Shounen Onmiyouji belongs to Mitsuru Yuuki
(1) This is a fictional work, elements of the original work can be altered for better compatibility with this story.
(2) English is not my first language.
Mokkun was outside the house, watching the night sky wistfully. Though it was not his fault, he felt responsible for the injuries that Masahiro had suffered on Mount Kifune. He had sworn to protect the young apprentice and had not kept his word.
A strong wind blew from the east, interrupting his thoughts and causing him a strange sensation. He hurried back to Masahiro's room. He found the young man sitting on the futon, still wearing pajamas, his eyes were blue and his hair gleamed platinum.
"Takaokami no Kami, the dragon goddess of Kifune. Why are you here?" He said staring at Masahiro.
"Very smart, I expected no less than one of the twelve shinshou." The teenager stood up. "But don't worry, I don't intend to stay in that body for long," the adult female voice contrasted with the masculine and infantile body.
"I hope so. Masahiro has not fully recovered yet," he said seriously.
"If you need my help, just call," she smiled. "However, I don't know if your request will reach my ears like this time," added snobbishly.
Mokkun shifted uncomfortably, feeling a chill in his spine just remembering the sensation of almost losing Masahiro. His desperation broke the seal and attracted the attention of the goddess, who had pity on him.
"You didn't come here just to say that" Mookun returned to the subject.
"The demons that fled Kifune have started to act" she stared at the sky through the window. There was a note of concern in the voice.
"That's true?"
"That's all I came to warn," she shrugged, ignoring Ayakashi's question.
"Couldn't you have used other methods like an enchanted letter?" He suggested. "It's not comfortable that you to get hold of Masahiro's body."
"Maybe, but now we have a connection and that form is convenient for me." She smiled, not pretentiously, but just wishing to show the simplicity of her act. So closed the eyes, slowly Masahiro's hair returned to its original color and his body plummeted over the futon.
=8=
"Masahiro, you..." Mokkun entered the room in a good mood, had come out of a refreshing shower and was shaking his hair to dry. He stopped at the door when he found Masahiro sitting on the mat, blue eyes, platinum hair. "Takaokami no Kami."
"Oh, the pet shinshou," she sneered.
"What's the message?" He asked, entering the room and closing the door.
"Message?" She faced the ayakashi who was walking around the room.
"Yes, if you are here, it must be a message." He gave the woman a look of displeasure.
"You are so straightforward. You didn't even ask me if I'm fine or if I would like tea," she teased, putting her hands to her lips like a court lady.
"Get to the point, Takaokami no Kami!" He was getting mad, how a goddess could have such a difficult personality.
"It's nothing," she propped her elbows on knees, facing the animal with the most angelic look she could get.
"What do you mean, nothing?" He asked, confused.
"Nothing. There is no message. It's been at peace since Seimei's grandson defeated Kyuuki. "
"What? So, what are you doing here?" It could only be a joke.
"I was bored on Mount Kifune." She stretched and gave a long yawn. Mokkun gave an incredulous look.
"And why do you invade Masahiro's body?" The question came out loud and indignant.
"I saved the boy's life. Technically, fifty percent of that body is mine," she said, curling one finger through a lock of silver hair. "So, it's not an invasion."
"Stop using your connection with Masahiro to do useless things, you idiot goddess," Mokkun complained.
"My, my, you shouldn't offend a deity, you could end up being punished for it," she said.
"Come fight" he faced, getting into attacking position.
"It would be more fun to see Seimei's grandson pay for your big mouth," she grinned.
"Hmpf. I don't care." Mokkun sat on the floor and cocked his head.
"Liar" the voice came out soft, very different from the tone Takao usually used. The animal turned to face her. Her eyes looked serene, almost maternal. "You worry about him a lot."
Mokkun stared at the woman, not understanding. Why had it drastically changed the course of the conversation? He knew that Takaokami no Kami was a difficult and fickle goddess, but she had never been very sentimental.
"He's very happy to be by your side." The woman put her hand above heart, as if something inside her hurt so much. "Never leave him, he would be very sad to lose you." Her eyes were vague and melancholy.
"I promised Masahiro never to abandon him" Mokkun's voice came out loud, harsh and firm.
The woman smiled discreetly. Eyes closed, hair turned black, and the boy's body landed on the mat. A few seconds later, the hands moved slightly, and the brown eyes opened, staring at Mokkun, sitting beside him.
"Mokkun, is everything okay?" Asked onmyouji when he saw the serious expression on his partner's face.
"Yes. You should take a shower; it will help you relax before bed." He turned his back and left the room. The night seemed darker than usual, which was strange in such calm times. Mokkun didn't know why the dragon goddess looked so unhappy.
=8=
Mokkun didn't understand why Masahiro had been so quiet lately, it started with a series of nightmares that the boy didn't want to tell him. Now and then, he surprised the apprentice by looking at him with a sad look. Mookun begin to suspect that this was somehow linked to his past. But even after telling Masahiro the truth and being forgiven, the gaze hadn't changed.
He was strolling through the gardens of the Abe's residence when he heard a noise from Masahiro's room. He immediately ran there, if Masahiro was being attacked right under his nose, he would never forgive himself.
"Oh, it's just you," he said, unmotivated, seeing the silver-colored hair and big blue eyes in the boy.
"What modes are these?" She teased.
"Modes? Where are yours, stupid goddess," complained when seeing the room was a mess. All the instruments and divination books were scattered across the mat.
"That's not the right way to talk to a deity," she complained, pouting.
"What are you doing here? And why are you turning Masahiro's things around?"
"I was curious how an onmyouji works. Besides, technically these things are mine, as I explained to you..."
"Stop this talk that fifty percent of Masahiro's body is yours," he interrupted. "After all, what are you doing here? And drop it." He completed seeing her distracted by one of Akiko's yew charms.
"I came to warn you that Masahiro has the mark of loss," she said.
"Abe Seimei already warned him about it, even that idiot Toshitsugu has seen the mark. You're a little late," he answered carelessly.
"Doesn't that worry you?"
"Worry you?" He countered.
"Of course not. I am a goddess; I don't care about the fate of humans." She gestured a lot, arrogant. "This brat is interesting, but if he dies, I might get a better distraction -" The rest of the sentence stuck in her throat, she felt the body drop against the mat and her hands pinned over her head.
"You may be a goddess, but I will not allow you to say anything about Masahiro." Guren was sitting on her hips, his hands gripping her wrists, his gaze furious. He was not going to allow a bored goddess to talk nonsense about the teenager. He stared into the face he knew so well and the blue eyes that were so strange to him and realized that eyes were crying. "You said you didn't care."
"I don't care, but he is very sad, I can feel" as much as she tried to hold back the tears, they kept falling. Takao knew it wasn't her tears.
"Why is he so sad?" Guren's voice reverberated through the walls, very different from the shrill voice in the ayakashi form.
"You're very important to him."
The reddish-brown eyes widened. He knew Masahiro had a great affection for him, but never imagined he could be so important in the boy's life. He was infinitely grateful to Masahiro, for even unknowingly, the boy had given him a new motivation to use his powers. "You promised you would never leave him," the voice came out like a whine, and tears dripped profusely, blurring the sight of blue eyes.
"I know what I promised, and I always keep my word. I'll always be by his side." The voice came out firm. It was sad to see anyone cry like that even though she was the callous goddess of water and rain.
"Physically maybe..."
"What do you mean by that?" Instinctively he tightened her wrists.
Takao closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.
"Please don't make him unhappy. From that kind of pain, I can't save him." But before Guren could say anything, teary eyes closed, and hair darkened.
Guren looked at Masahiro's peaceful sleeping face. He released his wrists and slid his long fingers through the smaller hands, intertwining their fingers. He laid his body beside the apprentice, cuddling his head over the younger man's shoulder.
"I'll never make you suffer," he whispered before falling asleep.
He woke up a few hours later, Masahiro shifting violently, immersed in a nightmare. He mumbled his name amid confusing words, his face covered with tears. Guren's chest tightened.
=8=
Mokkun felt a strange presence and ran toward Masahiro's room. Abe no Seimei had made a barrier around the house, it was not possible that any demonic being had passed.
He entered the room already in shinshou form, weapon in hand. He stared at Masahiro slowly turning to him, his hair and eyes a different color.
"Who are you?" He asked sharply.
"Touda."
"Who are you?" He ignored the fact that the entity knew his name.
"Takaokami no Kami" bowed.
"The dragon god of Mount Kifune?" The woman nodded. "Why are you here? Why did you possess the body of Seimei's grandson? Gods don't have humans," he asked suspiciously.
"It is not a possession. Masahiro and I have a link." It was strange for her to refer to the young onmyouji by name, but not as strange as hearing Guren call the boy Seimei's grandson.
"Link?"
"It was a long time. Masahiro did me a favor, a big favor and I did him another one," she explained.
"So, what's the message?" He asked, putting the gun away.
"Message?"
"If a god comes here, she must have something important to say." He looked bored.
"So straight," she smiled, remembering the past.
"Uhn?"
"Nothing," she said, shaking head. "I came to make you a wish," she said, slowly approaching the shinshou. "Take care of Masahiro."
"Abe no Seimei already asked me that," he said coldly.
"Don't close your heart to Masahiro" He felt her delicate hands wrap around his, his eyes locked on hers. The first impulse was to release his hands. But those small, delicate hands were very hot, hotter than his infernal flames. "You are very important to him."
"Seimei's grandson seems to be very important to you, to come here just to tell me that," he said cautiously.
"And he is. And just because you're so important to him, you're important to me too." Takao never felt his words sounded so sincere. As much as she hated to admit it, she would always be grateful Masahiro had set her free, and since she saved his life, she would always have a connection with the young man. She could make that channel have the least interference in her existence, but she had chosen to follow his evolution closely and thereby share his suffering.
Guren couldn't gauge the weight of those words. Masahiro was kind and affectionate. But he was only one of the twelve shinshou. Besides, they had known each other not so long ago, he couldn't be important to the boy, not that way.
"Well, my message is given," he felt her hands break from his and the woman turned her back on him.
"Is this a goodbye?"
"Is that what it looks like?" She asked, glaring at him over shoulder.
"Though we never saw each other before, it's like you're here to say goodbye." Guren didn't know why it sounded like that, but something in the woman's words gave him the feeling that she would never come back.
"In a way, you're right," she smiled.
"Maybe you will appear again. If you need to bring a message." He scratched his head.
"I don't think so" she turned to him. "If I need to send a message, I will follow the recommendations of a friend. I'll send you an enchanted letter." She grinned.
Her eyes closed, her body went limp, and slowly her hair went black. Guren stepped forward, grabbing Masahiro before he fell. The boy slowly opened his eyes, trying to focus on the objects in the room, in front of him was a tall man with dark skin and red hair.
"Guren," he mumbled as he regained consciousness. Touda felt strange, as if he'd heard that name before. "Ah... Touda!" He shouted, startled to find himself wrapped in the shinshou's arms. Since the battle at Izumo, ayakashi has rarely returned to his true form. "What happened?" He questioned after parting from the other, confused to see him in that form.
"You... passed out suddenly," he lied. Somehow, he thought it would be better not to tell about his encounter with Takaokami no Kami. "You have to eat well, or you will never be a worthy successor to Seimei," he said gruffly as he turned back to white ayakashi form.
"I promise I'll take care of myself," he apologized with a bow.
"Hurry up, Akiko is waiting for you for dinner, Masahiro," he said, slipping out the door.
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