#` ❅ || ғᴀʟʟ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʟᴛᴀʀ. » ( CONTENT WARNING. )

[bellsplit]

` ❅ ||   fallesto.  »   (  FROM.  )

a  single  eye  cracks  open  to  greet  the  dawn,   even though he can't actually stand in the sun.     a yawn to initiate the awakening of his mind is given,  flashing the full length of wicked fangs that had been tucked away so neatly the night before,  never once ghosting against his beloved's skin.     the rough pads of inked fingers press against that scarred skin with a foreign sweetness,  careful when they touch anything that feels  swollen  or warmer than usual to indicate the presence of a bruise.     there's a slow tilt of his head so he can pillow his striped cheek against the crown of fiery hair that rests against his chest,  which noticeably sinks as he exhales a long,  bone—deep,  weary sigh.

"  ...mm ... you weren't supposed to hear that,  kyojuro.  "

he'd genuinely thought the slayer to still be deeply asleep when he'd idly said that  —  you're  all  that's  left,   we  can't  live  this  lie  forever.     it's an honest admission,  painfully so,  & the lie is not these feelings that are blossoming between them ... feelings that had driven him to prevent the execution of the closest thing that he'd ever felt that he could call  friend.     no,  the lie is the farce that they'll be able to  carry  on  like this,  with their backs turned on either side of a war that's raged on in secrecy for centuries.

that  man  could kill him in an instant.     akaza knows it,  but he isn't so sure that  kyojuro  knows it too.

the oni shifts a little when his lover momentarily sits up to stretch,  taking the opportunity to move just a bit closer to the center of their shared futon to soak up kyojuro's warmth as another yawn bares his fierce maw to the faint glow of his eyes.     leave it to kyojuro to have remembered to block up each crack in the little house to prevent any shafts of light from getting in ... he's endlessly grateful for that amount of care.     the idea of being touched by the sun again is not one that he relishes.     that's why he gives a painfully fond smile when the pillar lays back down,  easing an arm beneath him & resting his chin atop his head once more  —  for the first time in his long life,  someone is doing something kind for him without expecting to get something in return.

kyojuro ... cares  about him.     it's something that the oni had never expected to come to terms with,  nor is it something that he's certain that he deserves.     but akaza doesn't dwell on that,  choosing instead to angle his head & look down at the human couched so comfortably against his side.     demons do not sleep,  no,  but after last night's ... events ... the crescent moon had been so comfortable beneath kyojuro's warm weight that he'd allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts.

he's never ... made  love  to anyone before.

sex is usually a boring affair for akaza.     with lesser demons it's always the same attempts to curry favor,  bodies offered for him to destroy in their master's name ;    however,  the brutalist treatment of his own body by the two kizuki above him to keep him in his place is so wretched that he refuses  down  to  his  last  cell  to remember it.     but with kyojuro ... everything had felt different.     electrified,  his heart pounding in his chest,  his nerves singing ... alive,   just like when he uses his blood demon art,  only ten times heightened.

"  kyojuro.     i'm  the one who will do all the fighting,  got it?     you just focus on getting yourself  right  so we can keep going.  "

he shifts when his lover rises to look at him,  but the weight on his chest & behind kyojuro's singular gaze pins him firmly in place.     cornered,  like kyojuro had been that night in the courtyard beneath the pouring rain & vicious allegations levied against him.     powerless  against the forces working against him,  unable to escape what the powers that be had deigned to be his fate.

& yet ... akaza had intervened.     akaza had stepped in  knowing  that  it  wasn't  his  place,   knowing  that  this  would  end  in  nothing  but  tragedy.

inked fingers brush against kyojuro's left cheek & up so he can cradle it in his cool palm,  a gesture that he'd only ever seen in passing & never actually been able to do.     hm.     it feels ... nice,   even if this is only a fleeting respite from the cursed path that they have to walk down.     after all,  that  man  can choose to destroy him at any time ... can't he?     it's been  far  too  quiet  lately ... there's no way that his master doesn't know what he's done.

it hangs heavy over him,  his personal sword of damocles.

"  i just——  i can't risk losing you.  "

[bellsplit]

` ❅ ||   fallesto   »   (  FROM.  )

THEY'RE  SAFE  HERE,   at least for now.     this place is a haven,  a place that few demons know about ... & even  fewer  humans.     he'd only needed to look at the proprietor to be allowed entrance,  even with kyojuro at his side  —  in spite of yasu's protests,  shirei had even made an exception to the usual  no  weapons  rule for his partner.

his  partner.     it feels ... exciting to call kyojuro that.

it's easy to fall into some sort of routine with his companion now that he's actually being  allowed  to train him ;    much to his surprise,  akaza is actually  enjoying  the experience.     & it's easier to come & go in a place that  never  really  sleeps,   what with the bathhouse being right on the edge of yoshiwara.

tonight they've been drilling katas,  the third moon occasionally stepping out of his own forms to gently adjust kyojuro's posture or take his waist & widen his stance.     their benefactors have  graciously  allowed them to use one of the most lavish of rooms,  separate from the main bathhouse but with their own outdoor onsen for use at their leisure ... which akaza has probably spent more time using than he ever has in his long,  long life.     but being able to do this with kyojuro at his side,  now  free  of  judgment  for fraternization on either part ... it feels  incredible,  a near unbeatable rush that delights his every cell.

"  you've done well,  kyojuro.  "

pushing  the  pillar  to  his  limits  is  still  fun.     it's hard to deny certain aspects of him that are still slightly  antagonistic  towards his partner,  the little ways that he  teases  him  whenever he can with words & actions :    hands flitting over shoulders here,  a flash of a coy smile there,  sweet nothings sprinkled in between.     it's been hard to be well—behaved with so much of kyojuro's body plainly on display,  but tonight he's also  preening  beneath those compliments that are offered to him in return,  no longer self—conscious about the darkening of his skin where his burns from the sun have almost healed.     he'll carry the scars forever,  though,  & that's something that he can't even make himself be ashamed of.

he earned them for a worthy cause,  & the pain has made him  stronger.

"  you deserve some sort of  reward,   don't you?  "

& he suddenly  pounces,   intent on taking the pillar to the grass & stone of the courtyard  —  however,  to his surprise,  kyojuro manages to remain upright & support his weight.     more  than  a  little  pleased  by this development,  akaza sets about with that promised reward ;    he parts his wicked jaws & finally,  finally  gets to sink his fangs into the flame pillar's throat,  albeit not as  deeply  as if he were going to take blood from him.     no,  this is about  claiming  what's  his,   as he's longed to do from the very start to keep lesser demons from prowling around the rengoku estate ...

making a statement,  bold as it is,  for others to  STAY  AWAY.

kyojuro's skin is so warm & pliant beneath his lips & teeth,  so very  human  that it's dizzying to consider.     it's not like being with another demon,  where everything is a power struggle or battle for dominance,  all cool skin & sharp fangs & tearing claws  —  here he has to exercise different parts of his body & mind to not only ensure that he keeps kyojuro safe,  but makes him feel  good.     so he withdraws once he's sure the skin has bruised beneath his ministrations,  brushing cool lips over the mark before chuckling & turning to nose the underside of his jaw.

"  then tell me whatcha  were  thinkin',  kyo~ju~ro~  "     his voice comes out as an overly—affectionate purr as he absently trails his lips up to the pillar's ear.     "  better not be anything  bad :    i'd  rather  you  just  think  about  ME  instead.  "

[bellsplit]

` ❅ ||   cryopathiic.   »   (  FROM.  )

HE  HATES  THAT  HE  ALWAYS  ENDS  UP  HERE.     this place,  its wretched & perverse holiness making his skin crawl,  incense—laden air thick in his wrinkled nose,  the chanting of the devout soft in the distance.

but what they do here is  far  from  holy.

it's sickening to consider how easily he'd been roped into this hedonistic loop :    douma  had  taken  advantage  of  the  cracks  in  his  confidence.     akaza knows it,  he really does  —  he knows that he's a pawn,  a means to an end,  something to be  toyed  with  then tossed aside when his usefulness has run its course.

he's not the one being  repeatedly  violated  by a demon lower than his rank,  now is he?

& oh,  akaza is  rough  tonight :    claws sunk deep into tender flesh,  a bruising grip leaving purple marks that heal far too quickly along a pale throat & the peaks of defined hips,  thrusts deep & hard enough to crack the bones of upper two's pelvis.     something  is  on  his  mind  that  has  tripped  his  already  hairpin  trigger,   & douma clearly takes advantage of it to sate his yawning,  yearning emptiness.

wicked fangs cut through the frozen lotus with the greatest of ease as destructive death  growls  out his pleasure.     the last thing on his mind is  getting  into  trouble  for overstepping his station,  committing the ultimate transgression of  consuming  part  of  the  faux—divine  —  no,  akaza's focus is on  inflicting  pain  &  humiliation,   the things that are his daily life when it comes to being beneath the white horse's thumb.

so he  eats.     the flesh is cold,  disgusting,   a pyrrhic victory as it slides down his throat,  the  closest  to  eating  what  his  body  cannot  stand  that  he'll  ever  come.     & a complaint from the holy one is silenced by inked fingers forcing their way into that frigid maw,  pressing down on his silver tongue in a threat that's doubled over on itself with the red horse's words :

"  shut  up  &  take  it.  "

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OOC.          quick  tag  drop.

[bellsplit]

&  THE  BELLSPLITTER  LAUGHS,   a faint & slightly eerie sound in its genuineness,  before rising on tip—toe to more comfortably bump their foreheads together again.     it's easy,  this sort of affection & comfort that they seem to offer one another ... all for nothing but the gentleness of this moment.

it's strange,  seeing himself in this new light.     akaza is a weapon of mass destruction,  the twelve kizuki's third most powerful member known for his wicked temper & penchant for  violence.     he's not kind.     he's not gentle.     he's not nurturing.     he's a wicked force of nature,  a man—eating oni with a bear trap for a maw!

& yet ...

"  then i'll keep rewarding you like this,  "     the kizuki replies as that smile grows across his pale face,  fangs now on full display yet—— there's not even a  hint  of a threat behind the motion.     "  you've been working hard these past few days,  catching some sort of meal for you hardly seems like fair payment for your efforts.  "

but beyond the warm grin & gentle way he brushes their noses together,  a dark cloud is looming over his mind just like the very physical ones that are covering the moon overhead as thunder rumbles in the distance.     these moments ... they won't last.     he knows it,  kyojuro knows it.     when the time comes they will fight one another again ... & he will be the flame pillar's end.

what then?

the thought causes a momentary pinch between his pink brows,  right hand briefly touching the scarred part of his face where his tattoos have darkened.     once he's done as he's been ordered & killed rengoku kyojuro ... what happens then?     go back to being fourth best to a clique of demons hellbent on dominating the human race?     the  lowest  on  the  totem  pole?     never able to surpass the demon directly above him,  let alone the one above  him?

killing kyojuro ... it doesn't continue his ascention :    it puts him right back at square one.

but akaza doesn't dwell on it long,  lest kyojuro detect any of his dark thoughts.     instead he cants his head & demures up at the taller man through his thick pink lashes,  suddenly aware of how  little  clothing  he wears compared to the demon slayer ...     he gives another laugh,  soft like distant bells & strangely beautiful in its inhumanness,  before akaza slowly drops his palms to the flame pillar's shoulders just to take in some of his warmth,  marveling at how much he can feel through his many layers.

"  yeah?  "     a hint of embarrassment,  shy & pink,  lights up the pale skin beneath the tattoos on his cheeks.     "  truth be told,  kyojuro,  i've ... only ever done this with  other  demons  before.     not a real kiss or anything ...  "     not  like  that.     "  so ... yeah,  consider the feeling  mutual.     you ... do things t' me.     make me act in ways i shouldn't.     make me do stupid shit like get caught in the sun.  "

A FLICKER OF HOPE. Was it so foolish to believe for a single moment, that there could be a world with humans and demons, could live side by side and come to terms with one another. Alas it was a dream, how many slayers have died for this. In trying to bridge that gap between them, only for the other side to merely turn around and strike down the other offering a hand in peace and friendship.

When would it be his turn - he was blessed to know his end. Akaza will kill him.

That was how it would end. He knew it, the demon would be the one to end his life once and for all, and he was not afraid of him, quite the opposite in truth. He was infatuated with him almost. Despite a second fight that was looming, time and effort was placed into all of this to get him to reach a suitable point. One of them had to die. It was the only way, to avoid both being killed and all of this, to be for naught. 

Yet such things that lay ahead, were not on his mind, he was thinking of the here and the now. He had trained hard, and been acknowledged. Oh, how long he had waited for those words, to come from someone he respected and viewed as a teacher and a friend. It meant so much to him, that words could not be enough to express his endless rushing feelings, with how light headed he was, he almost fainted right on the spot, to finally train under the supervision of someone, upon a whole other level than himself and be told, he was making progress.

A small movement.

Almost palming over his hips, trying to be careful now, one lacked clothing in certain areas and this was new ground for himself as well, a new venture into the unknown and he was not the type of person, who wished to make mistakes and undo all that he has done to reach this far, as he would settle his hands upon that white fabric he wore, carefully, not too hard, not too light, just merely resting there, to let him know he had him, that was it. Nothing sinister, nothing harmful, just – merely letting him know, he was holding him and that, everything was okay.

Small movements, following the other for the time being, kissing him, reacting to him as well, moving forward a little bit to almost step on his toes and not wanting to break away from him, as he was just, flowing naturally, as if Akaza needed the flame within him, that endless warmth and burning heat, and the only way to pass it from one to the other was for there lips to merely be together for as long as possible.

“Then tomorrow, I will work twice as hard as I did tonight!”

As he almost picked him up over his head to bench press him with how invigorated he felt! He felt pumped up, like someone had kicked several trees into his fire and just set it ablaze, that he could take on the demon king themselves and defeat them with how he was feeling right here, right now.

“As of right now, there is no shame in admitting this to you, but you were my first .. slightly foolish to admit, but you are my first in many things.”

[bellsplit]

FEW  THINGS  IN  LIFE  ARE  CERTAIN.     he doesn't have to look far back in his life to know this is true  —  not merely for humans,  but for  demons  too.     akaza's just realizing that his life up until now has always felt ... somewhat  boring,  a state of constant ascention minus the hiccups that are the two moons above him &——  this.

RENGOKU  KYOJURO.

a younger akaza certainly would not have acted so foolishly,  to intervene & meddle in the actions of the demon slayer corps on behalf of one man.     that alone is a testament to how much he's been affected by not only their battle & kyojuro's survival,  but by the time that they'd spent together after :    the nights of conversation,  of shared meals,  of foohardy promises & attempts to  bridge  the  gap  between  humanity  &  monsters.

not once had they ever discussed their respective organizations at length.     not once had there been valuable scraps of information exchanged.     not once had either betrayed anything that could have exposed weaknesses in either the demon slayer corps or kibutsuji's kizuki.     kyojuro's focus,  it had seemed,  had been entirely on  him  & the person that he was ... as was akaza's interest in the flame pillar himself.

it had felt ... natural.     just as rescuing him from an early grave had been that day had been :    natural.

hands alight on his hips & akaza feels it,  the gentle pressure of lips against his own.     he's never done this before,  so the crescent moon treads carefully here,  basking in the changes that this touch has started in him :    the fluttering of anxious wings in his gut,  the starstruck glimmering in his bicolored eyes,  the hint of color blooming beneath the dark stripes on his cheeks,  the alien slowness of his destructive touch as it moves up into thick blond hair.

they part after a moment,  just a moment,  & after pulling himself together the bellsplitter manages a half cheeky,  half shy little smile that barely flashes the tips of his sharp fangs.

"  ... consider that your  reward  for workin' so hard tonight,  kyojuro.     if you liked it,  that is.  "

IT WAS ALMOST LIKE BEFORE; When he was younger. If Akaza had seen him when he was little, he would have seen someone burning with passion and learning, through nothing more than trial and error. Sitting outside under a tree and reading, for house upon a time, the same pages over and over again, to memorise everything that had been recorded, from the first Rengoku who had the honour and privilege to train with the sun breather. It was nothing more than a struggle, every single day and he had merely forgotten what it was like, to start, all the way at the beginning once more, a fresh slate in every sense of the word, a chance to just, do it all over again, how many people could say that they had been knocked back so hard, but managed.

To get back up again and continue.

With each strike, there was some form of improvement. The pain lingered within him, a biting sting that attacked him, started within his chest and spreading. Yet he managed. He had no other choice. He only had to look at Akaza and know, the debt was paid. Akaza had taken much from him and in a way, he had taken what was owed. The damage lingered there, not done on purpose. He had done everything he could. To help him, oddly within the same wat that Akaza had tried to help him rebuild himself and try and reach back to what he once had, perhaps he could do it. Maybe there as a chance, to reach that height once more, claim what had been taken.

To reach out for even more than that.

Akaza had said it himself, he was merely one year away, from reaching that thin line that none had reached since the golden era, maybe the damage done, the defeat, the humbling he had to endure was needed, a new appreciation of life in a way and the value of it. How fragile it was, how easily it can end. Perhaps that was what has been missing. His injuries, where many, but they had all happened when he had first started, damage to his ear drums, pain within his arms and legs, wounds to his chest, but once he started to click it all together, it had all fallen into place and he had managed to do quite well, without anything happening to him.

Maybe in a way, this was fated to happen, maybe this was the final hurdle, you had to lose something to gain something greater. Maybe he could go further and reach the same level, as the first Rengoku who had ushered in flame breathing.

“Under your watchful gaze, it is odd, but comforting to have someone actually offer me aid.”

The slight bump of there heads together, resting and leaning into him, a shuffle of feet towards him, a hand on his shoulder, comforting, as his heart, was like the foot of a rabbit, thudding at an alarming rate, for which reason he was not sure, as he sensed no danger or linger presence that sought out to harm himself or – his partner – friend – Akaza? It was all coming to the head, and he did what he always did, every single choice in his life, every single action taken, word spoken, everything, he allowed his heart to guide him.

As he leaned forward and just, a slight pressing of his lips against his own.

Could you call it a stolen kiss, or merely a brush of lips against another’s, affectionate, caring, considerate, a fondness he felt – different from the connections he had with others, very, very different.

“I overstepped –”

Backtracking, almost ready to bow to him and ask for forgiveness for intruding, to become overly personal and take a step perhaps the other did not wish to take.

Foolish …

He had been foolish in his actions, as he tried to step back, denied. As the other came closer to them, to reach out almost and be within there reach, a hand on his wrist, but no pain, was Akaza even able to hold back his strength in such a manner, he was quickly finding out here and now. At the touch of their foreheads once more. Resting against one another, as his eye would settle, half open lazily so, a heat burning his cheeks, as he just stared into those eyes before him and slightly moved his head lightly, a slight touch, of there noses, as he felt –

“What ---”

A surprise, this time for himself, as the other poked himself up, his hands resting on his hips, having found there way there, all on their own, for a light kiss once more, this time – there was no hesitation or retreat, merely – a small push forward, as he kissed him back.

[bellsplit]

they'd  been  destined  to  meet  that  night.     surely that must be it!     how else can such a stroke of luck have occurred?     to have met not just someone who resonates with his warrior's soul,  but someone who is  so  very  human  &  fragile  yet  so  strong  himself ... such things don't happen merely by  chance!     part of the third moon wonders what life would have been like if he hadn't managed to meet this impossible being,  if he hadn't been as  persistent  in coming to see him every night while he had healed ...

if kyojuro had never,  in turn,  tried to get to know  him.

he often thinks about what he'd seen at the rengoku estate during his partner's convalescence :    of the younger rengoku,  senjuro  according to kyojuro & only discovered later in their friendship,  constantly watching over his unconscious brother.     of their former pillar father & his violent temper,  a means to express his grief ... & how akaza had initially found it to be  weak.     of the many visitors coming & going that he could hear during the daylight hours from where he'd managed to find some shady hole for himself to hide from the sunlight in,  demon slayers & concerned villagers alike ...

kyojuro,  he'd discovered,  is a very beloved person.     his family is very influential,  very important to their community,  invaluable to the demon slayer corps as one of the longest uninterrupted lines of breath users in the country.     to have that object of widespread affection & care resting so comfortably on his chest,  breathing him in,  feeling the warmth of his skin & hearing the sweetness of his words ... to think that it would be  an  oni  receiving such things ...

it's impossibly beautiful,  even if the bellsplitter's pink brows furrow slightly at the mention of  mistakes.     a shift to break the kiss & lean their heads against one another reminds him that his skin is still slightly discolored & a bit  tender  from where the sunlight had struck him all those months ago,  a lingering reminder of his own follies.     kyojuro certainly can't have done anything as foolish as that.

"  hush,  kyojuro.  "     a chuckle,  quiet & gentle,  pressed right against his lover's ear.     "  i don't care what your lofty morals tell you about your shortcomings :    i'm  tellin' you that you're perfect,  perfect  for  me.     got it?  "

he accentuates his statement with a gentle squeeze as both arms wind oh—so—tightly around his partner,  his lips & fangs just barely grazing the pillar's ear in a silent reminder that he's here,  he's real,  he's  still  an  oni  &  therefor  still  dangerous ... even if such horrors will never again be unleashed upon his lover's body.

not,  at least,  without his requesting.

but oh,  how  hungry  he is.     akaza can't help himself,  dipping his head just enough to ghost the points of his fangs over kyojuro's pulse as his hands return to their wandering,  blazing a trail down,  down,  down ... until one is resting innocuously atop the swell of his ass,  the other bracing itself innocently between his shoulder blades as he mouths at a lingering bruise from last night's ... activities.

"  kyojuro ...  "

Everything happens for a reason.

That was what he believed with all of his heart. Everything comes to pass for one reason or another. Maybe, at times things hurt, maybe at other times they don’t, but that was life in a nutshell in truth. You take the good and you take the bad and you do what you can to try and be happy, it is not always going to work for you, you are going to struggle - so much, but as long as you have people around you, good people, kind people, those who truly care for you, everything – everything will work out in the end.

— that’s why no matter how many times Akaza stumbles and falls.

He will be right there to pick him back up and help him.

— that night is burned into his mind.

He knew the risks of going on his own, of fighting the slasher and stopping it at every single point to stop killing innocents, to then find the lower moon demon and be trapped within a dream. For someone to get so close to his core and see, the golden aura around it, the cracks on the glass, the swimming ocean blue within it for his sorrow. For all that he has done in his life, it has been, a very long time since he has been happy, a very long time since he has felt true joy, only around his youthful sibling did he feel, like his true self, and even then, they were so far apart from one another that it faded the further he was away.

— he was happy now, if that demon was still alive, it would be blinded by the bright light.

He slowly breathed out, his body tingled and he felt, so impossible relaxed as well, with what he felt like, that someone has uplifted all the stress and worry from him and burned it away. That his lover had treated him as if he was the most precious thing in the world and not once harmed him, forced himself on him, did anything that would leave wounds and injury, it had been soft, gentle, it was something that that you could only give to a single soul once in your life, and he believed truly it was something you only gave to the person you loved the most and wished to spend the rest of your life with.

— your first time.

The small shift from the other, and a kiss that was quickly welcomed. Light for the moment, exploring almost, as the sensation was still new and exciting, as he doubted that would ever burn away, that it was something that would remain forever. It was slow and paced at such a speed, more about the feeling, the lingering touch of there lips against one another, as he was hungry as well, but for the purity of him, the gentle side, the person that was there under all of this, the being he has come to respect and come to love.

— someone pure of heart, like himself.

The feeling of the other, running his hands down, to feel the scars that littered every single corner of his body, and not once was he shamed or displeased with them. They were like – tattoos to him, his own. Stories of his life, actions taken, moments that shaped, each one helping him to become stronger, become better, to become someone that could stand against oni and not be afraid. Each one lives saved, he would carry the weight of the world on his back, and he has for so long on his own.

— for the first time someone was willing to uplight some of it from him.

“You flatter me with your kindness, but I have made mistakes –” As he whispered back, another small kiss, just comfortably resting against him and holding him as he merely opened, parting his lips slowly to allow him to come back home. “This isn’t one of them, I don’t regret anything.”

[bellsplit]

he  can't  seem  to  stop  smiling.     it's soft,  gentle,  saccharine in a way that he's never displayed before.     are oni even able to offer such things?     to feel the warmth that's stirred his dead man's heart into beating again?     or is it simply because of the amazing person that's gracing him with these kind words,  touching him so reverently,  being so  open  with him in spite of everything that's transpired between them?

kyojuro might believe the debt to be settled,  but ... akaza doesn't think it will ever come to be.

tumultuous.     that's a good word to describe their meeting,  the standard snatch—&—slash of demons & humans colliding in battle.    he can still remember it so vividly that his pulse starts to race :    the heat of kyojuro's flames,  the sting of his sword,  the weight of his gaze ... the thrill of a decent battle for the first time in  years.     akaza is not deployed without just cause,  & that night had been no exception,  tasked with the elimination of the boy with the hanafuda earrings ... only to be intercepted by kyojuro's burning resistence.

kyojuro had stopped him,  redirected him with such  ease.     but what he'd really done in that moment is  piqued  akaza's  interest,   which had proven to be a hazard to the pillar's health ... but in the end had led to  this.

"  kyojuro.  "

the oni shifts a little,  angling his head to more openly kiss his partner.     he's careful with his fangs,  moving his mouth more slowly than anything & leading to a more  sensual  kiss than anything else,  lacking the  hunger  that he'd been expecting to bleed through ... because he is  always  hungry.     not merely for kyojuro's blood,  for his flesh,  for his  soul :    but for his kindness,  his warmth,  his passion,  for  everything  that  he  is.

demons are naturally covetous,  greedy things.

"  kyojuro ...  "

the hand on his partner's back slides down,  down,  fingers carefully mapping out the myriad of scars on the slayer's skin.     it's a  marvel  to him,  the notion of scars,  of carrying marks from battle to prove one's strength outwardly to the world ;    part of him almost wishes that  he  could have some of his own.     yet oni are  infallible,   their bodies untouchable by age or damage ... even by near fatal wounds like what kyojuro had dealt him by nearly  cutting  off  his  head.     so all that he has to display his strength,  his  victories,   is the web of tattoos darkening his skin.

& perhaps the prize of a pillar in his bed,  but ... maybe that's because of something else entirely,  just like kyojuro had said.

"  everything you've just described ... that's  you,   kyojuro,  not me ...  "     the oni whispers in between kisses & mindless presses of tongue between lips that are far too warm.     "  you're ... just about perfect,  aren't you ...?  "

— he always follows the first thing he had been taught by the strongest person he had ever known.

‘Follow your heart Kyojuro, it will never fail you.’

It was the first teaching entrusted to him, taken from the strongest being who had ever walked this land. Who found strength to bring two beings into the world, to fight to remain long enough to ensure they were raised, protected, taught and above all – loved. Leaving enough memories of her, to ensure that her spirit would continue on through them, and there was not a single day in his life that passed by that he was not thankful, that he felt truly blessed to have the right to be called her son and child. To have seen what true strength was and to be able to replicate it, he hoped he had.

He truly hoped he had made her proud.

That his choices always come from the one place that has never failed him.

“That is life Akaza, we get hurt, we recover, we learn and we push ahead.”

Even now, he was fighting so hard for him, just in a different way, this beautiful, beautiful being that had cared so greatly for him and treated him as if he was the most precious thing within the entire land. He owed him so much. That if there was a debt between them, it had been long paid and removed from them both, as not once - did he ever blame him, hold resentment or even allowed hatred to so much as crawl anywhere near his heart. The actions of the past, had long been forgotten, the actions of last night lingered and still tickled his skin, with light reminders of their passion for one another and their final collison to take the next step.

Together.

The small movement, of his face into that palm, where others would fear what that single hand could do, with fingers curl inwards and it lashes out at those around, he finds refuge within it for the time being, using his other hand to come up and rest lightly against it and ensure he did not retreat back, a notice of how much warmer it has become over these travels they have been on with one another.

“--- that is my promise, the same as I made so long ago Akaza, you are worth fighting for.”

It was not something, they had taken lightly nor was it something taken for granted. He hoped the other understood this, he hoped they understood what this meant. He had chosen him. His heart would beat for him, his actions would be for him, his words going forth would be for him as well and his life, was for him as well. He knew it would be a short one, but such was the life of those caught within this eternal war, no one ever got to walk away from it, and have anything that resembled normality. 

It would burn brightly, it would be a raging bonfire that the entire land could see, the heat from the flames would keep all others away, for a time, but like all fires, it would fade and then die out, no sooner than it had started.

Light and small movements, as he would bump his head against their own for the moment, to just settle it there for the flickering of a mere second as his eye closed on instinct alone, in all of these years, he had never been able to truly rest, never once since he started his journey, was he able to sleep without being scared of what lingered within the darkness, but with him, he felt like, they could both burn it away as he shifted and moved, resting over him as lightly as he was able to and keeping his lips close

“You are .. remarkable .. you burn so brightly and still cannot see it yourself Akaza .. your soul is so warm .. your heart is so large .. it is not your strength that I love .. it is you Akaza .. I love you.”