish-plant statue yesterday and I wanted to give it to him today!"
"Oi, Nasubi," Karauri sighed another time and shook his head. "If it isn't in his room, why don't you leave the statue there?"
Nasubi tilted his head and clasped his hands together.
"Ah!" He exclaimed suddenly. "I didn't think of it!"
Karauri muttered something under his breath and shook his head.
"Really," he whispered as Nasubi opened the door and peeked inside. "What would happen if your head wasn't attached to your shoulders?"
"Dunno," the other minion answered before he stilled and went to tug on Karauri's sleeve. "Karauri, Karauri! Look! Look!"
"What is it this time?" The brown haired minion sighed and he froze while his eyes widened in horror. "GEH!"
Nasubi blinked and took his statue before he entered in the dark bedroom. He put it on the desk, right next to a cup full of an unknown concoction that was softly bubbling. Then, he went back to Karauri's side and the latter gulped loudly.
"Oi, oi, oi," the brown haired minion muttered as he took a step back. "Shouldn't we tell it to the Great King Enma?"
"Why?" Nasubi blinked and went back to look at the surprising thing that hand shocked them previously. "I think that it's pretty."
"Of course, you'd think that," Karauri rolled his eyes and raked his fingers through his short hair. "But that thing isn't normal!"
He pointed at the picture (taken from a magazine from what they could see) covered in blood painting and the small voodoo doll that had been pinned just next to the picture.
"It's moving!" The minion insisted.
"I think that it's a really good piece of art," Nasubi shrugged and he happily strolled in the corridor. "You can really feel the passion that Hōzuki-sama put in it!"
"Passion?" Karauri gulped loudly and felt his neck dampen with cold sweat. "More like hate..."
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Soft snores were the only sound in the bedroom. He turned over and groaned softly, his frontal horn was annoying him and he couldn't relax enough to get back to sleep. And it annoyed him even more than the other was still sleeping blissfully.
The celestial beast's snores suddenly stopped and the demon raised a perplexed brow. Had he disrupted the idiot's sleep with his dark thoughts?
How interesting.
Hōzuki rose from his bed and kneeled by Hakutaku's side, his eyes observing with a straight face the Chinese sleep. The latter shuddered in his sleep, his brows furrowing as if he was having a nightmare and he let out a keen whine before suddenly stopping. His snores began once again and Hōzuki rubbed pensively his chin with his left hand while he leaned his cheek on his other hand.
Then, because it was only three in the morning and that he couldn't sleep, he tsk-ed and decided to wake up the other man. With the most creative way he could use.
It was obvious that Hakutaku didn't appreciate it at all. The Chinese fell from his bed, startled by the sudden awakening, and let out a shrilly scream while his head bunked against the nightstand.
"GYAAAAH!" He screeched once the world stopped swirling. "It wasn't me! I swear!"
"Oh?" Hōzuki clicked his tongue and creaked his knuckles. "That was an interesting confession, Hakubuta-san. Care to explain it?"
Hakutaku blinked, slowly regaining his mind and he gulped loudly when he saw the dark air around the demon.
"Eh?" The Chinese said weakly. "Is it already time to go?"
"No," the Japanese retorted curtly.
"Then why did you wake me up?" Hakutaku frowned and he felt a pinch over his eye on his forehead. Whatever the demon was going to tell him, he wasn't going to appreciate it.
"Isn't it obvious, Hakubuta-san?" Hōzuki cocked his head with a perplexed frown. "I thought it was..."
The celestial beast frowned and sat on his bed, his eyes glaring daggers at the demon who was looking with a smug face at him.
"Why. Did. You. Wake. Me. Up?" He growled threateningly.
The demon cocked his head and scratched his cheek. His smug smirk was still on his lips and his grey eyes seemed almost dark in the dim light. Hakutaku's frown increased and he felt his appearance shift a slight bit before he retained it. Transforming into his beast-self wouldn't be a smart move. The room wasn't big enough to contain him.
"Because seeing your happy dreamy face ticked me off," Hōzuki suddenly stated and Hakutak was startled by the demon's serious voice. The latter also seemed to be telling the truth and was nodding with an all knowing face. "Even more when I can't sleep. It is really annoying to hear you snore too, Hakubuta-san."
"W-what?" Hakutaku's left eyebrow was already ticking and he tightened his hands into fists while he refrained from kicking the demon. (The latter would have retorted and Hakutaku had enough bruises right now). "You woke me just for that?"
"That?" Hōzuki furrowed his brows and scrunched his nose. "I don't think that it's a small matter, Hakubuta-san. Your snores are really annoying. Even worse than the Great King Enma."
"Like I would snore!" The celestial beast scoffed and he puffed his cheeks with annoyance. "And don't compare me with him! He's a giant and I'm a youthful young man!"
"Young man?" The demon folded his arms on his chest and snorted softly. "On which scale? The Old Tjikko's? Or the Buddha's banyan one?"
Hakutaku let out an annoyed screech and raked his hands through his black tresses while he tried to ignore the demon's smug expression.
"Why are you only using old trees scales?" He ended screaming while pointing a vindictive finger at the other man. "Are you a tree freak?"
"The correct word is botanist, Hakubuta-san," Hōzuki calmly corrected.
Hakutaku threw himself in his bed and hid his face in his pillow. He let out a muffled scream and didn't notice the demon's satisfied smirk.
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
He rubbed with a weary sigh his forehead and took his luggage with his others hands. His companion was calmly walking by his side, his steps being a little wobbly after all those hours in the traveling dragon. Europa wasn't that far from their residence but they really hated traveling.
His limbs were a bit stiffs but he finally made it to his room. The saint that had met them at the airport had been nice enough to give them a map as he really wasn't accustomed to wander in the Occidental Heavens. Finally, he put the luggage down and looked in his sari for the bedroom key. His companion sighed and hung his head low.
"This is the last time that we take a nightflight," he muttered gloomily.
The other mumbled in agreement and opened the door. They didn't even notice the furnitures, their eyes already fixed on the two beds. While his companions swam in the pillow and blanket, he had to conform himself with that little blanket and bed that couldn't even cover his whole body. But he quickly resigned himself on having two arms hanging out of the bed and fell asleep.
To be immediately awakened by a shrilly screech coming from the next room.
He jumped from his bed, his arms already up in defence and he glanced at his companion. The latter's head was peeking from the fort of pillow and blanket and his eyes were heavy with sleep.
"What is it this time?" His companion grumbled as he ruffled his beard.
"I don't know," he answered as he walked to the door. "But I'll go see."
"Don't kill whoever made that scream," his companion told him with a shrug. "I'd hate to deal with that god's security on the first day, Lord Vishnu..."
He laughed faintly and opened the door before he stepped out and glanced at the other room's door. It was from there that the scream had come. He glanced at his watch (he had four different so he could keep with the time difference in any continent) and frowned.
It was no more than three in the morning. Who was up at such a late hour?
Raising an arm, he knocked firmly on the door and folded his arms on his chest while he waited for the screamer to open it. Some seconds passed and Vishnu strained his ears to hear what was happening on the other side of the door.
He faintly heard some muffled whispers and someone walking quietly before the door was abruptly opened. Vishnu was startled by the sudden action and he raised his four arms in surprise, his skin taking a deeper shade of blue when he saw the other's face.
A pale face with elegant features, sharp grey eyes highlighted by red kohl, a small mouth and a horn on his forehead.
"Is something the matter?" The apparition asked with a deep voice.
Vishnu blinked and gulped discreetly. The demon had sharp fangs now that he had seen him talk.
All in all, he had seen him before.
"We heard a scream," he finally said and he observed how the demon tilted his head, a hand rubbing pensively his chin.
"Ah," the demon breathed calmly. "The cow fell from his bed. It happens quite frequently, I'm sorry to have disturbed your sleep, Vishnu-sama."
The god blinked and suddenly he remembered.
"You're the traveling child demon!" He exclaimed happily.
The demon blinked and pursed his lips. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, Vishnu-sama," he deadpanned. "I'm no child."
"Of course you aren't," the god laughed happily and patted the demon's shoulder with one of his hands. "You became a fine demon, boy! Did you get a name?"
The demon widened his eyes slightly and after some seconds nodded silently.
"Oh," he pursed his lips and shook his head softly. "I didn't expect you to remember me, Vishnu-sama."
Vishnu smiled brightly at the demon that he had definitely met before and opened his mouth to ask him how he had fared during all those years when he heard a groan in the bedroom. The demon tsk-ed and frowned while his face darkened.
"Who is it?" A male voice with a distinctive Chinese accent asked and the demon's face turned sour. "Is it a demoness? I'm sure it is. It's the witching hour after all~"
"Hakubuta-san," the demon growled threateningly and Vishnu raised his brows in surprise. The demon had sure grown up. "Stop spouting stupidities before I pluck out your tongue..."
The Hindi god moved slightly so he could see behind the demon and widened his eyes when he finally saw who was the dark haired man's roommate.
"Geh!" The roommate exclaimed as he raised his hands to protect his mouth.
But as he did so, he let his torso unprotected and Vishnu winced when he saw the demon's hands fly towards the other man and collide loudly with his chest. The other was thrown in a wall and the god munched on his lips nervously. Should he intervene? That Chinese man had been hit rather hard after all...
But then Vishnu remembered who it really was.
It was the celestial beast Hakutaku. The latter hadn't lived all those eons and survived to tell the tale for nothing. And indeed, once the smoke from the impact vanished, the god saw the Chinese man nursing his injuries with slightly teary eyes and a scowl.
"Why did you do that, Ghibli freak! I could have died?" He fussed while taking out of his pyjamas some vials and drinking them swiftly.
"Oh?" The demon had turned and as such, Vishnu couldn't see his face. However, he could see that the demon had cocked his head and was stroking his chin pensively. "My bad."
"My bad?" Hakutaku repeated with an aggravated eye tick. "You almost killed me!"
"Indeed," the demon nodded and hit softly his right palm with his left fist. "Next time, I'll do a better job."
"You demon!" The celestial beast screeched before he jumped to tackle the demon.
"Yes, I'm a demon," the latter acquiesced and took a step on his right, avoiding without problem Hakutaku's attack.
The Chinese stumbled on his feet and ended colliding brutally against Vishnu's chest. As the god was towering over them with his three meters form, he didn't even flinch and he blinked as he watched Hakutaku step back and turn to glare at the demon.
"You're going down, Ghibli bastard!"
"Come if you think that you're capable," the demon took a stance and the Chinese froze.
Vishnu tilted his head and folded his four arms.
"Hey," he cleared his throat and the two Asians turned their heads to look at him. "Shouldn't you be more discreet? It's late and I'm tired. Also, Agastya is sleeping next door."
"I see," the demon nodded with a serious expression and glared briefly at the celestial beast before he bowed curtly his head to the Hindi god. "If that's the case, I'll make sure that the cow's punishment is silent."
"Very well," Vishnu smiled brightly and went back to his room.
He ignored Hakutaku's outraged screams that were soon muffled and went back to his blissful sleep. But before he fell asleep, the god wondered over something.
Since when the small demon that was travelling over the whole Asia had become such a confident demon that he could even hold his own against the (in)famous Hakutaku? That intrigued him and he decided that by the next morning, he'd follow the demon around to find more things about him.
And with those thoughts, he fell asleep.
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
This was already the third day. He was slowly getting annoyed by this...
Hippocrates sighed heavily and shook his head. Why was it always him? And also, why was he the only one? Normally, he was accompanied by Asclepius so he wouldn't be all alone with the two Asians. But here he was. Alone.
In front of that triple damned door.
Hippocrates sighed once again and furrowed his brows as he observed the strange flower crown that was on the door handle. As a former physician, he knew his share of flowers and could name them without problem. And as someone who talked frequently with the god Apollo, he knew also the language of flowers.
As such, he was pretty intrigued in the person who had given a flower crown made of daffodils, gladioli and clematis to one of the Asians. He was pretty sure that it wasn't someone in the secret fanclub as they hadn't discussed about it in the last reunion. (Yes, Hippocrates went to those reunions. And yes, he was pretty ashamed by them. At least, he wasn't the only man)
"I like your spirit," he muttered under his breath. "How daring..."
"I must agree," a deep and familiar baritone assented.
Hippocrates jumped, startled by the sudden voice and he widened his eyes in surprise when he realised that the door had been opened and that the demon was looking at him with his poker face.
"Were you the one who put it?" Hōzuki asked with his habitual serious tone.
Hippocrates sighed and shook his head.
"I see," the demon cupped pensively his chin and clicked his tongue. "Maybe the cow will know it."
The Japanese went back in his room and Hippocrates scratched his neck. He didn't know why but dealing with the demon alone always made him nervous. Maybe because he was a demon. Who knows. He heard a door open and looked at the neighbouring room, surprised to find out that someone actually slept next to the two Asians.
Sleeping wasn't probably easy when those two always fought.
"Oh?" The stranger cocked his head and Hippocrates blinked.
Were those... Four arms?
"You must be Vishnu," he spoke calmly.
The god nodded, he was so tall that he had to bend a bit so his head wouldn't hit the ceiling. And that thing was pretty high too...
"Wouldn't it be easier if you took a smaller form?" The Greek asked with curiosity and the Hindi god smiled softly before he cocked his head.
"I wonder," he replied before he slowly shrunk until he had a more normal stature. "It feels a little bit overstuffed though it's easier to walk around..."
As Hippocrates had already had the same discussions with other gods, he kept quiet and nodded. Then, as he heard Hōzuki come back with a protesting Hakutaku, he sighed wearily and momentarily forgot about the god.
"Mr. Hōzuki, Mr. Hakutaku," he greeted politely.
"Geh, again an old man," the Chinese grimaced and immediately doubled over as the demon had punched brutally in his stomach.
"Didn't you promise yesterday that you'd be on your best behaviour?" Hōzuki nagged with a stern frown.
"There is it, the demon mother-in-law," Hakutaku groaned under his breath while the said demon mother-in-law creaked his knuckles loudly.
But before he could even punch the celestial beast, a loud and happy voice suddenly exclaimed something that froze them on their spot.
"So your name is Hōzuki!"
Vishnu was smiling brightly at the demon and Hippocrates blinked owlishly.
"You knew him?" He asked to the demon and was rewarded by a little shrug.
"In my youth, I travelled by the whole Asia and ended in India somewhere in-between. Vishnu-sama was kind enough to teach me some things before he told me where was the nearest Hell," Hōzuki didn't seem that touched by the memory and Hippocrates decided that it probably hadn't been an important memory for him.
But to his surprise, a small smile bloomed on the demon's lips and he greeted the god with a curt nod.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Hakutaku suddenly said as he waved his hands madly in the air. "Are you seriously telling me that you met him and that's it? You didn't prank him? Or sent him in the Mortal Realm? Or..."
"I don't see why I would have done that, Hakubuta-san," Hōzuki shrugged and a brief smirk appeared on his face before he hid it swiftly. "Or is it one of your wishes? I could make it happen with you."
"No thank you," the celestial beast retorted icily. He scoffed and tried to regain his composure while Hippocrates widened his eyes.
That. That had been a pretty obvious sign of envy. Or it could be jealousy. Or Hippocrates could perfectly be interpreting too much the Chinese's actions.
"Zeus damn it," he muttered under his breath while the two Asians continued arguing under the god's watch. "Sekhmet is infecting me..."
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Michael folded his arms on his chest and pursed his lips. The two Asians were back with Hippocrates and the Hindi gods.
"There you are!" The archangel exclaimed as he gently pushed the two dark haired men towards the gigantic circular table. "We were waiting for you all!"
Vishnu raised his brows and his skin took a rather nice sky blue shade while his green eyes twinkled happily. "You were waiting for us? How nice!"
Agastya shook his head and jumped from his spot on Vishnu's shoulder. Michael didn't bat an eye at the diminutive size of the Hindi god and politely pointed their seats before he turned towards the two Asians.
"Hōzuki, Hakutaku," the occidental began with a serious tone. "I'm very sorry but I forgot to ask you if you were intolerant to something..."
"Do not worry, Michael-san," Hōzuki answered calmly while Hakutaku shrugged and walked with a frown to his seat (it was indicated by a small card with a lovely writing of his name on it). "The only thing I am intolerant to are stupid cows. Luckily there aren't many."
Hakutaku immediately turned his head to the demon and glared daggers at him. Noticing that, Michael tried to keep a straight face and looked directly at the celestial beast.
"What about you, Hakutaku?" He asked amiably.
"Nothing much," the Chinese shrugged and smiled foxily at them even if they both knew that it was forced. "Just to some senseless cockroach."
Hōzuki narrowed his eyes and sat suddenly on his chair, just next to Hakutaku's, before he leaned his two elbows on the table. He then turned his head to the Chinese and glared at him.
"I forgot to add that I'm intolerant to some hardheaded idiot," he drawled as if he was talking about the weather.
Hakutaku bristled like an enraged beast and gritted his teeth. "How funny~" he hissed with a mocking voice. "I also forgot to say that I'm intolerant to some terribly annoying mosquito..."
"Oh, that's right," the demon nodded his head and joined his hands. Everyone around him perfectly heard how his joints creaked loudly as he did so and Hakutaku merely glared harder at him. "I forgot to add the 'overly dumb pighead'..."
"Really, Ghibli bastard," the Chinese hummed with an eerily happy smile. "You should stop being so forgetful~ Also, forgot to add 'Dead giveaway to stupidity' to the list."
Hōzuki thumped his hand on the table, making some of the hosts jump in fright, and gritted his teeth while his eyes were literally thundering threateningly.
"Add those who yield to the mortal sins, then," he growled ominously.
"Then don't forget those who are slow to unbelievable degrees!" Hakutaku jumped to his feet and hit with his two hands the table.
"Of course," Hōzuki was standing too now. "As we shouldn't forget those who are surprisingly alive after all those eons of bad behaviour!"
"As should those who have reckless minds!" The celestial beast was now shouting at mere inches from the demon's straight face and someone in the room gasped in emotion.
It was Sekhmet, she was sitting next to Horus and Vishnu, with a camera in her hands and was religiously following what was happening between her newfound obsession.
"Simple minded bacteria!" Hōzuki hollered and Hakutaku was swift in his answer.
"Asocial demon!" But just as he said that, his eyes widened in horror and he put his hands on his mouth while letting a defeated whine pass through his lips. "DAMN YOU, GHIBLI FREAK!"
"It is my win," Hōzuki nodded while he sat once again in his chair. "Now, let's eat."
And without further ado, they began to eat.
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
"What in the sweet Anubis' hell happened?" Sekhmet muttered with a stupefied face.
"I think that we just assisted to their habitual courting," a man wearing big glasses on his crooked nose answered. He was wearing modern clothes unlike the other Egyptian gods around him and Horus sighed heavily while munching quietly his bagel.
"Thanks Rah you finally arrived, Thoth," he muttered through his eating. "I was slowly going mad with no knowing what was going with those two."
Thoth made a small face (as he clearly didn't like seeing the other god eating with his mouth open) and idly scratched his left eyebrow. "Well," he drawled as he began to clean his glasses. "Those two clearly know each other since a long time and can be relaxed together. I assume that they share a room?"
Sekhmet nodded vividly and her eyes gleamed with the all familiar light. Serket, who was eating next to an Indian shaman, sighed softly and glanced at the source of all of this commotion.
The two Asians were still eating quietly, Hakutaku grumbling from time to time while Hōzuki ate silently and graciously.
"Then," Thoth's voice startled Serket from her observations and she looked at the Egyptian god of knowledge. "I can also assume that those two have a long story behind them. If they are not already a couple, they will be after this week."
"You said it!" A blonde goddess exclaimed from the other side of the table.
Michael raised a surprised brow and glanced at the Nordic goddess and then at the Egyptian group. At some seats to his right, Hippocrates facepalmed and blanched when he realised what day it was. His boss was supposed to arrive today.
And he wasn't at the airport. He seriously had had enough of being the gofer.
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Asclepius yawned loudly and he lazily covered his mouth with his hand. Small tears appeared and he rubbed them absentmindedly. He was bored out of his mind and was already regretting leaving Hippocrates' side. (Seeing that old friend get so flustered whenever he heard Sekhmet gushing about the two Asians was funny as hell)
The god stretched his limbs and straightened his toga as it was slowly slipping over his shoulders. And revealing maybe too much skin for his liking. As he clipped the golden brooch expertly, Asclepius heard a distant clapping and frowned. There he was.
"Pius~" a familiar and deep voice called.
Asclepius sighed heavily and raised slowly his hand to greet the other with a lazy wave.
"Father," he said tersely. "How was your travel?"
"It was fantastical, nerve-wracking, rattling, annoying yet exciting and a lot of more adjectives," his father retorted as he dropped his luggage at his feet.
The other god raked his fingers through his really long chocolate hair and narrowed briefly his chestnut eyes before he smiled brightly at him. "What about you, Pius? Nothing special to say about the lectures?"
Asclepius shrugged and took hold of his father's luggage while he grunted a vague answer.
"For the moment, nothing memorable," he finally said as they exited the airport. They walked to the flying horses that Zeus had rented to the Catholic God for the special occasion and waited for their turn. "You just missed eight lectures. Jesus' was interesting to say but that was it. Nothing that we don't know."
"I see," his father hummed while he took out of his chiton a pair of sunglasses and put in on his nose. His golden necklaces chimed softly as he moved and Asclepius observed from the corner of his eyes how the jewellery shined with the sunlight.
His father had always been like that. Always grabbing everyone's eyes without even trying and being in the centre of attention. Not that Asclepius minded, as a doctor he preferred the quietness that came with being unknown. And as even his rod was always confused with Hermes', he was a god really ignored.
"You're as gloomy as ever, Pius," his father commented as he ruffled his chocolate hair that was so similar to his.
They actually looked the same and Asclepius had frequently been confused with his father until he decided to follow the roman's way of living and cut his hair short. And as he had rather liked the success of his curly tresses with the Roman goddess, Asclepius had never changed it. Even if his father liked to fuss about it, saying that it looked better long.
"You must be tired by the travel," the smaller god stated as he calmly swatted his father's hand. "Let's go to the hotel and make sure that we're prepared for today's conference."
"Yeah!" His father acquiesced and put his arm around his son's neck. "Let's do that! But first, how about some father-son time bonding?"
Asclepius made a face and suddenly remembered Hōzuki's face whenever the latter had to deal with Hakutaku's nonsensical behaviour.
"Father," he said with a stern voice almost identical to the demon's. "We'll go to the hotel, you'll prepare your speech and you will absolutely not get away from it. Or else..."
His father gulped loudly and slowly took a step back.
"O-okay?" He spluttered weakly.
Once they were on their horses and that he was sure that his father couldn't see his face, Asclepius let a satisfied smile bloom on his lips.
Hōzuki was a damn genius in dealing with idiots like his father. (And Hakutaku)
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Hōzuki tsk-ed and he put the pamphlet of today's lecture back on the table. They had finished their breakfast minutes ago and Michael had given those pamphlets with a wry smile at everyone. Strangely, the people around the demon didn't even meet his eyes and that surprised him a bit.
What had happened to make them so awkward?
He heard Hakutaku shift next to him and do glanced at the idiot. He was furrowing his brows, his red pendant chiming softly while he played with it absentmindedly.
"So that bastard is going to give a lecture today," the demon heard faintly before he decided to annoy the Chinese.
"Hakubuta-san," he called and to his satisfaction the other reacted.
Immediately, the idiot frowned and gritted his teeth harshly while he raised his eyes from the pamphlet to glare at him.
"Could you stop with that degrading nickname?" He asked through his gritted teeth.
Hōzuki widened his eyes in mock surprise and cupped pensively his chin while he flattened the pamphlet on the table with his other hand.
"Is that so, Hakubuta-san?" He drawled and he saw with satisfaction that the idiot had flinched. His annoyance was now so great that he was shuddering with kill intent.
It went without saying that the demon quite enjoyed that sight.
"Yet I'm sure that you'd enjoy hearing that 'degrading nickname' as you put it by someone else's voice. How about a woman?" He proposed as he tilted his head pensively.
Hakubuta frowned and bit his lips. The idiot touched his pendant, probably to calm himself and Hōzuki slightly stretched his lips into a sneer.
"A woman?" The Chinese finally said with a suspicious frown.
"Yes," Hōzuki nodded and took his phone to look at his contact. Then, once he found the picture that went with the woman that he had in his mind. "Isn't she perfect for you?"
"GEH!" A river of blood erupted from the celestial beast's eyes and everyone in the room hunched closer, curious about the identity of the woman who had succeeded in manifesting such a reaction from the Chinese. "MY EYES, MY MIND! YOU, GHIBLI FREAK, I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Oh?" The demon widened his eyes in surprise and put his phone on the table. "Didn't she please you? I guess you must prefer Gozu's type then. I'll call her tonight..."
"Anything but that!" Hakubuta screeched and Hōzuki tsk-ed.
And here he was, about to call the over affectionate cow lady. He stood up, snapping his fingers once and the idiot stopped spouting curses at him to narrow his eyes.
"I guess that I'll have to look elsewhere to find the perfect woman for you, Hakubuta-san," he commented while he walked towards the exit.
The Chinese narrowed his eyes even more until they were almost closed.
"Uh?" He scrunched his nose in disbelief and shook his head. "Like you're going to do that!"
Hōzuki stopped walking and took a deep breath. He pinched his nose and scoffed softly.
"How rude," he retorted once his mind was back on his tracks. "I was going to fetch her in the human realm right now. You can come along, Hakubuta-san, if you don't believe me..."
The idiot's nostrils flared and he punched hard the table before he stood and stalked to the demon's side. "If that's the case," Hakubuta sneered once he was next to him. "I'll come to see it!"
"Very well, Hakubuta-san," Hōzuki nodded sternly and opened the doors. "You will be the one to pay the fares then?"
The Chinese winced and assented through his gritted teeth.
It went without saying that Hōzuki was proud of himself.
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
The first thing that Asclepius noticed when they got to the hotel was the silence. It was heavy and there was some sort of uneasiness that hung in the air. The god furrowed his brows and swiftly dropped his father's luggage to go fetch Hippocrates. The old Greek would probably know what had happened to give such a bad vibe in the habitually heartwarming hotel. Also, he could pinpoint a small dryness in the atmosphere and it looked like something that only an Egyptian god could do. Maybe Sekhmet had finally snapped and had tried to force those two Asians to mate in front of everyone at breakfast.
Asclepius blinked and tried to hide his smile at that thought.
It that had really happened, it would be really a pity that he didn't get to see it. He was actually intrigued in who topped.
He heard his father hum lightly behind him and turned to look at him. The older god was pursing his lips, a small pout progressively taking his hold on his face.
"Seems like Horus got mad," he commented idly before shrugging. "Whatever, let's get prepared."
Asclepius nodded hesitantly and followed his father in silence. His green eyes darkened in worry and he wondered what could have triggered such a reaction from the normally calm god. (Come on, Horus had endured four lectures with Eir gushing about the two Asians by his side. He wasn't that easy to anger...)
As they walked, Asclepius bobbed his head pensively and didn't really notice the people walking in the corridor until he actually walked into someone.
"Oh, sorry," he said quietly before he blinked. "Serket."
"Asclepius," the Egyptian goddess bowed her head graciously, her scorpion coiffure moving slightly before she straightened her back and glanced at the luggage in his arms. "I see that you went to fetch your father."
Asclepius groaned in a vague agreement and he moved his chin to discreetly point at the other Greek god who was now strolling away with a small smile.
"I did," he said tersely before remembering the tension in the hotel. "What happened with Horus? Father said that he was angry..."
"Apollo did?" Serket raised a surprised brow and smiled slightly before she nodded. "Horus kicked a fuss when Serket knocked off his orange juice on Thoth and Thoth riposted by sicking a baboon on her. It ended with a battle between all the Egyptians and they are now consigned in their rooms."
"Really?" Asclepius shook his head and smiled before he laughed happily at the other gods' actions. "What provoked Sekhmet enough to blow her fuse?"
"Ah..." The woman bit her lip nervously and let out a small sigh. "She wanted to go to the Mortal Realm and Horus refused so she insisted. And ended knocking that glass of juice..."
"But why did she want to go there?" He was honestly perplexed by that. Sekhmet was a goddess and as such was powerful enough to influence the world by her presence alone. A god couldn't go out there without a proper reason.
Serket laughed nervously and hid her face with her hand. "She wanted to tail the two lovebirds," was her muffled and ashamed answer.
Asclepius rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. He opened his mouth, ready to retort something witty about the Egyptian goddess' mindset when he suddenly froze.
"Ooh?" A familiar deep voice drawled with amusement. "Two lovebirds? So something did happen, Pius!"
The toga wearing god grunted and ignored his father. The latter was smiling brightly at Serket and had put his arm around Asclepius' neck.
"Well, well, well~" Apollo cooed happily. "It seems that you have a lot to tell me, Pius!"
This time, Asclepius face palmed and Serket made a wry smile. She had this bad feeling that always came whenever something really bad had happened.
'Is it what Sekhmet would call the apparition of an antagonist?' She idly wondered while she silently watched the two men leave to their room.
She shrugged and went to her own room. Apollo had always liked the pretty things and she was pretty sure that he would go after one of the Asians. Now, the only thing that was left to do was to find who would become his new prey.
She was actually a bit excited to find it out...
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Hōzuki and Hakutaku came back when Apollo's lecture ended. The demon was wearing a hat that covered his horn while the celestial beast was mumbling something that nobody could understand in Chinese. And, strange as it may sound they were both wearing the same black T-shirt with the name "Bioparco" written on it with simple but elegant trousers.
"I swear that I'll get you back," Hakutaku muttered darkly as they walked to their seats while Apollo left the stage with a little hop.
"I sincerely doubt it, Hakubuta-san," Hōzuki retorted calmly and he sat with a regal air. "But it is such a pity that you couldn't get that lovely girl's phone..."
Hakutaku frowned and glared at the demon even more. His teeth gritted loudly and he took the demon by his T-shirt so their noses were almost touching.
"For the last time," he hissed threateningly while Hōzuki didn't even blink. "Stop trying to pair me with animals! And that camel was clearly male!"
"Oya?" Hōzuki cocked his head and a smug smirk stretched his lips. "Is that so, Hakubuta-san? You must have been quite close to that camel to have figured it out... "
Hakutaku rolled his eyes with aggravation and sighed heavily. "Whatever," he muttered gloomily as he flopped over his chair and pouted childishly. "I give up. You're just a Ghibli bastard and that's it." He then looked around him, meeting Eir's gleaming eyes and scrunched his nose before he glanced at the stage. Asclepius was cleaning the leftovers of what had probably been a sacrifice and the Chinese sighed again. "At least I missed that lecture."
Hōzuki hummed faintly and he stretched pensively his fingers.
"Seems like there is always some good that comes from the bad experiences," he drawled quietly.
The celestial beast shrugged and they both stayed quiet. Strangely the silence between them wasn't heavy like it used to. Hakutaku closed his eyes, he was actually a bit tired after passing the whole morning visiting a zoo with the demon (and trying to escape from the demon's evil doings) and he had been woke up at three in the morning after all. He let out a tired sigh and felt his consciousness fade. And then, just as he heard the demon click his tongue softly, he was out like a light.
Hōzuki rolled his eyes and rubbed his eyelids when he heard the Chinese sigh next to him. Knowing the latter, he was probably falling asleep. And, as he had suspected, the demon soon felt the all familiar head fall over his shoulder. Hōzuki raised an intrigued eyebrow and glanced at the sleeping man. His face was scrunched like he was having a nightmare and the demon sighed before he raised a hand to put on the black tresses. Almost absentmindedly he began to ruffle the sleeper's hair and snorted softly when he caught a whiff of the floral fragrance of Hakutaku's shampoo.
He really smelled like Shangri-La.
The sound of a rattling chair shook Hōzuki from his strange thoughts about the celestial beast and the Chinese Heavens and he blinked slowly. Once he regained his thoughts, the demon glanced at the person who had just sat next to him and met two twinkling chestnut eyes. Hōzuki blinked another time.
That person was really... Flashy. And pretty. Almost as much as Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
"You weren't at the morning lecture," the stranger suddenly stated as he narrowed his chestnut eyes.
The demon didn't move, as he still had Hakutaku's head on his shoulder, and he simply nodded.
"Indeed," he agreed. "The subject didn't really impress me so I decided to go sightseeing."
The stranger pursed his lips and nodded reluctantly. Hōzuki frowned discreetly and tried to ignore how Hakutaku's breathing was tickling his neck. Once the idiot was up, he'll pummel him to death...
"Is that so," the chocolate haired man drawled before his lips curved in a cunning smile. "Did you like it? This place does have some fine sights after all~"
Hōzuki blinked and raised a perplexed brow. He didn't quite understand why the other had suddenly wiggled his eyebrows at him. The Occidentals were really strange and he simply didn't have the patience in him to try to decipher their actions.
"Ah," the demon ended saying calmly. "I really enjoyed the zoo."
"The zoo, eh?" The stranger commented while his eyes twinkled even more. "I bet you become a real beast in bed, isn't it?"
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
"Houston, we have a problem," Sekhmet muttered from the dark corner from which she had observed her favourite lovebirds since they arrived at the lecture hall.
Serket hummed quietly and raised her head from her notebook to look at her best friend.
"What is it, Sekhmet?" She asked while Thoth (who was sitting just at her left, Sekhmet being at her right) furrowed his brows and snorted loudly.
"The love rival appeared," the monocle wearing man commented with a little shrug.
"That prissy god also dared to hit on Hōzuki in Hakutaku's presence!" Sekhmet gritted her teeth and almost ripped the lecture pamphlet with her nails. "I'm going to sick a plague on him... Just you wait, Sun god or whatever, no one should intervene with them!"
Thoth tsk-ed and folded his arms on his chest while he stomped his foot loudly. "Don't do it," he said sternly. "Apollo is Horus' friend, you surely don't want to worsen your relationship with him further, right?"
Sekhmet dug her nails in her chair and ignored how the metal bended under the pressure exerted. "Horus be damned!" She hissed ominously. "Hōzuki belongs to Hakutaku as Hakutaku belongs to Hōzuki!"
"Oh?" Another voice suddenly commented happily. "Does this mean that Hōzuki is in couple with Hakutaku?"
"Of course he is!" Sekhmet exclaimed while the second lecturer appeared on the stage. She turned around to glance at the person who had just made the comment. "They are an item, you know?"
"Really?" Vishnu tilted his head and his headdress chimed softly. "If that is the case, I should congratulate them..." He smiled happily and clasped his hands loudly, startling Thoth who had been listening to the lecturer. "That's it! Tomorrow night, I'll make a banquet to celebrate their marriage!"
"Marriage?" Thoth actually stopped listening to the lecture and widened his eyes in surprise. "Who said anything about marriage?"
"I do," Vishnu shrugged and cupped his chin pensively. "I consider Hōzuki as one of my children. Of course, I want to be the one to marry them!"
"Let's do it, let's do it!" Sekhmet acquiesced exitedly.
Thoth pinched his nose and sighed wearily. "Oi, oi," he muttered but no one heard him. Or listened to him. "Are you even sure that they are a couple?"
But nobody cared about that. And as such, the gods began planning the wedding.
ᕙ(눈‸눈‶)ᕗ
Day Three. Outcome of today's lectures?
Apollo was actually pretty interested in Hōzuki because he had heard so many things about the demon and yet had never met him.
Michael stopped caring about Selhmet's nonsense. As did Hippocrates. That relieved them from a lot of stress.
Vishnu asked Gabriel to help him with the banked and called Raphael to be the wedding singer. Sekhmet is having a field day (as is Serket. But more discreetly).
Asclepius went to bed really early because dealing with his father was too much. However he had to woke up to open the door to a pretty drunk Apollo that had been (as said the god) ignored by a hottie Japanese. Asclepius merely smirked at him.
At the end of the second lecture, Hōzuki slapped Hakutaku so hard that the Chinese didn't even wake up and ended embedded in a wall. Jesus helped him get out of there and Hakutaku tried to avenge himself by mixing hot sauce in Hōzuki's soup. The demon didn't like it at all and proved it by spitting it on the celestial beast's face.
They once again fought until they fell asleep.
I swear that once I have the time to, I'll put a small resume for the new gods (mostly Vishnu and Agastya). But until then, you can always google it.
Next chapter: Wedding crashers?
Reviews are more than welcome. (Helps writing faster too...)