Author: Be prepared for a very long chapter. I'm quite proud of this one,actually. Again, thank you all for reading!
Kyuuzou felt the marks on his body flare and slither beneath his skin, alerting him that all was not well. He was not in a good place to fight, if needed. The room where he was watching and listening to the Lord negotiate with merchants, wandering artists who wished to set up a shop in the city mostly known for its arts, ronin, and people that the Lord was considering hiring to work for him was relatively small, with only one main exit, and only one secret passageway out. Kyuuzou felt the marks on his body grow stronger as the day wore on into dusk, and he quietly unsheathed his swords, distracting no-one from their conversation. It took four mishapen creatures climbing out of the growing shadows to do that. Kyuuzou moved quickly,disabling the demons frombeing able to use their limbs, and found that his sword's cuts cauterized the wound he caused, making it impossible for them to replace their lost limbs. Kyuuzou cut another exit for the Lord and pushed him out it, following closely enough to stop the attack that would have cut the man into pieces. He fought his way through the corridors until he was in the best lighted room, the shadows too small to provide much of a portal. He saw the other bodyguard come running down to meet him and the Lord and lookedat Kyuuzou.
"What'sgoing on here?"
"Demons."
Kyuuzou quickly took the other guard's sword and cut his arm, letting the blood flow over the blade, and watched as it was absorbed into the steel. He gave it back to the bodyguard who almost dropped it as he watched the wound in Kyuuzou's arm heal.
"You can wound them now." He turned away from the two men, then paused. "Keep to well-lighted areas. I'm going to clean out this place."
With that, he ran off, and began the difficult process of sending the demons to the final death. He found vital points, counted how many strokes were needed to kill some of them, and conserved his energy as much as he could. He had a sneaking suspicion that this wouldn't be the end of it. The feeling got worse as time went on, and when the last demon was dispatched with the help of other normal guards the feeling crecendoed into an almost overwhelming pain. He turned to where it was worst and began to run over there. It would only be once all the demons were gone that Kanbei would be safe again. He came out into the courtyard where executions had been held, where it was devoid of anything but stone and shadows. Idiot, Kyuuzou thought to himself,but couldn'thelp but be impressed by the formidable figure coming out of a rift in the very fabric of the world, and Kyuuzou could see the small spheres that marked the afterlife. He ran over to where the Lord and other bodyguard were and steeled himself. This was not like the other demons he had faced thus far.
He had a bad feeling about this.
The creature eventually found its footing in the physical realmn, its heavily taloned feet diggging into the ground, causing stones to be crushed into powder at his very weight. Next to come out was a torso that ripped in the middle to reveal a grotesq mouth filled with rows of serated teeth. Four heavily muscled arms that ended in scythe-like blades came out next, to be followed at last by a head covered in a multitude of eyes, another mouth splitting the head down the middle vertically, and opened toreveal only two long fangs that dripped with a saliva that burned into the ground. With a sickening pop, a tail grew from the middle of the creatures back, ending in a spiky ball that Kyuuzou knew would hurt if struck by it. He already had been wounded by similar tails, but not in such a scale. All in all, it ended up being three times Kyuuzou's height, and looked at the three men assmebled before it in disdain.
Pathetic creatures. Which of you is the one I'm supposed to kill?
Kyuuzou stepped forward, and fell into his strongest guard stance.
Look! The little demonling seeks to hurt me with two metal sticks!
The demon's laugh made everyone but Kyuuzou clap their hands over their ears, seeking to block out the noise that made them feel as if they would break in two.
Kyuuzou wished to delay the fight no longer than nessacary, and so charged. He jumped over the tail that was swung at him and managed to cut along the spine of the tail, making the demon hiss. He avoided a swat by one of the massive scythes, but couldn't avoid the strong wind that it generated as it passed, sending him flying towards on of the stone walls. He turned in barely enough time, and avoided another strike by the tail, to discover with dismay that his cut had barely slowed down the demon. He saw that another battle was taking place on the other side of the demon, the other bodyguard doing fairly well with the demon-cursed sword Kyuuzou had made quickly. He would have to pull the demon's entire attention to him. But how?
The eyes!
Kyuuzou jumped onto the demon's arm and wanted to scream as his feet were snagged by the thin needles that made up the demon's body's skin. He raced up one massive shoulder and jumped up onto the demon's head, making the demon screech. The demon's attention was pulled into getting the more agile Kyuuzou off his face while also not harming himself. As the demon stomped around indiscriminantly, he ran into one of the walls, knocking it down, exposing a group of soldiers,who tried firearms and bows to hurt him, and found that they didn't even make a dent in this demon's armor; it only seemed to annoy him. Kyuuzou looked down to yell at them and caught sight of Kanbei in the way of the demon. Kyuuzou plunged a sword into one of the demon's eyes, and they screamed in unison, the demon because Kyuuzou had plucked an eye out, Kyuuzou because the demon's blood burned into him. Kyuuzou pulled back, and found himself swated into the ground, the air rusing out of his lungs from the hard fall. he rolled, just barely avoiding the demon's foot,and saw Kanbei again, trying to help the wounded and dying away from the scene.
I must...protect him...I promised.
But how? You don't seem to be able to hurt him as much as you could the others.
Kyuuzou looked up at the demon's body, and saw faint patterns of runes rushing across his skin, forming the armor that shielded him.
Maybe...?Kyuuzou looked down at his own skin and made a split-second decsion. If he could concentrate on the script enough to understand what it did, perhaps he could use it to make himself stronger.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on the pattern that he saw passing even under his eyelids, willing it to grow brighterand reveal something he could use to help fight this demon.
Only a demon can kill another demon, was one of the script's lines.
Then how do I become a demon!
Like this.
Kyuuzou screamed again as the runes glowed more brightly than they had ever before, showing through even the cloth. That scream, and the power that the demon felt beginning to eminate from Kyuuzou turned his attention away from playing with the other bodyguard. When he looked over,Kyuuzou was on his feet, eyes glowing bright crimson in the darkness, the only part of him that was visible.
What?
The demon that had been Kyuuzou snarled and charged again, and this time, his sword cut cleanly through the other demon's tail, sending the club end of it falling onto the floor, making the demon screech in pain.
Bastard!
The demon swung at what-was-Kyuuzou with two of his arms, and Kyuuzou jumped between the two, one sword cutting through the thin wrist of one, the other sword cutting through the other wrist. The demon lunged to bite Kyuuzou in half, but Kyuuzou managed to evade and land on the skin next to the mouth on his stomach. He then stabbed into the demon and dragged the blade up through the demon's torso, evading the swinging arms, smiling faintly as the demon only hurt itself. He jumpedupto thehead, evaded the fangs dripping with venom, and slashed at some of the demon's numerous eyes, numb to the pain caused by being splattered by the demon's blood. He jumped down from the demon'sface as he tried to knock him off and landed on the demon's stomach. Kyuuzou struck at the edge of the mouth, and the demon reflexively brought his head down to try and stab Kyuuzou with one of the venemous fangs. Kyuuzou waited until the very last second tostep away, and the demon ended up impaling itself on its own fangs, pumping venom meant to kill demons into his own bloodstream. It sent out a blood-curdling howl before staggering back, withdrawing its fangs from its torso, and focusing all its eyes on the calm demon before him, hate and dispare burning in its dying eyes. It dissapeared slowly in a cloud of acidic smoke that made many of the people around throw up, but the demon that remained was unphased.
"Kyuuzou."
The demon turned at the sound of what was its name and saw a tired, faintly frightened man walking to him. The demon turned and walked over to the Lord, stopping him in his tracks.
"You have only minor wounds. You will be fine." The Lord shivered under the flat statements of his well-being, and was relieved when those glowing, dangerous eyes shifted from him to the other bodyguard.
"Your sword worked well."
The other bodyguard nodded, unnerved by how the pattern on Kyuuzou's clothing seemed to shift, glaring a red as bright as his eyes. "Take him to have his wounds treated."
The other bodyguard nodded and hastily pulled the Lord away, wanting to get away from the impassive, dangerous gaze. Slowly people drifted away from the scene of the battle, until only two remained within the devistated courtyard.
"Kyuuzou."
The demon turned and looked at the other man standing in the courtyard. He recognized him slowly, having to dredge it up from the depths of his being.
"Kanbei."
The statement of the name was simply a recognition, an attempt to grab back onto the reality he had left.
I'm this way so...I could protect...him. He is the...one that I...serve.
He is safe...
He is safe...
Safe...
Kyuuzou slowly flicked the green/black blood off of his swords,the drops sizzling on the pavement, and sheathed the swords. The pattern slowly faded from his clothes, and he seemed to be wrapped in cloth again, rather than shadows. The glow in his eyes slowly faded, and the skin of his face gained color again, defining into definite features, rather than a shadow in roughly the contour of his face.
"Kanbei..." this time the statement of the name was said with an undercurrent of relief. Kyuuzou took a step towards him, and then abruptly doubled over, overwhelmed by exhaustion. Kanbei went over to him, and knealt in front of him, and held his shoulders, allowing Kyuuzou to look up at him, and Kanbei was startled by the sheer weariness in Kyuuzou's eyes.
"You are...safe."
Kanbei nodded.
Kyuuzou smiled faintly, and then reached out and took a small handful of the cloth of Kanbei's uniform, and leaned into him. "Good..."
Kanbei looked down at Kyuuzou, and was unsurprised to see that he was asleep. Kanbei smiled softly, and then picked Kyuuzou up, cradling him against his chest, finding that Kyuuzou was wont to give up his hold on Kanbei's clothing. He turned and walked softly, carefully, back to the officer's wing, ignoring the questioning looks that people gave him. With some difficulty, he entered his room,opening and closing the door carefully so that Kyuuzou did not hit his head against the doorframe. He set Kyuuzou down gently on his futon, and looked at him briefly, his eyes soft.
'I don't think he'd want to sleep in those clothes.' Hesitantly, he reached out and unbuttoned Kyuuzou's jacket, and pulled it gently off his frame, then took off Kyuuzou's chest brace, then the looose shirt. He touched each newly-healing wound, eyes sad.
'All this for me...I don't know if I'm worthy of such devotion.'
He let his hands gently trace the countour of Kyuuzou's upper-body, and couldn't help but to lean down and gently kiss Kyuuzou on the lips.
He did not expect to see Kyuuzou wake, nor did he expect the younger man to reach up and gently wrap his arms around his neck and pull him closer. The two pulled away after a long moment, and Kyuuzou looked at Kanbei, his eyes uncharacteristically sad.
"You read my list."
"...I did."
"And?"
"I think I understand why you are the way you are a little better."
"You do not..?"
"Respect you less because of that? Want you less because of that? No." Kanbei gently caressed Kyuuzou's face. "I am simply sorry that someone I knew and respected did such awful things to you. How old were you?"
"Old enough." Kyuuzou's voice had become icy and bitter at the memories, but Kanbei drew his thoughts away from the past by lightly kissing his neck, making him shiver.
"You have never been pleasured yourself though, am I not right?"
Kyuuzou nodded slightly, and Kanbei moved tobe able to look into Kyuuzou's eyes.
"Do you want me to?"
Kanbei was surprised and amused at the blush that tinged Kyuuzou's cheeks, at how wide and surprised his eyes had become.
"Well?"
after a moment's hesitation, Kyuuzou brought Kanbei back down into a kiss that was all an answer that Kanbei needed.
Author: mmm...and the smut begins there. However, since this is on I will merely leave it implied. I am, however, going to actually write the smut, and that will be on adultfanfiction. I am apparently unable to put the link in my documents, so it will probably be either in the description of the story or on my main site. -sighs- I hate my computer...sometimes.