Owari No Seraph: The Taming of the Demon, Chapter 2: Adjustments

…..

Hello, again! Nice to see you back! As usual, I guess I need to point out that I don't own any part of the "Owari No Seraph / Seraph of the End" franchise. Which is just as well, I suppose. So, simply take this as the humble offering of a fan. If I get some things wrong, I'm sorry. Again, this is more comedy than "true to life." (Canonical life, anyway.) Consider this an AU, if it bothers you.

Please read and review!

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Chapter 2: Adjustments

"Okay, I think I've got it figured out." Yu had read and re-read the scroll, pacing back and forth in the room, with an increasingly angry Asuramaru glaring at him the whole time. "I just had it backwards, is all. Turned it upside down by mistake."

"What! You mean I'm in the mortal realm now?"

"Well, yes, but don't worry about it. I'll just send you back the same way I brought you here."

"You'd better!" The demon stamped his feet, practically dancing with irritation. He hugged his arms close to his body. "And why do you keep it so cold in here?" He shivered. "I can practically see icicles forming on the ceiling!"

Yu glanced at Asuramaru absently, noting the sleeveless gown, the exposed back and legs. "I'd be cold, too, if I dressed like that."

"I'll have you know this is the height of fashion among Black Demons! Well," he amended, still shivering, "It was." He glared at Yu. "Haven't you got that spell ready yet?"

"Yes, yes, yes, quit your yammering. God, but you're irritating." If I don't send you back to the astral plane I think I'll go violently insane. Again. "Okay, here we go." He recited the spell.

Nothing happened. Asuramaru was still standing there, hugging himself, standing first on one foot, then the other, trying to keep his feet from freezing. He glared at Yu. "Well?"

"Hm. It's supposed to've worked." Alarm grew on the demon's face. "Now, don't worry, I'm sure I just mispronounced a word or something. Here. I'll recite it again." Another recitation, another drop of blood…

Again, nothing happened. Asuramaru remained where he was, one foot still rubbing against the other, arms tight around himself. Glaring with hatred and a new emotion: fear. "Well?"

"It's not working."

Asuramaru turned around, still hugging himself, and lifted his face to the ceiling. "Oh, GODS!"

….

"This is EXACTLY why I've always hated mortals! You're always meddling around with forbidden powers and spells! NOW look what you've done!"

"What?! So you're physical now. It's not the end of the world. Well, okay, if you hang around here, it might be, but, but I mean, I'll find a way to reverse the spell! Until then, well, we just make the best of the situation."

"And just how," began Asuramaru, "are we supposed to do that?"

"I'll think of something. You know me; I always do."

"Yes, you always think of ways to screw with people. Saaaay…." An unholy light leaped into the demon's eyes. "Now that I'm physical…I can kill you!" And he leaped at Yu.

The curse chains formed immediately, wrapping themselves around his hands and feet, dragging him back onto the ground, binding him in a spread-eagled position, face up, his arms and legs pulled taut. The chains tightened, and Asuramaru grunted with pain, an unfamiliar sensation.

Yu smiled, bending down on one knee. "Sooo….the curse is still in effect. I thought it might be. Hm. Let me see." He took up the scroll again, reading it. Then he started, looking surprised. He glanced at the pinned Asuramaru and smiled.

On the floor, Asuramaru's face took on a nervous look. "I don't like that gleam in your eyes, human. What foul thing are you contemplating now?" He struggled against the chains, but the more he struggled, the tighter they drew. "So now what?" He was extremely conscious of his conspicuously vulnerable position. "Will you rape me? Ravish my body? Payback for that time I possessed your body and made you attack your friends?"

Yu sat on the edge of the bed. "Nothing like that, Asuramaru. I told you, I'm your friend, and I meant it this time. Friends don't do friends that way. No, what I was smiling about was this clause here, a part of the spell. It looks like an amendment to the curse. I hadn't noticed that before.

"It seems…that you can't cause me any harm. As long as you intend to harm me, those chains will hold tight. But there's more.

"Evidently, you have to do what I say. More or less, I mean. You have to obey me, my every command."

On the floor (the cold floor, he noticed), Asuramaru groaned. "There must be a Hell. Because I'm in it."

….

Yu got up and went to his chest of drawers. He pulled out a pair of sleep pants and went into the bathroom to change. "Are you going to leave me like this?" The demon's voice followed him into the restroom.

"You're leaving yourself like that," he said. He was brushing his teeth in the bathroom. "I don't really have any control over the chains. Just give up trying to harm me, and they'll relax. Otherwise, nighty-night." He came back in and got into bed.

"You aren't serious!"

"Why wouldn't I be? Just calm down, and the chains will go away. Problem solved. But for now, it's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to bed." He got into bed, pulling the covers over him.

"You'll never sleep! I may be chained to the floor, but I can still yell and scream! I'll keep you awake all night lo-*"

"Shut up," said Yu, turning his back on the demon and closing his eyes.

And just like that, Asuramaru's mouth closed up of its own accord. He couldn't make a sound. Instead, he just lay there, bound by the curse chains, on the floor, and glared up at Yu. He struggled; his struggles proved completely futile. This was different than the time he'd experienced it before. These chains showed no sign of weakening…and, in his now physical form, Asuramaru was discovering true pain for the first time. He found he didn't like it one little bit. Still, he struggled and struggled; if he could just get free for just a moment…he remembered how sweet Yu's blood had tasted…

But it was no use. Finally, he just lay there, panting, exhausted both physically and mentally.

Alright, he said in his mind, maybe I won't attack the crazy human. Not now, anyway. The chains clanked as they slid back into the nether dimension from which they sprang. Asuramaru thought there was something reluctant about their disappearance, as though they really didn't want to let him go.

In his bed, Yu heard the chains clanking, and looked around. "Had enough? Oh, right. You can speak. Softly!" he amended.

Asuramaru sat up, rubbing his wrists and ankles. Those chains had hurt. "What do you want?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you want power? Wealth? Women? You name it. Anything to be free of this…this…living hell."

Yu sat up on the side of his bed, rolling his eyes and sighing. "I don't want any of those things. I told you, this whole thing was an accident. You saw. I didn't intend to bring you over to this side. And I'll figure out a way to send you back. It can't be impossible; what's done can be undone, somehow. I'll just have to figure out how. Maybe Corwin can tell me something, if I approach him in the right way."

"What do you mean, the right way?"

"We can't just announce that you're here. You'd be in danger."

"What? Why?"

Yu ticked off the points on his fingers. "First, there's the brass. I'm sure they'd want to incarcerate you as a public menace. Which you are, but better here with me than in a confinement cell, surrounded by spells of binding, and surrounded by guards who would be at best, indifferent to you, at worst, actively hostile. I've no doubt but that they'd neutralize any powers you have, and some of the guards just might see an opportunity for some amusement there." Asuramaru paled at that. "And all that would eighty-six any plans to get you home.

"Second, there's always the possibility of you running across somebody you've had previous contact with. Knowing you, it probably wasn't pleasant. And here you are, in the flesh. Some people would take that as a gold-plated invitation to slice you up like cotto salami.

"And third…have you ever heard of the Purifiers?"

"No. Should I have?"

"They're fairly new. They're religious fanatics who think they can achieve salvation or enlightenment or some other damn silly thing by killing every vampire or 'serapher,' as they call them, that they come across. And not always quickly, either." He shuddered slightly, remembering the thing in the tunnel. "And they don't limit themselves to just those two groups. And here you are, an actual demon.

"We—my battalion—have been fighting them out around the northwest. They're not very skilled, but what they lack in skill, they more than make up for in numbers and ferocity. 'Earth for humans only,' is their battle cry, and they have some pretty narrow definitions of what constitutes a human being. They caught Mika out from the company, and if we hadn't made it there in time…they've no hesitancy to throw their own lives away. Mika's one hell of a fighter, but they were swarming him like army ants. And worse: rumor has it that they've infiltrated the JIDA. How, exactly, and to what degree, we don't know. But Command is on the lookout for any suspicious behavior. And you're nothing but suspicious behavior. So, yeah, good idea to keep you under wraps for now." He noticed Asuramaru still rubbing his wrists. "Need something for that? I've got some liniment."

"I'm fine, human." The demon crossed his arms and looked away, without getting up. "So. Now what? What do we do now?"

"Well, this is the time when humans sleep. So I'm going back to bed. Do you sleep?"

"I…don't know. I never have before."

"Oh, that's right. You were a mental concept; of course, you didn't need to sleep. Well, you're a physical being now, so I guess you'll need to sleep." He got up.

Asuramaru seemed hesitant. "I…don't think I know how."

"Well, first, you get something soft to sleep on. Here. Here's this futon I was gonna give you-*" He pulled out the one with Krul Tepes' picture on it.

Asuramaru turned away, an expression of nausea on his face. "I'd sooner die. And I don't EVER want to know what you were doing with that in your possession."

"Okay, okay, keep your gown on. I've got a spare futon in the closet." He got up and pulled out the rolled up mattress. "Here." He unrolled it on the floor by his bed.

"You expect me to sleep on the floor?"

"There's only one bed in this room, and I'm in it. So, yes." He got back in bed. "Of course, I guess you could just sleep on the bare floor. I wouldn't advise you to try sleeping in that chair," the only chair in his room was an office chair, "but I guess you can try if you want." With that, he rolled over and closed his eyes, leaving one very incensed demon to his own devices. Finally, Asuramaru calmed down. The crazy human had, after all, been right. So he lay down upon the futon. It was actually quite comfortable. Asuramaru waited until he heard Yu's deep breathing, an evil smirk on his face…

Yu's dream: he was back at the orphanage. Mika, minus an arm, rose from the ground. "You left us, Yu. We were family, we trusted in you, and you left us-*"

"Now, stop that, Asuramaru," said Yu's dreaming self. "I know what you're trying to do."

The image of Mika and the others faded, and Asuramaru's astonished face took their place. "How? How did you know? I thought I had perfected my technique…and that is your strongest fear…"

"When it comes to nightmares, you're a one-trick pony, Asuramaru. We've had this same round before, and you lost then. I'm stronger now than I was then. So quit trying. Now, go back to your own body and get some sleep. Tomorrow I have things to do. I've got to come up with a decent cover story for you…"

"'Cover story'? I thought you wanted to keep me under these wraps you spoke of."

"I can't keep you locked up in here forever. One or both of us will go crazy. Sooner or later, you'll have to go outside. So I have to come up with something that's believable, and at the same time, not quite a lie. That's in case you do get found out. Which is entirely possible."

Asuramaru's dream image smirked. "Cover your own ass, in other words."

"Cover both our asses, actually. Now get yours back into your body and go to sleep. That's an order."

Asuramaru turned back to his futon, and managed to drift off to sleep…

He awoke during the night, feeling something soft in his throat and nose. "Kaff, kaff!" What-?

Yu was kneeling over him, brushing away at his face. "I should'a seen this coming…"

"What…what are you doing…to me, human?"

"It's your hair. You aren't used to it, and I didn't think about it. You should tie it up before you go to bed, otherwise it can get all in your nose and mouth. Here." He got up and went over to the desk. "Here." He fished a girl's golden hairpin out of the drawer. "Pull your hair through this."

"I…how?"

Yu rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of God. Here, let me see." He fussed around behind the demon, who tried to watch him from both corners of his eyes. After all, this human was crazy. Who knew what he'd do to him, back there?

"Ow!"

"Oh, quit that. I just gave it a little tug, that's all."

"Don't pull on my hair!"

"I'm not pulling on your hair!"

"Nobody pulls on my hair!"

"Alright, alright! Keep your shir—er, blouse on. There. That should keep it out of your face tonight. Now. I'm going back to sleep. You should be okay, now." And back to bed he went.

"Hey, wait a minute," said Asuramaru. "This is a girl's hairpin."

"Yes." Still turned away from the demon.

"And it's gold."

"Again, yes."

"Solid gold."

"Right."

"How did you get hold of a girl's solid gold hairpin?"

"Never mind."

"C'mon. Tell me."

"It…was a gift."

"A gift? From a girl?"

"Well, yes."

"What was she like?" The demon grinned. "C'mon. You can tell me. I won't tell anybody." Not tonight, anyway.

"Never mind. Now go to sleep."

Asuramaru retired to his futon, feeling…rather strange.

He found himself looking at that hairpin for a long, long time, and he couldn't, for the life of him, have said why.

To be continued…