Rasetsukoku

Rasetsukoku

The smell of blood wafted through the air and across my face as I made my way through the ransacked village. Dead peasants littered the streets. Some lay face down in the open while others hung out of broken windows or on the floors of their homes.

As I walked I passed a demon named Moujuu snacking on a dead woman’s arm, blood covering his face. He winked and pointed at the woman’s corpse. Her features had been so shredded all that was left was a crimson black hole.

“Akuma! Akuma!” I heard someone call my name. I turned around to find the person, my chin length white hair blurring my vision. A figure ran up to me and brushed my hair out of my eyes. The voice belonged to the demon Kappa. He had gray skin, long deep purple hair, and lighter purple eyes; many gold hoops adorned his long pointed ears. “Welcome to the party!” he announced. I surveyed the damage again and nodded. The joyful sparkle left Kappa’s eyes and he stared at me. “Something wrong boss?” he asked.

“No. You all followed my directions perfectly,” I said with out any feeling. Kappa’s face took on a worried look and I could see that the rest of my demon gang was gathering at the commotion. “Continue having a good time,” I told them. With that I turned and started walking away. The other demons disregarded my behavior and went back to feasting, but Kappa knew better.

“What are you hiding Akuma?” he asked when we were out of the earshot of the other demons. I kept my back to him, not bothering to answer. I heard him come up behind me and felt him forcefully turn my body around. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“Nothing that concerns a lower demon like you!” I snapped back. I could see Kappa grind his teeth. “That’s a bad habit,” I told him.

“You don’t have to be so cold all the time,” he said through clenched jaws.

“I’m a fucking demon. Of course I’m going to be cold all the time,” I explained.

“Asshole,” he whispered. “Stop lying.” I didn’t respond and turned away from him. I started to walk away and Kappa bared his fangs. “Don’t walk away from me,” he growled. Before I could retort I felt a stabbing pain in my stomach. Black ooze leaked out from under my clothes as I fell to the ground. Kappa ran up to me, the anger gone. I started to sweat as he tried to lift my body.

“What’s going on Akuma?” he exclaimed. My breathing was heavy and uneven, leaving me unable to speak. My eyes were blurred but I could see the intense worry in Kappa’s face. He desperately tried to rip my shirt off but stopped when he saw the ooze. “What the hell,” he whispered. He tried to lift my shirt again but I hit his hand away.

“Don’t touch me,” I grunted. Kappa didn’t know what to do so he laid me back down on the ground. The ooze stopped and I started to breath normally again. I sat up and looked at Kappa. His purple eyes had lost their shine and had taken on a waxy quality.

“You saw nothing,” I growled. Kappa tried to say something but I ran off before he could get out the first syllable.

Running through the brush I tried not to think about the confused demon I had left behind. I could deal with Kappa later but right now I had to hide “it” from the rest of them. I could hear Kappa coming after me so I had to change quickly. I pulled off my white sash and shirt and saw the stained bandages. I ripped them from my stomach and took new ones from my bag. I rewrapped the oozing wounds and pulled off my soiled pants. I put on new pants, a new shirt, and a new jacket and quickly pulled back on my boots.

Just as I stood up Kappa came bursting through the brush. He was sweating and breathing hard from running after me. The determined look in his eye let me know he wouldn’t let me slide.

“What the fuck was that?” he demanded.

“Do you really have to use such crude language?” I asked.

“Answer my goddamn question!” Kappa roared.

“I don’t have to answer anything!” I yelled back. I could tell I was testing Kappa’s patience.

“What are they?” he asked.

“You don’t want to know,” I answered.

“What do they look like?” I felt bad for Kappa. I knew he must be very confused. I decided to show him. I took off my jacket and shirt while Kappa eyed the bandages. I removed one of them to reveal a deep, black wound. It looked like an endless tunnel in my skin. Kappa eyes grew wide and he lifted his own shirt. An identical black wound was prominent against his gray skin.

“What are they?” he asked again.

“Yours hasn’t bled yet?” I asked. He shook his head. I motioned him towards me and asked, “Where does it start?” Kappa dropped his pants to reveal that the wound started at his hip and went to his mid stomach area. I took out more bandages and began to dress the cut.

“What are they?” Kappa asked for a third time.

“They’re called ‘Black Death’,” I explained. Kappa froze. “They only kill humans,” I assured him. I felt his body relax.

“What do they do to us?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I confessed. Kappa still looked worried and wrapped his arms around himself. I felt sorry for him; Kappa was still much younger than I was. He hadn’t experienced as much as I had and now this awful disease cursed him. I heard sobs coming from him, which struck me as odd. Kappa didn’t seem like a crier. To make him feel better I wrapped my arms around him, drawing him to my chest. I felt him shudder against me and try to hide his face in my jacket.

“It’s Okay. You won’t die,” I whispered.

“I know, but I don’t understand why you hid this from me,” Kappa exclaimed.

“I don’t have to tell you everything. That part of our relationship was over a long time ago.” Kappa looked down at the ground, obvious hurt shining in his face.

“Why don’t you love me anymore?” he asked.

“I already told you, a demon lord can not love a cohort. If a relationship is found then the cohort is killed and the lord is dishonored,” I explained.

“I don’t care! I don’t fear death!” Kappa yelled. I wrapped my arms around him tighter to restrain him. He pounded my chest and started to cry harder in frustration. “You were the first being I ever loved,” he whispered.

“What about your guardians?” I asked.

“I didn’t have guardians. They wanted a fire demon, not a water one, so they threw me out to die,” Kappa explained. Kappa had come to me at the tender age of ten asking to be a part of my demon gang. I was still a teenager myself but had already finished my aging process. He had been dressed in rags and covered in dirt so I had felt sorry for him. He lived with me for five years, and at fifteen he joined the gang. Our “relationship” had started when he was sixteen and I was twenty-one. He had gotten into trouble and was brought to me.
“What did you do?” I asked. Kappa’s eyes had a mean fire in them that hadn’t been there when he was ten.

“I don’t have to tell you,” he growled.

“Actually you do,” I replied stiffly. Kappa sighed.

“I got into a fight with another demon,” he finally said.

“That’s the third time this month!” I exclaimed. Kappa looked away from me. “This needs to stop!”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” he warned.

“Of course I can, I’m your leader,” I replied. I could see the anger rising in his face and I knew what was coming but I couldn’t help it. “If you want to hit me then go ahead,” I challenged. I suddenly felt a fist connect with my face and I stumbled a little. Kappa looked triumphant as blood trickled from my lower lip. His glee didn’t last, though, as I sent as elbow into his stomach, successfully knocking the air out of him. He held his midsection as he gasped. Kappa slowly sank to his knees.

“Don’t play with me kid,” I spat at him. He slowly stood up and faced me. He eyed the blood that was still coming from my lip. He parted his lips and touched the blood with his pink tongue. He gently licked it away and whispered, “I’m sorry.” He then moved his lips to mine and softly kissed me. I slowly melted into the kiss and it gradually became hotter. Kappa’s tongue found mine and they started to fight for dominance. The kiss ended and he hesitantly put his arm around me.
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“Why can’t we be like we used to?” Kappa asked.

“I don’t want to endanger your life,” I answered.

“I don’t care about my life!” Kappa yelled.

“Yeah, well I do,” I shot back. “Anyway, we should be getting back to the village.” Kappa nodded and we started back.
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When we returned to the village the atmosphere was tense. My demon gang was facing another, their leader addressing them.

“Where is your leader? The one you call master, the one you give your souls to?” he asked.

“I’m right here,” I announced. He looked at me and laughed. He was much older than I was and less absurdly colored. His skin was tanned, his hair and eyes were brown, and he had a thick beard.
“Nice try kid. Where is your real leader?” he scoffed.

I smiled at him and said, “I already told you.” The other demon lord was starting to loose his patience and stalked up to me. I sent Kappa to stand with the other demons and faced him.

“Are you trying to tell me a mere child runs this gang?” he spat.

“I am not a child. I am twenty-nine years old. Do not talk to me like I am ten,” I answered. I narrowed my ice blue eyes at him. He took in my deathly pale skin and white hair and smirked.

“Speak, who are you?” he asked.

“I am Akuma. Answer,” I replied.

“I am Ashimi. I have come to challenge you, Akuma,” he sneered. A whisper passed through the demons. “One on one, fight to the death. Winner takes all,” he continued. Please, don’t accept Kappa thought. I looked at my demons and saw their frightened faces. Ashimi was confident but so was I.

“ I accept,” I answered. A visible shudder passed through the crowd. Ashimi laughed bitterly and removed his sword from his belt. I removed my own and stood ready. He wasted no time and came right at me. I blocked his blow with my sword and struck him with my fist. It connected with his jaw and he fell to the ground. “Am I still a mere child?” I spat at him. He looked up at me and I could see newly discovered respect in his eyes. He sent a kick to my legs but I jumped over them.

“Hey, let me go!” I turned and saw three demons restraining a very angry Kappa. Ashimi took this advantage to turn me back around and elbow me in the chin. The force of the blow sent me to the ground. Ashimi stood over me as I rubbed my chin.

“You were a weak opponent,” Ashimi said, raising his sword. I saw my demon’s eyes widening at the sight. He brought the sword down and I blocked it with my arm. Blood started to leak through my shirtsleeve but I didn’t care, I had to win. Ashimi cried out as my sword connected with his leg. He stumbled and fell while I quickly got to my feet. I looked down at him and smiled.

“No, you were the weak one,” I answered and then delivered my last blow. In one strong strike Ashimi’s head rolled away from his body. I took a deep breath and turned to face the gangs. They all looked amazingly happy.
I faced them and could see the relief in the faces of my gang. “Welcome all new demons. I am your new leader Akuma,” I announced. Ashimi’s gang didn’t look too upset, in fact, some were smiling. “Everyone, back to camp!” I shouted. The group then started back to the camp we had set up before attacking the village.
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Back in my quarters, I carefully removed my jacket and shirt. The wound was not bad but it would still take a while to heal. Kappa watched me as I cleaned and dressed it.

“I thought you were a goner,” he whispered.

“Well I wasn’t,” I answered. He came over to me and sat down. I felt him place a hesitant arm around me. I closed my eyes and softly leaned on him.

“You’re tired,” he noted. I nodded. “You should rest.”

“I can’t. The day isn’t over yet,” I stated.

“Please Akuma,” he pleaded. My body didn’t feel like running anymore so I complied. I removed my partially soiled pants, a small blush forming on my face. Kappa studied my partially clad body but didn’t say anything. I pushed myself up to my pillow and leaned my body against it.

“I guess I’ll leave you now,” he whispered.

“No, please stay,” I begged. Kappa turned and looked at me. He eyed my body once again and I wasn’t sure if he was going to jump me or not.

“No, I better not,” he sighed. I pouted and held my arms out in an expectant hug.

“Please?” I whispered. Kappa bit his lip as he tried to decide. He was trying to respect my wishes and that I appreciated. I sat up behind him and snaked my arms around his midsection. “You passed the test,” I mused. I felt him shudder and placed a soft kiss on his shoulder. “Now will you stay?” He nodded and I pulled him back to the pillows with me. Before he laid down he stripped off his shirt and pants. I laid him down onto the silky pillowcase and gently sucked on his collarbone. Kappa let out a soft moan, which made me smile. My wandering mouth left his throat and found its way to his chest. I had missed him.

The End?