Chapter 2

The weather in Makai feels normal today - bright orange sun, gray clouds, thunder in the background, combined with the high pitched screams in the distance - ah, yes… normal.

It has been a full century since the great escape. Mukuro has grown stronger - forever enslaved by her thick chains, she only thirsted for strength. Her bloodlust never-ending, killing as many demons as she can. She focused her rage at the slave traders, freeing more slaves to join her cause, her reputation only grew with her power. Her steady rise to success proved to be inspirational, earning her the ability to break space at will. She received the title the second king of Makai, her strength comparable to King Raizen. Mukuro's following steadily increased in numbers, enough to raise a sizable army, an army she used to, of course, conquer. Her quest to pillage as many bases - that the slave traders do business in - only further grew the land that she owns. She captured the surrounding areas near these bases along the way, inflicting chaos everywhere she goes. Over time, she managed to earn enough territory to be able to establish a vast kingdom she called Alaric. The nation built by chaos and a hunger for power, her subjects, a group of misfits thirsting for the same ambition.

Mitsuki, ever the loyal follower, only further grew Mukuro's power. She helped conquer a third of Makai - ruthless and unstoppable, working in the shadows for her. After all, she shall do everything for Lady Death. Her search to break Mukuro's shackles never ended, scouring all of Makai for a solution, but sadly her search led to no results. Her journey led her to a long series of torture and killing for information. corpses followed her everywhere - enough that she earned the reputation "The White Reaper." Fame and fortune - it is all irrelevant. Absolute freedom, chaos, power that is what she fights for, that is what she lives for.

Oh, and of course, her continuous service to the goddess. The moon, the pitiful empress in the dark void. Indentured servitude if you will. She quickly found out that the powerful blessing bestowed upon her is also a gripping curse that she shall bear for all eternity. The powerful empress of the night does, in fact, exist. Mitsuki often dreams of her presence, a woman with a white dress, long black hair, emitting an elegant beauty.

The graceful goddess spoke to her about the cost of her divine powers - a life for a life, the essence of the living that fuels her abilities. To be able to will the past, present, and future in a way that works in her favor. Though she cannot exist at two planes of existence at one time, she can, however, manipulate herself and others to regress to their former selves or accelerate faster to their future selves. She can also do this to her surroundings, living, or non-living. The graceful goddess diligently reminded her that her abilities are after all divine and would need a great sacrifice to maintain it. Thus the ruthless killings that followed her everywhere would soon reflect her grand reputation.

Mitsuki can never avoid her own set of chains, forever bound to serve the moon goddess forever. Although, her servitude comes with a sense of relief, knowing that she would no longer suffer again in the hands of the wicked. Her power peaks at its strongest at midnight. Her abilities only reflected her ruthless determination to exterminate demons and humans alike. She doesn't particularly loathe taking life. To her, it is merely a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less.

They were quite the pair, Mukuro can control space, and she can control time, the combination of both their skills makes them unstoppable.

Mitsuki roams the "unforgiving forest" in the cover of the night. She decided that it would be beneficial to conquer this particular forest for her Lady.

There was a rumor that this forest holds an ancient power, powerful enough to keep the forest alive even in extreme weather. The tales of the greenery seem to be entirely believable. The air that surrounds the forest feels suffocating. In essence, lower-level demons won't be able to survive the miasma the moment they first breathe the air. Mitsuki found it rather quaint.

Her body automatically adjusting to its healthiest state after she comes into contact with any damage, making her almost immortal, almost… To avoid being poisoned by the miasma, she must absorb a considerable amount of demon energy, allowing her to maintain her healthy body.

Where is the demon energy coming, you may ask?

Well, the foliage surrounding her are demonic plants, most of these plants harbor a tiny amount of demon energy. The second she walks past these plants, they wilt almost immediately. Thankfully, there is a significant amount of greenery in the area, allowing her to survive. If the rumors hold true, the ancient power in the forest will enable her to fuel her abilities without having to kill so many demons.

As she ventures more into the forest, the danger becomes more severe. The grass is much sharper, the trees look more magnificent, and the light dims almost to nothing. She can feel some vines trying to grab at her leg, only for them to wilt and eventually turn into ash. The miasma grows thicker, reducing her visibility significantly.

She feels the tiny hairs on her arms stand up in attention.

She stops walking and closes her eyes, there's a shadow following her. Oh, what fun… She grins then continues to walk a few more miles observing the presence that follows her every movement until finally, she reaches a large clearing.

"You can come out now," she said.

She turned to see the shadow leaping down from a nearby tree. A young man with small, bat-like wings jumped down from a tree. He had short black hair, a pair of pointy ears, wearing a black tunic, with the most enchanting gray eyes and a very obvious smirk on his face. He appears to be a fledgling bat-demon, old enough to fly, but too young to grow any notable prowess that most bat-demon possess.

"What do we have here? Are you lost little demoness?" he walks over to her slowly.

Mitsuki's eye twitched. Who is he calling little?

"Why are you following me, demon?" Mitsuki stared at him indifferently. He stood in front of her and caressed her face.

"You are quite the beauty little demoness and considerably daring."

He strokes her face, his eyes glazing over in lust.

Mitsuki smirked.

"Not many demons dare venture in the unforgiving forest for many reasons, one being that it led to their imminent demise. So, why are you wandering here all by yourself?" He smirks at her.

He grabs a piece of her hair and brings it to his lips.

Mitsuki stares at him uncaringly.

"I heard of a legend surrounding this forest, according to said legend, there is an ancient power that protects the trees from ever dying. I want to find out if it is true." She says with much disinterest.

The bat demon chuckles, "ancient power, you say?"

He grabs her by the waist and whispers in her ear, "I happen to know of this ancient power that you speak off."

He nips at her ear and pulls back to look at her.

"I can show you if you'd like, but in exchange, I require something of value from you."

Mitsuki smirks at him. "You are truly brave, bat demon." She says amusingly. She tilts her head in curiosity. "What is your name?"

The bat demon steps back and bows his head, "I am called Kuronue, little demoness. A name that I would love to hear from your delicate lips in ecstasy."

Mitsuki rolls her eyes.

Kuronue grabs her chin and tilts her head up.

"And what delectable lips you have." he feels heat run through his abdomen at the thoughts floating through his head.

Mitsuki stares at his beautiful gray eyes, she brushes her left hand to his chest and smiles at him.

"You are terribly bold, Kuronue." she grazes his cheek with her right hand. "Would you mind taking me to this ancient power, please?" she stares at him earnestly.

Kuronue chuckles. "If you agree to be mine, I can possibly introduce you to this ancient power that you are looking for."

Mitsuki's lip twitched.

"Well, that simply isn't possible now is it." She smiles at him.

She flattens her palm on his chest - where his heart should be. Kuronue's chest constricted suddenly, his body froze, the blood in his veins started racing, his eyes turned red.

"What are you doing to me?" choking out his words, he dropped to the ground, clutching his chest.

Mitsuki gave him the widest grin. "Tell me what you know, bat-demon."

She leaned over in amusement, grabbed his chin, and prompted him to look at her.

"Mmm… I can make it stop if you tell me?" She whispered.

"Hehehe…" Kuronue chuckled. "I'm sorry I offended you little demoness."

Mitsuki's fingers twitched.

"What do you find so funny demon?" she questioned.

"Hehe..mmm...he, no-hah-nothing… I j-just… like you… a lot more now." he stumbled through his words, gritting his teeth.

Mitsuki frowned. This bat-demon is a fool! He is a pathetically bold fool. What is wrong with him!?

Mitsuki made his heartbeat even slower. Kuronue started shivering, his body beginning to shut down.

"Do not aggravate me, demon. I do not like games."

Kuronue chuckled, choking in the process. "I d-do not dare."

Mitsuki felt frustrated. He's not going to break. She stopped her grip and straightened herself. Kuronue keeled over, losing consciousness. She walked over to examine his unconscious form.

"How unfortunate." She uttered.

Mitsuki stepped over him and continued walking further into the forest. Well… on with the conquering for the moment.

After a day has passed, she finally found herself facing a gigantic tree. She placed her palm onto the base, the tree was emitting a steady pulse of energy. Finally, after all this time, she would not have to worry about collecting energy for some time. She can live with that for now.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on draining the tree of all its energy. She can feel a massive amount of heat entering her body, flowing through her veins, opening another layer to her reserves, then nothing. She opened her eyes to see the tree lifeless, matching her surroundings.

She looked around to see the miasma dissipating, the wildlife resorting to nothing but ash. Her arm started pulsing, the outline of her veins turning a dark shade of green, until the veins that appear normal now glow with the energy that the forest once emitted.

She smiled. Ah… What power!

A faint crunching of leaves can be heard nearby.

Kuronue stepped out of the dead foliage. Struggling to breathe, he scrambled to come closer. Mitsuki groaned in annoyance.

"Whatever are you doing here, bat-demon?" Mitsuki accused.

"My name is Kuronue. Remember that the next time you see me again, little demoness," he replied.

Mitsuki's eye twitched. Little!?

"I'm sure there won't be a next time," she said.

Mitsuki grabbed at the energy surrounding her. Her newly discovered powers proving to be useful.

Kuronue clutched his chest as he fell down.

"Please… Lady… Demoness… I'm sure I can be of use to you… Spare my life, and I shall offer you everything that I have." He stammered.

Mitsuki stared at him indifferently. This demon is a fool, he does not fear for his life. He has already been spared once out of pity for being born a fool, now he wants to promise more foolishness? What an idiot demon he is.

"You amuse me foolish demon… Hmm… fine, I will let you live for, unfortunately, being born a simple fool." Mitsuki said.

Kuronue fell over, breathing hard. He stood up and put a fist to his chest as he bowed.

"Fair demoness, I shall swear loyalty to you forever if you have me," he swore.

Mitsuki simply stared at him. What a strange demon. Somebody must've beaten his brain out of his head for him to be this pathetic.

"Don't you have a family or a group of companions to go back to?" Mitsuki asked accusingly.

Kuronue faltered.

"I'm an orphan, my Lady. I do not have anyone else that would care about me." He answered.

Mitsuki frowned. She tapped her fingers on her arm in thought.

"Fine, you can come with me, I suppose. You will die because of your stupidity, I might as well take pity on you." Mitsuki uttered indifferently.

"I won't disappoint you!" He promised.

Mitsuki's lips twitched up.

It has been fifty years since Kuronue swore his loyalty to Mitsuki. In those fifty years, Kuronue has grown through his teenage years. His wings grew more significant, and his hair grew longer. Kuronue ever the loyal underling he claimed to be, entranced by his master's beauty, followed her everywhere. He made sure nobody dared lay hands on her, when they tried, Kuronue killed them before they could attempt to. He would do anything she asks of him without fail, his reward would be a smile from her, and that would be all he needed. He never gave up on pursuing Mitsuki, he only grew more enchanted by her throughout the years.

Mitsuki grew fond of the demon. She, of course, helped him grow stronger by fighting multiple battles for Mukuro. His prowess proved to be useful. His keen senses and his undeniable agility earned him quite the reputation, rivaling, naturally... his unscrupulous love for women. Although he is enchanted by his mistress, he cannot avoid his need to pursue an enticing asset. Mitsuki can only do nothing but laugh at his many failed attempts. Going through one's awkward years can rather be… just that… awkward. His initial problem, of course, subsided over time. Now his relentless pursuit... is not so relentless. Women in the many villages that they frequent would pounce at the chance to mate with such a notable demon. Mitsuki would hide her laugh behind her sleeve, while Kuronue would revel in the attention. He never really thought about taking a mate. To him, there exists only one goddess in this world, and it is the mistress that he swore his eternal loyalty to.

Kuronue never failed to protect her, not like she needed any protection. Still, it felt rather quaint. It might be his multiple attempts to finally get her to give in to him, but she never saw him as anything but an annoying bat-demon. Mitsuki never regretted taking him in. His ability to make connections was an added bonus to his already evident abilities. Conquering lands didn't have to be as tricky as pure destruction. Simply flaunting his charm at times did the job.

"Mistress?" he asked one day.

"What is it, Kuronue?" She replied.

They were heading back to Alaric from conquering another nameless village. These fifty years spent with Kuronue by her side was never a dull day. He would always find a way to amuse her, pleasing her by offering her many demons, she would use them to gain more power, absorbing their soul. Other times, he would raid a spectacularly wealthy palace and offer her the most exquisite jewelry and a hefty amount of gold from his spoils. Mitsuki only saw it as another asset for Alaric, along with military power, now they have a wealthy kingdom filled with spoils of war and raids.

"Why did you decide to accept my loyalty?" Kuronue asked.

Mitsuki smiled.

"Because... you are a foolish demon," she replied.

"I see…" Kuronue's smile fell.

She looked at him questioningly.

"Why do you ask?"

He looked at her, "Nothing important…" He sighed.

Mitsuki frowned.

She stopped walking. Kuronue stopped.

A silence descended upon them...

"Mistress?" Kuronue questioned.

Mitsuki turned around and gazed in his eyes. Kuronue… you honestly are quite an idiot.

She walked towards him slowly and stopped in front of him. Kuronue had a look of confusion on his face. She stared at him, then she smiled.

She raised her right hand and caressed his cheek.

Kuronue never expected what happened next.

It felt like time had stopped, and nothing mattered. The feel of Mitsuki's soft lips against his was something he dreamt of but never expected to be more than what he thought it would be. The sensation of small butterflies in his stomach overwhelmed his senses. Nothing mattered, just her and the feel of her sweet lips.

Just like that, the moment was over.

Mitsuki smiled at him, then continued walking.

Kuronue was stunned into silence the whole trip back.

They were lying in bed, the sheets covering their naked bodies. Kuronue caressing Mitsuki's arm lovingly.

It has been ten years since that moment happened. In Alaric, they have established a small fortress near Mukuro's castle to call their home. Kuronue found more ways other than riches and blood to please his enchanting mistress. Mitsuki - albeit hesitantly - admitted that it was quite lovely. Always the loyal servant that he claims to be would do anything in his power to please his Lady. His Lady, of course, gave in after more than half a century of him following her around, never giving up his love for her.

Mitsuki found their fortress quite delightful. They had everything they could possibly need. If Mukuro would need them, they were close by to assist, but far enough for a little privacy.

They found that their passion for each other can be objectionably loud at most times, thus the much-needed privacy. Mitsuki thought it would be displeasing for her Lady to hear all these unnecessarily abhorrent activities that they continuously engage themselves in. Kuronue found it endearing that he could please his mistress thoroughly.

Though with the new activities they found to pass the time with, it did not hinder Mitsuki with her quest for Mukuro. Nothing would stop her from striving for success. Kuronue understood his Lady's need to serve the King of Alaric, and would always help her with anything that she needs. His love for her led him to wonder one thing.

"My lady?" Kuronue asked her.

"Mmm."

She caressed his chest and snuggled closer to him.

"Would it be possible to ask of you... a request?"

He caressed her lower back as he asked. Mitsuki hummed in approval.

"What would that be, Kuronue?"

She closed her eyes, completely relaxed.

"Mitsuki… may I mate with you?" He stared at her intensely.

Mitsuki tensed, the calm atmosphere evaporating. She stopped caressing his chest. She pulled away, sitting upright, looking away from him. Her long black hair falling down her shoulders, the scars on her back evident, the faint glow of the moonlight making it even more visible.

"Kuronue… I cannot be your mate." She whispered.

She felt despondent. Her heart aching a terrible ache. She placed her hand on her chest, right where her heart lies. Feeling a sickening, bottomless pit in her stomach.

Kuronue sat up and hugged her from behind, nuzzling her hair. He kissed her shoulder, making a trail of kisses to her jaw.

"I understand. My Lady, you do not have to worry about my request. I will continue to serve you until my last breath." He promised her.

Looking up at the moon, she frowned. She caressed Kuronue's arm in reassurance.

"Kuronue, you fool!" Mitsuki screamed.

They have recently claimed another village on their way back from another conquest to Alaric. Mitsuki, of course… preferred working by herself except for a particular demon going everywhere she goes.

The situation that they find themselves in was not one of these effortless circumstances. One of the animal tribes that lived near the village they recently claimed, prompted a sizable battle towards them. Mitsuki, used to conquering with Kuronue, found themselves surrounded by a group of animal tribesmen, estimating a group of thirty.

Mitsuki simply absorbed their life essence, leaving the majority of them nothing but a lifeless shell. Of course… all but a small group hiding behind some trees. A warrior managed to slip past her defenses and was about to stab her, upon realization, she simply planned on freezing him in place. Still, the foolish bat-demon that Kuronue is, he stepped in front of her to protect her, getting himself mortally wounded in the process.

"Kuronue, you fool!" Mitsuki screamed.

Mitsuki made quick work of the remaining warriors by stopping their hearts, killing them excruciatingly. She caught Kuronue before he could hit the ground.

He simply smiled at her.

"I can protect myself, you foolish demon!" Mitsuki blurted out.

"I c-cannot... let just any d-demon... simply c-come near you... M-Mistress." Kuronue gurgled.

He looked into her eyes and smiled. He closed his eyes, losing consciousness.

Mitsuki frowned, a single tear falling down her face. She realized that he will always put himself in danger for her, no matter if the cost is his life. A foolish demon that he is. He will only act stupidly, especially when he's with her. What a complete idiot!

As more tears slipped down her face, she turned back the time of his body, turning it back to before he was mortally wounded. She stared at his face once more. Once she felt that his wound was not as critical, she stopped. Hesitantly she placed her hand on his forehead and turned back the time in his mind. Her tears flowing, remembering all the memories she's turning back to, then she paused right at that moment. One final tear fell, everything felt empty for a moment.

Kuronue was startled awake by something poking his cheek, he looked to his side to see a child, around the age of ten years, poking his face.

His head pounded, almost disagreeing with his body. He looked around to see himself in a small village.

His head felt oddly heavy, he tugged at his hair, only to find it longer than it was before. He felt his wings more durable and more hardened as if it had fought hundreds of battles.

What is going on? He thought. What is this place?

His head started pounding harder… Uuuugh...

"My name is Kuronue… I am a bat-demon… I was walking in the unforgiving forest," he muttered.

That was all that he could remember. His heart ached, it made him even more confused. His head pounded harder.

He looked around disoriented, he noticed a tear slipping down from his right eye.

"What the…" he wiped it away frustration.

Kuronue, having no recollection of what happened, took off in flight.

Mitsuki watched his retreating form in the sky, flying farther and farther away from her.

"It is better this way." She whispered.

Goodbye Kuronue… She wiped her tear-stained face and walked away.

Mukuro saw Mitsuki enter her chambers, walking sluggishly. A look of emptiness on her face.

"What happened to you?" Mukuro asked in worry.

Mitsuki looked up to her.

"I decided to let go of a foolish demon. I spared him the pain," she whispered.

Mukuro looked at her worriedly. She watched as Mitsuki kneel in front of her with her head down.

"My Lady, I request to take a leave of absence. Enough time to clear my mind," she asked.

Mukuro frowned.

"Very well. You may take all the time you need."

She watched Mitsuki sluggishly walk away disconcertingly.

A/N: I realized that I wasn't able to upload the last part of the chapter, so here's the edited part.

Also, let me know what y'all think of the story so far. Leave a review if you like it, or if you don't. I'm open to any sort of criticism