Crimso's Notes
Greetings, everyone! Crimso has come back from Field Day! …Actually, It's 7:36, so I came back around four hours ago. …It went over pretty well, I think. …My hair is still spray-painted red. I don't really feel like taking a shower to get it all out, though. Too bad that this year is my last field day :c. It's always awkward being the oldest. These past years, I've always looked up to the older ones to do best in the games. ...No, I'm now the only one my age in my group, since my Birthday is in September and pretty much everyone else's birthday is in the spring in my grade... for some reason...
There are no necessary notes for this chapter. …But on a random note, my "M" key keeps getting loose. …Not cool, man. I need that for Mion's name.
Random Note: The reason why this chapter is FiftyOne and not Fifty-One is the exact same reason Green-Eyed Demon is written GreenEyed Demon and not Green-Eyed Demon. FF doesn't allow hyphens in titles. I-I don't have poor grammar, I swear!
P.S: Anyone else find it funny that as I'm uploading this, I have fifty-one Reviews?
~~~~X~~~~
Chapter 9: Fifty-One Demons
Keiichi sighed as he buried his head into his schoolwork, almost unable to focus on it. He had too many other thoughts in his head to even bother thinking about his math homework. He was thinking about the demons underground, and what he would bring them next when he visited them. His present last time had been meat and a mirror, so he figured that he would bring something else this time. What other things were they missing in their lives? He drummed his fingers on his desk as he pondered that question, not even bothering with his math homework anymore.
When he couldn't think of an answer, Keiichi decided to leave the question for later. For now, he had to concentrate on his math; otherwise he'd have to do it for homework, which meant he had less time to spend with the twins.
"Satoko, do you want to come with me to pick some meat up after school?" Rika asked her friend.
"Hm? We just fed the demons a little while ago. Do you really think it's necessary to do so again?" Satoko wondered out loud, cupping her cheek with her hand.
Rika grinned. "I like to be nice to my demons. Kaede says I'm a little too nice sometimes, but what can I say? The demons are a little more willing, even though they don't actually have any will…."
"That made no sense, Rika," mumbled Satoko.
"It made sense in my head," sighed Rika.
"Only to you, Rika, only to you…"
Keiichi grew interested by Satoko and Rika's conversation. She seemed to be unlike the Sonozaki Family, actually bothering to feed their demons. Rika was only a little girl. If she could feed her thirty-something demons every few days, then the Sonozaki family should be able to feed two demons every few days or so. Still, that seemed like too little to Keiichi. They should be fed every day. It just wasn't fair to them. They weren't any different than humans in terms of stomach, aside from the fact that they couldn't die of hunger, or so people were assuming. They could get hungry easily. In fact, the two twins were probably hungry again.
He stood up and walked over to the two girls, who were both a little surprised to see him come up to them in the middle of class. "Huh, Keiichi-san, is there something you want?" Satoko asked. Then, her face twisted into a smirk. "Or are you just here to admit that my traps are just a little too much for you to handle? And no, I will NOT tone them down if that's what you're asking. I think they're at a fine level."
"No, that's totally wrong, Satoko," sighed Keiichi. "I was actually asking about you and your meat."
Rika's eyes filled with surprise. "You mean the fact that I feed my demons every few days?" she asked.
Keiichi nodded. "Rika… how many demons do you own, exactly?"
"Thirty-five demons," Rika answered instantly, without leaving even a single gap between Keiichi's question and her answer. "I have thirty-five demons, and I make sure they're all fed every four or five days. Usually, I give them one slab of meat per cell. There's around two or three in a cell. Is that what you were asking?"
Keiichi was shocked. She had already known all the parts to his question without him even having to ask any more than how many demons she had. "Wow, Rika. You already knew all of what I was going to ask by that one question. I'm actually really surprised."
Rika beamed. "I'm just really smart, Keiichi."
Satoko shrugged. "I don't see why she has to feed them every few days or so, though. Demons don't die without food. Kimiyoshi only feeds his demons once every month or so, anyways. Well, he feeds Kai about every two weeks or so, but the others aren't treated as well." She then looked to Rika. "…Um… Rika told me all of that…"
Rika nodded. "That's about all of what I told you, Satoko. Kimiyoshi has fifty demons." She paused for a moment. "…Well, I guess fifty-one demons now, after that man was turned into a demon for trying to steal one. It's a little expensive for him, and it is for me, too, but he has fifteen more than I do. If there's around three per stall, I think he only needs to buy five more slabs of meat." She then looked down at her paper, full with math problems. "…Actually, I don't know. I'm not good at math…"
Keiichi laughed, patting her on the head. "Well, it doesn't matter. All that matters right now is what you said about him not having to pay very much more than you do to feed your demons." He then paused for a moment. "Does the Sonozaki Family ever feed their demons?" He asked her, even though he already knew the answer to that one. It would just seem unnatural if he didn't ask.
Rika's expression suddenly grew very dark. She then stood up and gestured for him to bend down next to her, so that he was her height. When he did so, Rika walked up to him and began to whisper in his ear. "…The Sonozaki Family doesn't have any more demons, Keiichi. Oryou killed them all."
Keiichi tried to fake a look of shock. "…Do you know why she did that, Rika-chan?" he asked her.
"Oryou said something about how demons were no longer any good for the village. Oryou believes that if we continue this way anymore, we might engage in a war between demons. …So she killed all of her demons, despite Takeru's protests. She didn't even spare her head demon, Kenji," she whispered back.
Keiichi wondered if Rika knew about the twin demons in the basement, but judging by her tone, it really seemed as if she didn't know a thing about them. Perhaps the Sonozaki family kept their existence a secret so that their mother never found out that they were still alive, being treated terribly all their lives.
Satoko looked curious as to what they were talking about. "What are you whispering to Keiichi-san, Rika?" she asked her.
Rika turned to Satoko, one of her signature cute smiles plastered on her face. "Don't worry, Satoko, it's just a silly secret~. Nipah~!" she told her in the cutest tone she could possibly make.
Satoko was about to mention how Rika shouldn't be keeping secrets from her best friend, but before she could do that, Rena appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Rika, hugging her tightly. "Hau! Rika is so cute! I just want to take her home with me!" she cried out, squeezing her even tighter.
Satoshi chuckled a little. "Rena, you're really funny sometimes. …But I think you should put her down…" he said, nervously eyeing Rika, who now wore a look of suffering on her face from being squeezed so hard.
Rena reluctantly dropped Rika, who fortunately managed to land on her feet. "Hau… well, next time I'll be able to take Rika-chan home, right? If I don't squeeze her very hard, will I be able to take her home?" she asked, staring into Rika's large purple eyes with hope in her own blue ones. "I think that's the only thing that's keeping me from taking you home. Hau…"
Seconds after, Takeru noticed the commotion and stood up. He wore the most handsome grin he could plaster on his face as he looked at Rena. "You know, Rena? Have you ever tried to take yourself home? Because really, you're obviously the cutest thing in this room."
Keiichi nudged him. "You already said that one," he whispered into his friend's ear.
Takeru's face fell, causing Keiichi to burst out into laughter. However, Rena just wore a dark expression on her face and looked down at her feet. That's right, she doesn't like him back. It must be incredibly awkward for her to go through this when she simply wants to be his friend and nothing more than that. "Hey, Rena, if you saw a little, cute girl on the street that you didn't know, would you try to take her home with you?" Keiichi asked, trying to make the dark expression on Rena's face fade away.
And when she heard that question, it certainly did fade away, as she didn't want Takeru to see such an expression on her face. "Hau… would I, would I? I don't know…" she replied.
Satoko frowned, crossing her arms. "She certainly would," she muttered to herself, remembering all the times that Rena tried to take her home. It wasn't a very pleasant experience for her. Being squeezed that tightly must hurt, Keiichi thought. It was something he was hoping not to experience.
Takeru coughed uncomfortably, his face a little red after his pick-up line failed once again. "In any case, Keiichi, would you like to come with me to the Kimiyoshi Manor after school? Yasuo wanted me to purchase a demon or two for the Sonozaki family, since he thinks that we're running low on demons. I think it would be good for you to get a look at some of the demons. I don't think you were able to get a good look at the execution," he asked him, turning to meet his forest-green eyes with Keiichi's blue ones.
Keiichi's eyes filled with curiosity. He couldn't tell Takeru that he had already met demons up close before, but seeing Kimiyoshi's demons and how things actually worked in a place that was full of them seemed interesting to him. And what was this he was saying about purchasing new demons? Of course he was running low on demons. There was only Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight down there. They were probably going to treat the new demons the same way, too, if they were to get some. "Sure, I'll go," he replied.
Takeru grinned. "Good! I think that seeing demons is a good way to get knowledge on this village. And don't worry about being attacked or anything like that. They're all locked up, so none of them will hurt you. Kimiyoshi has strict orders not to attack anyone unless they're out to steal any of them, which they obey." He looked rather happy to hear that Keiichi was going to tag along with him. Keiichi questioned why for a few moments, but he then remembered that it was usually more fun to go somewhere with a friend than by themselves. "Kimiyoshi is rather kind, too, so you don't have to worry about him being rude to you or anything like that. He's a little creepy for killing someone for trying to steal his demons, yeah, but that's just how thing work around here. His father was the one who started it, anyways."
Satoshi looked down at his feet. "It's really sad, but there's nothing we can do about the way the village is set up to be. I'm sure Takeru will do something when he has more power, though," he said, side-glancing into Takeru's eyes. "As a regular villager, I don't have a say in anything that goes on around here." Then he looked over to Rika, not having to pick his head up very much further to do so. "Rika is already doing her best. She's feeding her demons almost every day and is taking great care of them…"
Rika smiled. "I do my best."
Rena sighed. "She really does try hard. It's sad that this village is like this. I would like this village to be transformed into a fun, happy, peaceful place where everyone can smile and be happy without worrying about demons or anything morbid like that," she spoke, glancing down at her feet. "It's really sad when you think about how this village could be without all the demons. It could be a really fun place if we wanted it to be."
Takeru wore a dark expression on his face, but said nothing.
"In any case, we need to be getting back to our work," Keiichi said, eyeing Chie, who had accidently fallen asleep in the middle of class. "Who knows when she's going to wake up?"
Satoko laughed. "Ohohohohoho! Chie is fast asleep. I wonder how that happened?" She spoke, wearing a smirk on her face.
"Satoko, what in the world did you do this time?" sighed Rika.
Satoko smiled. "Secrets, Rika. Apparently they can't be shared," she told her, thinking of how Rika was telling Keiichi a secret before. "And who said that I did anything to her? Gee, she might have fallen asleep on her own."
And everyone laughed at that remark.
~~~~X~~~~
After school, Keiichi found himself following Takeru close behind as they wandered down the paths of Onigafuchi, their sights set on the Kimiyoshi Manor. Keiichi had no idea how it would look in comparison to the Sonozaki Manor, but he had a pretty good idea. He figured it would be just as big as it, if not bigger, and would probably have a similar garden. He probably had a much, much larger area for storing demons, too, as the Sonozaki Chamber was designed to hold around thirty-five to forty demons. Of course, all that was being put to waste, as there was only two, but that aside, it was rather big.
"I don't know if we're actually going to buy any more demons," Takeru said as he kicked the dirt. "My grandmother didn't like the idea at all. But Yasuo, as the head of the demon management in my house, thought it would be a good one. So I decided I might just take a small look."
Keiichi nodded his head as he listened to what his friend was telling him. "I'd see why your grandmother would object. I guess that spending money to feed them and manage them is expensive, isn't it?" he commented, trying to make it sound like he didn't know the truth. Oryou thought that any more demons would bring doom to the village. If they bought another demon, she would surely murder that one as well. Which made Keiichi wonder why she hadn't killed Number Twenty-Seven and Number-Twenty Eight, especially since they were known as the cursed twins that would bring doom to all of Onigafuchi. Wasn't that why she decided to keep them locked up as demons in the first place, instead of letting their mother keep them?
"Yeah. They're really a lot to manage, plus they're expensive to buy in the first place," Takeru answered as he walked along the paths, spotting the Kimiyoshi Manor in the distance. "…And if my faulty eyesight is correct, that's the Kimiyoshi Manor over there. You see?" he said, pointing to the large house in the distance.
It looked pretty big to Keiichi, so he decided to assume that Takeru was right on that one. "Ever considered glasses?"
"Glasses are lame," he replied. "Don't want to wear those things."
"Rena would want to take you home, I'm sure," Keiichi commented.
"Yeah, but she tries to take Rika and Satoko home, too. It's really no different than that," he replied as he looked up at the sky with a sigh. "Well, one day, I'm sure she'll come to like me, too. I'm sure that day isn't very far off."
Poor Rena. All she wants is to be friends with Takeru. Doesn't he realize that this isn't what she wants? He spoke, looking down at his feet as they crunched against the small pebbles scattered about the dirt-path beneath him. Oh well. I don't think I'm going to tell him that. There's really no point in doing so. It'll just make Takeru feel hurt.
And soon enough, they reached the Kimiyoshi Manor. Keiichi was surprised when he discovered that the garden wasn't nearly as big as the Sonozaki Manor. Heck, it didn't even come close in size. However, he noted that the Kimiyoshi Manor was bigger than the Sonozaki Manor itself. He figured that a big part of it, however, was the demon storage area. Takeru opened the gate without any problem whatsoever and walked into the garden and up to the door, with Keiichi following him behind.
"He leaves the door open for people who come to buy demons from him or anything else that needs his attention. The demon storage area is locked, so it's hard for people to break in. It's just luck that that guy knew where Kimiyoshi kept his keys," he replied as he opened the door, stepping inside it.
Keiichi nodded at this and said nothing in response. He was too busy studying the Kimiyoshi Manor to really listen. The first room, the one he was standing in, was decorated with all kinds of traditional Japanese art and contained rather expensive-looking furniture. It was clear to him that the Kimiyoshi family spent more money on their house than the Sonozaki family did, though the Sonozaki Manor was still incredible.
Soon enough, Kimiyoshi Kiichirou appeared, hearing the door open. He looked rather surprised when he saw the two boys there, but he wiped that off his face as quickly as he could manage. "Ah! If it isn't Sonozaki's boy and the newcomer! It's a wonder to see you two here." He smiled at them both. "Are you perhaps going to buy some new demons, Takeru? I know your family is running low."
Takeru stiffened. "Of course. Keiichi here just wanted to look, though," he spoke, glancing over to his friend. "I figured it would be good for him."
"Ah, yes, well, I'll be happy to sell you some demons." He then looked at Keiichi. "Curious about the demons, hm? Well you don't have to worry! My demons don't bite, and if they do, I got old Kai to stop 'em! He's a real good demon. I appreciate his services to this old family."
Keiichi nodded. "He sounds like a great demon."
Kimiyoshi grinned. "That's why it's so great to have these head demons. Furude's demon, Kaede, is a really great demon too! It's been a while since I've been down to the Furude Storage, though." He then looked at Takeru. "And how are your demons doing? I believe it's been about three years since I went down there!" he laughed.
"They're fine!" he replied, laughing as well. "I'm glad you like those demons so much, Kimiyoshi, but they're unfortunately not for sale."
He frowned. "Ah, how did you know I was getting there? You know, I've been trying to get those two for ages, but I guess your family doesn't wish to comply?" he sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Oh well, I guess I could settle for any other demon."
Takeru mumbled something about how he only had two very quietly, though Keiichi was able to catch it. "Still not for sale. We're running low, and that's why I'm here to buy one."
Kimiyoshi let out another one of his laughs. "Well, that's understandable! You really are running low on demons, aren't you?" he replied, a smile on his face. "You're such a good boy, you know that? Running all the way here to get some demons when your demon manager asked you to. That's what I call a good kid!" he stuck out his hand and ruffled Takeru's green hair. "Good boy!"
Keiichi grinned nervously. It seemed as if the two of them were really close. Kimiyoshi really was a nice person.
But he's been trying to buy Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight? Does he know that they're the only ones left, or did Oryou just kill them recently? Keiichi thought to himself as he observed Takeru and Kimiyoshi continue to chat happily with each other.
"In any case, let's go. The demons are at the back of the hall," he said. Kimiyoshi pulled a key out of his outfit and clutched it tightly, still wearing that grin on his face. It made Keiichi feel a little uneasy, much like how Hiroshi's grin had made him feel a little suspicious at first.
Kimiyoshi led the two of them down the hall, and as he did, Keiichi observed the many pieces of artwork that decorated the hallways. As he glanced at a very well drawn picture of several Japanese animals gathered about in a beautiful meadow filled with flowers of all types, he had to wonder how much money he spent on each and every piece. The next piece he caught sight was of many mountains and trees, painted in a way that made Keiichi drop his draw in awe. Incredible. Can people really draw that well? I don't think my father could ever draw like that even if he tried to...
Soon enough, they reached the end of the hallway. Kimiyoshi stuck a key in the door and opened it, revealing a dark room. Keiichi stared into it curiously, and then took a step inside. The place was devoid of color, for the most part, making the many demons inside stand out. He was in awe the moment he caught sight of how many demons were in there. It was bustling with them, their screams and roars practically filling the air up. They all stared at him when they caught sight of him, causing him to feel a little nervous.
However, he got over that and took another step down the rows of cells. There were around three in each, two in some, and they were all staring at him. Keiichi couldn't find a single scrap of meat in any of their stalls, and when he observed the demons even closer, he realized that they were all very skinny. Damn, he really doesn't bother to feed those poor demons! He thought to himself as he stared at a small, skinny demon that was practically all bone. He looked like he hadn't been fed in years.
And, as Keiichi wandered in the demon storage, Takeru, meanwhile, was still outside. Just as he had been about to take a step inside, Kimiyoshi had stopped him.
"…What is it, Kimiyoshi?" he asked, confusion and curiosity in his eyes as he stared at Kimiyoshi's face.
Then, it happened. Kimiyoshi's usually kind, friendly face contorted into one of pure anger and unfriendliness, causing Takeru's eyes to widen. He looked incredibly stern, and it was scaring Takeru to death. "You, Sonozaki boy. Don't think that I don't know what your family did. You guys are fakes, worthless fakes," he spoke, his tone harsher than Takeru had ever heard before. "I know the truth, boy."
Takeru began to shake. "…W-What is the truth?" he said.
"I said, that you're just fakes. Don't think I don't have my eye on you, boy, and don't think that I don't know what Oryou did to those demons, to Kenji. And also, I know what you've been doing to those two. They're your damn sisters, for god's sake," he replied, fierceness in his usually shut eyes that made Takeru shudder. "I'm watching you Sonozakis closely."
Takeru gulped. "…Yes, Kimiyoshi-sama…"
And with that, the two of them walked into the storage area, and Takeru was only able to give him a quick glace, fear in his green eyes as he looked upon the old man. "I got to find Keiichi," he muttered before running off to catch his friend, wanting to do anything to be away from the man behind him. He had never seen Kimiyoshi like that before, not even once.
When Takeru caught up to Keiichi, he placed a single hand on his shoulder and let out a large, fake roar. Keiichi jumped and turned around, his eyes wide with fear. Takeru laughed when he saw the stunned look on his face. "I got you, Keiichi! You really thought that I was a demon, didn't you?"
"No way! Your roar was so fake that it was painful to listen to!" argued Keiichi.
Takeru just laughed. "I know."
Keiichi was scanning each and every demon from head to toe. There were a few who gave him curious looks, not at all hostile towards the stranger in front of them and there were some of them that growled at him. "Man, these demons are really skinny. Do you know when the last time they were fed was?" he asked Takeru curiously as he stared into the eyes of a demon who was looking at Keiichi hopefully, wondering if he had brought any food with him.
Takeru shrugged. "I'm guessing about a month, or maybe just a little less than that. But really, Kimiyoshi doesn't bother."
Neither does your family. Keiichi didn't say that out loud, of course. He didn't even bother thinking about saying such a thing out loud. It would be just plain rude to say such a thing. "Well, Rika told me she bothers to feed her demons. I guess that just goes to show how much of a good girl she is, huh?"
Takeru nodded. "She really is a good girl, isn't she? She's friends with everyone. It's amazing to have a girl like her in this dark place," he replied as he too stared at the demon Keiichi had been looking at. "…There's not food here, I'm sorry," he told the demon, who then looked at him with disappointment and shrunk away.
"Yeah. I can't imagine how she's been able to manage herself when she has no living parents," commented Keiichi as the two of them moved on to further cells. "That must be tough for a little girl like her in a town like this. I can't imagine doing the same thing."
"She's very strong. Even I can't compared," he replied.
"You're still strong. I can't imagine being able to have a good childhood in a place like this," he spoke.
Takeru looked down. "I didn't have a good childhood, Keiichi," he muttered.
Keiichi tore his eyes away from the demons to look at his friend, who currently wore a grave expression on his face. "Hold on a moment. What did you just say, Takeru?" he asked him, his eyes full with shock.
"Nothing," was the only word Takeru spoke after that. He raised his head and smiled again, though to Keiichi, it seemed as if he was faking it. He wondered if the others were able to tell when he was faking different emotions, like when they were talking about the Sonozaki demons and he pretended that he didn't know the truth about them. "Let's just forget that I even spoke and move on."
Keiichi nodded, deciding not to dwell on the matter. "Anyways, I think it's good we can have someone like Rika-chan in here. Satoko also helps raise the spirits of this town."
"Yup! There's nothing like a good trap to give us a laugh!" he cried out, a huge smile breaking out on his face. "Unless, of course, you're the one getting trapped. It's not so fun, then."
Keiichi nodded, recalling the time when he was trapped under a net and no one seemed to want to help him. "It really isn't any fun. Ever been trapped by her?"
"Trust me, Keiichi, I've been trapped too many times."
Keiichi was about to reply, but something caught his eye. They had reached the end of the storage area, and the demons with the highest number were placed in the cell in the back. As he eyed the demons in the last cell, his eyes came across a man that he recognized. "…Hey, Takeru. Is that the guy that they turned into a demon at the execution?" he asked, pointing towards the man in the cell.
Takeru turned around so that his eyes were focused on the spot his friend was pointing at. "Oh, yeah, it's got to be. See over there? He has the number Fifty-One engraved onto his collar," he said, pointing at the man's neck. And indeed, placed around his neck was a big, metal collar with the number Fifty-One on it. Patterns were decorating the area around that number, just like all the other Kimiyoshi Demon's collars.
His eyes went wide. The man, once free and prosperous, was now in a cell with a collar around his neck, forced to obey whatever his master told him to do. He now had no free will, and he now had no name. There was clear sorrow in the man's eyes as he gazed down at the ground, surely thinking of his freedom. If only he hadn't tried to steal a demon. The plan to do so was a failure from the start, so him even attempting was plain crazy. Now, he had to pay the price for his foolish actions. And yet, at the same time, Keiichi couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. He had only tried to steal a single demon, after all. Now, he had all his rights stripped from him.
"…I'd hate to be a demon," Takeru said. "I'd have no free will and I'd have to obey whatever someone told me to do. It's just no fair."
Keiichi nodded in agreement. "But I guess they would be murdering us all if we weren't doing this to them. It's still sad, though."
"We have Koichi to thank for that. Makoto was planning to enslave humans. So instead, we enslaved them," he replied as he continued to stare at the former human. "It's incredible. Makoto was really strong. They say he killed hundreds."
"That's because us Kimiyoshis are rather wonderful people, hm?" an old voice rang out, causing the two teenage males to turn around and meet the face of Kimiyoshi, who they had pretty much forgotten about. "My ancestor, Koichi, was quite the amazing person, wasn't he? If it weren't for him, we would be enslaved by demons ourselves!"
"Kimiyoshi!" cried Takeru in surprised. Keiichi noticed a little bit of fear in his eyes, but he decided that he probably imagined it. "Sorry about that! Keiichi was so intrigued by the demons that I kind of ended up losing you."
He laughed. "It's fine, it's fine. Understandable. It's completely understandable. But Takeru, did you notice any demons that you might want to purchase?" he asked him. Then, he grinned much wider. "And hey, if you sell me Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight, I'll give you four demons completely free!"
Keiichi jumped at the mention of the two twin demons.
"You sound like some kind of salesman," Takeru spoke, an eyebrow raised at him. "And I've already told you that they aren't for sale. Grandmother thinks they're special."
Kimiyoshi frowned. "I do believe that the salesman effect works on people, though. And I'm serious when I say that. I'll take them both for any number you name and I'll give you… how about five demons, then?" he spoke. "Those two would be perfect for my demon collection!"
Keiichi felt his blood boil at the word "collection." It was as if the demons were trading cards or something similar.
"I already told you, they're special to my grandmother, so I can't accept that offer," he replied, his voice sounding a little irritated.
Kimiyoshi sighed. "Fine then. Did you see any of my demons that you would like?"
"Unfortunately, it looks like my grandmother would be terribly upset with me if I brought any demons home, so I'll have to decline. Thank you for the offer, though, and thank you for allowing us to visit," he said, bowing respectfully to the man in front of him.
"Is that so?" Kimiyoshi said, sounding a little disappointed. "Well, just stop by if you change your mind about that. And also, if you grandmother decides to change her mind on the subject of Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight, hm?"
Takeru nodded. "Right. Keiichi, let's go. See you, Kimiyoshi."
The way he answered the question made Keiichi wonder if he was actually considering buying any of the demons in the first place. But really, if that were the case, then why did he bother going all the way down here after school? Keiichi followed Takeru as they exited the demon storage area, and all the while, Keiichi eyed the demons. Even if they would kill him if they weren't under control of humans, he still felt sorry for them.
But not all demons would be like that… right? He thought to himself as he exited the Kimiyoshi Manor.
~~~~X~~~~
Footsteps could be heard from nearby, and as soon as they detected them, Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight froze. They both scrambled over to the other room that was connected to the back of their cell and hid there, wondering to themselves who their visitor could possibly be. It was mostly likely Yasuo, a person that they surely didn't want to see.
However, upon listening closer, they could hear some other, more shrill voice coming out from the stairs, along with the gruff voice of Yasuo. They both gasped when they heard it and turned to look at each other, their hearts sinking. They knew exactly what he was hear for when they heard that shrill voice, and it was scaring them. They hated when Yasuo did this to them. It just wasn't fair.
Soon, the voices grew closer, and then, Yasuo's voice called out clearly to them. "Oh come on. Come on out, demons," he growled at them.
Slowly, they peaked their heads out from the entrance, their eyes growing wide when they spotted him. He was wearing his usual shirt and his eyes were full with their usual stern feeling and unfriendly vibe. And there, in his arms, was a young boy, just like usual. He was crying hard, and he was shouting out pleas for him to let him go… just like usual.
"Oh shut up, brat," he growled at the boy, though the boy refused to shut up. He rolled his eyes. "You two, get over here, right now."
The twins scrambled to the front of the cage and sat down, staring at the poor boy. "You know what I'm here for, right? I believe it's been about three weeks since I brought you guys one of these," he said, gazing at the struggling boy. The tears of fear were beginning to stain his sleeves, and it was bothering the man. "Oh stop crying. You can't take anything, now can you?" he sneered.
"Let me go! My mommy's gonna worry about me!" he screamed out.
"Who cares about your mommy? Your mommy could go to hell, for all I care," he snapped at the boy, which caused him to cry even harder. "Hell, these demons right here have gone without their 'mommy' for seventeen years. Their 'mommy' can do without them, too. She'll be fine without you."
"Mommy? Like a mother?" Number Twenty-Seven asked.
"Who the hell told you what a mother was?" Yasuo questioned her, staring at her with harsh eyes.
Neither demon said anything.
"Whatever. It's not like you guys even have a 'mommy' to take care of you or to even care about you, anyways. Besides, if she saw you, she wouldn't ever love you," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Just forget about the idea of having one. It doesn't matter. Besides, we have something we have to take of now, don't we?" he said, moving his vision doing to the still crying little boy he held in his arms.
Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight nodded.
"Now, just do the same thing you always do, hm?" he said as he shifted the boy to one arm and moved to grasp onto the key in his pocket. "Now don't struggle, or else you'll fall on your head. That wouldn't be very fun, now would it?" he ordered the boy, who seemed to be unable to cease his tears and screams. He quickly undid the lock to the two demons' cage, and when he did so, he threw the boy in roughly, allowing his body to hit the wall. He cried out with the pain of it, but neither demon reacted.
Yasuo locked the cage. "Have fun, you two," he said to them before he walked away from them.
The boy was crying hard, and the twins were busy inspecting him. He opened an eye to gaze at him, and both of them flew open as he stared at them. "Y-You look the same," he spoke to them, his voice shaky. "P-Please don't hurt me! My mommy is gonna worry! She's gonna be so worried!"
Both demons looked at each other, and the boy felt slightly relieved. "Y-You guys won't kill me, will you? You don't look like bad demons," he said. "You two are good guys… right?"
However, Number Twenty-Eight simply shook her head. "I can't disobey orders," was all she said.
And as the both demons leapt on him, their claws outstretched and their fangs barred, he let out one more cry.
"MOMMY!"
~~~~X~~~~
Crimso's Corner V.2
That was the fastest update I've given you in a LONG while. It was only… four days? Or something like that. In any case, this chapter was 6,000 words, longer than I expected it to be. I wasn't going to add the part at the end originally, but hey, why not? It's important and I couldn't find any other chapter to fit it in. And before you say anything about how cruel Mion and Shion are for killing a little boy… remember that demons like them have no free will. And yes, Yasuo is a freaking bastard towards the twins. There's going to be some explanation about demon's will in the next chapter… to some extent. Oh, and it's surely going to satisfy you MionXKeiichi fans. So look forward to that. I'll see how much I can write up tomorrow, but I have a crapload of homework, so I don't know how far I can get with that. We had off Thursday, and Friday was just... well... Field Day, so I have been procrastinating for three days. And I don't even get my math homework. Yeah, I'm much more interested in this than my math homework.
And this is a somewhat smaller Crimso's Corner. I don't have much to say, besides… review! Please review! I love reviews! People who review are awesome, and they get rewards. Let's see… how about a free model of the Kimiyoshi Manor for reviewing? And you get an action figure of a demon to go in that if you point out any typos. Reviews really make me happy, and they motivate me to write faster. So if you want the next chapter up soon, review!
~Crimso
P.S: Ever notice how sometimes, two or three paragraphs get scrunched together? Let me know if that happens. I don't always catch them all. It would be really helpful! I have no idea how that happens, by the way. It drives me crazy.
P.S.S: Random, but this chapter title reminds me of the title of chapter twenty-seven in GED.