Interview With A Demon

Chapter 21: Aftermath

Oh my god. . .

What's wrong?

Every friggin' inch hurts. I moan, shifting in Dai's head, trying to get comfortable.

How do you heal?

Usually you'd let me out. But I don't heal as quickly as Krad does. It would take me about two. . . maybe two and a half days to heal.

I don't mind. If it'll make you feel better.

I grin at the boy's kind heart. All right then.

We swap places and I lean back against his mattress, groaning as my sore body is stretched. "I'm gonna see if Emiko has anythin' to help me."

All right.

I head down the stairs, smiling sheepishly at Emiko, who looks up at me. "Hey."

"Dark?"

"Dai's letting me heal. I'm still sore from the other day." I drop down into a chair at the dining room table, grinning at Towa. "Hey, I'm starving. Can I get something to eat?"

"Of course! What would you like?" She replies, almost bouncing in her excitement to feed me.

I laugh at her. "I don't care. Anything works."

She starts cooking as Emiko drops beside me. Emiko looks over at me, a concerned look on her face. "Dark, will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Emiko. I just have to heal."

"Okay. . ."

"Ah, Dark, good." Kosuke says, walking in. I turn slightly, hissing as my back lights on fire. The older man smiles at me and I shake my head. "Can I look at your wounds?"

"Sure." I tug my shirt off, wincing as it pulls against my wounds. "Ow. . ."

Kosuke starts removing the bandaging, ignoring the hisses I let out. "Hm."

"What?"

"It's interesting."

I stand, starting for the bathroom. "I want to see for myself."

He follows me as I walk into the small room. "I've never seen wounds like this before."

"Yeah. . ." I look in the mirror, glancing over my shoulder. I hear Dai's exclamation in my mind and I have to agree with him. My back is battered, long tear marks running from the tops of my shoulders, flanking my spine, to midback, red and angry. I frown, turning around, surveying the rest of my form. Dark purple marks mar the skin of my throat, showing up in the shape of Krad's hands. "Gah."

"You're pretty battered."

"I've seen worse." I shrug lightly. "Can you bandage my back?"

"Of course. Come with me." Kosuke leads me back to the kitchen. I sit backwards on a chair and he begins to wash my back off. I cry out in pain as he spreads Neosporin in my wounds. I can feel him working, surprisingly gentle. He lays gauze over the battered flesh of my back, then wraps bandaging around my torso. "That's the best I can do. I really can't do anything about the bruises."

"That's fine." I look up as Towas sets a plate of food in front of me. "Sweet."

She smiles as I start to eat, going back to work on the kitchen.

Hey Dark?

Yeah, Dai?

You said you'd seen worse wounds than what you have now. Were they on you or someone else?

Both. I take a bite of food, shutting my eyes.

What do you mean?

I've had worse wounds. . . you should have seen me once after Krad got to me. I really thought I was going to die.

And the other?

It wasn't physical. . . but Krad. . .when Raynne died. . . his heart shattered. And I don't think it's ever healed.

Did you ever have a love?

I've answered this before.

I know. . .

No. I've never had a love.

Are you. . .

A virgin? No. But don't worry. I always waited until my tamer was of age, so you have nothing to worry about.

Dai goes silent and I go back to eating. I can feel his presence in my mind, thinking over what I had said.

Can you tell me more about 'Angel's Death'?

Why the hell would you want to know about something like that?

I. . .want to know what Satoshi did to Krad.

Fine. I'll tell you. It's hell. Truly. There is no other word to describe it but hell. The tamer puts the piece in his pocket while he is in control. Unlike most other things, the 'Angel's Death' will transfer with the tamer. He can then use it against his angel while the angel is in control. While the angel is in control, the piece will leave no markings. However, when the angel is in the mind, the piece leaves burns. It wraps the angel in chains, tearing into their being. It's one of the worst experiences that an angel can experience.

Wow. . Dai takes a deep breath, almost as if he is calming himself, then speaks again. Have you had it used against you?

Yes. Not as many times as Krad, but I've had it used against me.

How many times?

About seven. I shudder with the memory, trying to block it out.

And Krad?

More than I can count.

That's really awful.

You're too kind hearted. I finish my food, then stretch, moaning. Dai, I've gotta sleep. My energy levels are too damn low.

All right. Sleep well.

Thanks. I move to the couch in the living room, collapsing down on it, falling almost instantly into blackness.

Author's Notes:

Well. . . . I know I'm slow in updating and I'm really quite sorry. I've been really busy with school, then I've been up in the mountains, where I can't get the internet very often. . . also, not having my own computer doesn't help.

Anyway, I have my own computer now, so that should help speed things up. Please don't give up on slow ole me! I promise that it gets better if you just keep reading!

Andd... on the rates of falling. I have no idea about physics. . . and I didn't realize until I got all the reviews telling me about it. If it REALLY mondo annoys you, I'll change it, otherwise, I'm leaving it the way it is. I had an explanation, but I cannot for the life of me remember it. Soooo... if you want it to be changed I can do that.

As always. . . thanks to the following: Fireflower19, sapphiet, ZutarianNaiad, Intelligenceisstupid, and Stabbythings.