Dark Walker - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kanon dragged Yuugo by his wings. "This is total darkness.” He pointed to the huge hole that was in front of them. It was a crater several kilometers wide, and when he looked down into it, all he could see was an abyss of darkness. He tossed a rock into it, and it fell silently, not hitting anything on the way down. This meant there was probably no chance of being able to catch or hold onto anything if one fell down there.

It was as if time had stopped, but Yuugo’s body automatically turned towards the depths of the darkness as if it was calling to him.

“Whether you're a demon or a human...if you fall in there, your existence becomes nothingness.” Kanon gazed at the deep darkness. It was said that in the lowest layer of the earth, everything returned to nothingness. He did not know waited at the depths. No one had ever returned from them before. “This was fun,” Kanon said with an amused look on his face.

The shoulder of his leather jacket had been ripped open, and his black demon blood flowed from his torn white skin. It mixed with Yuugo’s blood, and Kanon's whole body was stained red and black.

Even if he tried to capture him, he knew Yuugo was too strong. Kanon didn't show his pain on his face, but his heart was thumping inside. If Kanon hadn't struck first, he would have been the one who died. A cruel smile spread on his beautiful face. Even if demons' bodies were chopped up in this world, the pieces of them could gather together and be reborn. And those with souls and lives were even more troublesome; even if they lost their bodies, they could be reincarnated into a different one.

Kanon put a foot on Yuugo's back, grabbed a wing and tore it off. He cut it up so it couldn’t come back, and then dropped it into the dark void. He would never let this man get in his way again...

“Stop it!” Tomoki screamed as loudly as he could. He was cursed by Shiki, but he tried to lift his heavy arms. As soon as he resisted, Tomoki's power would collide with Shiki’s and intense green sparks would fly. The pain felt like he was being shot multiple times, and he clenched his teeth. He didn't have the energy to fight back against Shiki anymore. He bit his lip until he drew blood, and thrust his fists out towards Kanon. “Get away from Yuugo!” With all his might, he concentrated his energy and two spiral flashes of light exploded from his fingertips.

"Tomoki...” Shiki opened his eyes wide at the curse his brother had shot at Kanon, which wound around his body like a snake. But Tomoki was still under Shiki's curse. In order to stop Kanon from pushing Yuugo's body into the abyss, he had concentrated all of his strength towards him. But Tomoki’s power still wasn’t strong enough to completely seal Kanon.

"Shiki, take care of that brat!" Kanon cried angrily as he was bound by invisible chains. "It’s an order. Kill him! And I’ll bring you two together as one!”

“Yes...”

"Oniisan...Stop! Tomoki pleaded desperately, as Shiki took a step forward. “Please...just save Yuugo,” he begged. Since he was using all his energy to curse Kanon, Tomoki could not protect himself. “He’s...really important to me,” he said in a choked voice.

Shiki looked at Tomoki, who did not plead for his own    life. He saw the reflection of his smiling face in his brother’s tear-filled eyes. “Tomoki. take care of Mom and Dad." Shiki whispered gently as he touched his brother’s cheek.

"What are you doing, Shiki?" Kanon roared like a beast as Shiki cursed him.

“Please forgive me. Master Kanon.” Shiki whispered as he looked at Kanon with tears in his eyes. He stretched out his arms and hugged his master.

“Oniisan!" Tomoki screamed. Taking Kanon with him, Shiki’s body disappeared into the crater.

Kanon struggled to break free of the curse.

As they fell into the dark void, Shiki whispered. "I'm sorry, as he stared into Kanon’s blue eyes.

"You're my slave." Kanon roared as he held onto Shiki. "Don't ever disobey me!" His cruel voice was filled with hatred. Shiki’s hands were bound behind him, and he was pinned face-down on the bed. Shiki felt faint from the intense pain of Kanon s hard rod plunging into him. He screamed repeatedly.

Kanon ravaged Shiki s body like a starving beast. He pinned him down with his strong body and pounded him over and over again.

This is how I’m going to die...Shiki thought as he pressed his face against the sheets. His trembling knees were spread apart, and Kanon grabbed his erection with his hands. His sharp nails dug into Shiki’s head, and he wanted to scream. The room was filled with Shiki's cries and Kanon's rough, beast-like panting.

He slipped out of consciousness over and over again, but would wake up again from the pain, screaming. His nightmare wouldn't go away. Every time he opened his eyes, he found himself in the same room.

Shiki was remembering the first time Kanon raped him. He could not forget the pain and fear he felt that day. In that irrational and hopeless situation. Kanon was just a terrible, cruel demon. Shiki was so afraid he couldn’t feel any hatred.

"Shiki... " He heard Kanon calling his name. Shiki felt sharp teeth in his back and shoulders, and knew Kanon was sucking his blood. He was probably going to eat him because of his demon instincts. The bed sheets were stained with Shiki s blood. Even though Shiki was being raped, Kanon was yelling at him for lossing consciousness. He was torturing Shiki in every way he knew how.

The only reason Shiki could bear it was because he had heard Kanon speaking his true feelings once.

"You belong to me. " Shiki was bleeding and close to death, and Kanon held his trembling hands. "You're my slave, ” he held Shiki s injured body like it was something precious. "Don "t die..."

Shiki felt an unbearable sadness inside when he heard Kanon's voice. "Master Kanon... " I’ll always be yours...

He felt Kanon s kisses on his cheek, and they were gentle--like a lover's. A tear rolled down Shiki's cheek.

"Shiki..."

Shiki slightly opened his eyes. Kanon s light blue eyes were staring only at him. His lips were slightly open. He looked like he was about to cry. Maybe that was the only human part of him that remained. Shana had created him for her amusement and called him a lamp of mud. He had such a perfect, beautiful body, yet he despised anyone who was born with a "life” and "flesh." His intense yearning for those things had turned into hatred.

"Master Kanon..."

At that moment. Kanon stretched out his arms and buried his face in Shiki s chest. And, at that. Shiki had forgiven him. Just that once, he could not hate his cruel master. He was overwhelmed with affection for that sad demon.

The Underworld waited for them in the darkness where all bodies and souls became nothingness. It was very far from the real world Above Ground, where the sun shined. Tears poured from Shiki’s eyes. “You never knew..." he whispered, as if confessing a sin he had hidden all his life. “I loved you...” He touched Kanon's lips with his own for the first time, weeping. "I’m so sorry. Master Kanon...”

“Who gave you permission...to do that...” Kanon said painfully to Shiki. who had collapsed in tears onto his chest. “You're my slave.”

He held Shiki tightly in his arms. The curse had been broken. My...Shiki... Shiki felt Kanon's gentle voice reverberate in his chest, and, in their last moment, he answered in a tearful voice, “Yes, Master." In his arms, Shiki was finally able to smile happily...

“Oniisan!" Tomoki’s tears continued to flow as he held the unconscious Yuugo against his chest. He had just fell his brother’s consciousness flow into him. Waves of emotion flooded over him. and fragments of memories filled Tomoki, making him tremble. Shiki had told Kanon the feelings he had hidden for so long. Right before their deaths, their hearts had connected, and Shiki had been truly happy. His pain and sadness had been washed away, and he had been able to smile peacefully. That’s how much he had loved that demon.

“Why?!” Tomoki cried for his brother, who had vanished. “He was such a cruel demon!" Kanon had tried to kill Yuugo, and had kept Shiki as a slave. He was responsible for an unfathomable massacre Above Ground; he was a demon that should be hated! "Why would you love someone like that?" He covered his face with both hands and cried. But no matter how angry he was, he knew how his brother had felt. No matter how much Tomoki hated Kanon, he knew that Shiki loved him.

“Tomoki...” Yuugo slowly opened his eyes as he lay in Tomoki's lap.

“Yuugo!” Tomoki quickly grabbed Yuugo’s outstretched hand.

"You got away safely...I’m so glad you're safe, Tomoki...” Yuugo whispered as he tried to endure the pain, on the verge of death. Tomoki held him in his arms and sobbed loudly, like a child.

It was the end of August, and they were in Yuugo's condo.

“I look pretty good in human form!" A black-haired man said as he admired himself in the bathroom mirror. When he smiled, small wrinkles formed around his eyes. He was very handsome. His age was uncertain; he could pass for twenty or even thirty. He was a bit shorter than Yuugo, but he was very muscular. "Lord Tomoki is going to fall for me!”

Tomoki was startled when someone called his name from the bathroom. “Is that you, Kurou?"

“Don't turn into a human!” Yuugo yelled and kicked Kurou violently from behind. Kurou transformed back into a crow and tumbled to the floor.

“Yuugo, you bastard! You are just afraid Lord Tomoki will fall in love with me!" Kurou righted himself and yelled at Yuugo, pointing one wing at him.

“Of course I'm not!”

"Yuugo!" Jade called in a cute voice as she came from the other room. She tugged on the hem of his shirt. "Buy me some pretty clothes!” She had beautiful blonde hair, white skin, and green eyes, but the little girl who appeared to be about six years old was wearing one of Yuugo’s t-shirts. She still had cat ears, a tail, and even whiskers.

“Don't waste your energy transforming into a human, either!”

“Don't be rude to girls!” Jade said angrily, and her golden fur appeared again. Apparently, she really wanted to be a high school girl—but at this point, neither she nor Kurou were ready to appear in front of others. Since Tomoki the Barrier Master was nearby, they often came to visit Yuugo.

“I bought cake, want some?”

“Tomoki, don't spoil the monsters!”

“Yuugo, you're so narrow-minded!”

“Tomoki's nice, so even when I become a hot high school girl, I won’t hit on Yuugo!”

“I don’t want you to...” Yuugo replied. “Hurry up and go home to the Depths of Dreams.”

“Now, now, Yuugo. Just think of us as pets. Just let us play a little!”

“I've never heard of such noisy pets!”

“I’m a little worried...Yuugo is getting meaner by the day!” Jade gave a motherly sigh as she licked the cake.

“It’s your fault!”

"If you wanna be alone with Tomoki, why don't you just go into the bedroom?”

“Yeah, stay in there all night if you want. I want to watch TV. I want to watch that sexy girl with the big boobs!" Kurou said. He clumsily opened the newspaper with a wing. “Television is amazing!"

“Mmm, this cake is good!”

After he locked the door, Yuugo brushed his hair out of his face. He was lucky they had brought the bed into the biggest room. Even though he wanted to be alone with Tomoki, every time he came over those monsters would always end up coming, too. And because they spent so much time watching television, they had even more to chatter noisily about.

“You can make them go back to the Depths of Dreams, right?”

“Yeah, but they’re having so much fun. Let's just leave them alone.” Tomoki smiled.

Yuugo sat down on the bed next to him, and his mood immediately improved when he saw Tomoki's smiling face. Even when the noisy monsters were around, Tomoki could forget about everything else.

“I’m so glad your wounds healed and you were able to come back here.”

“Me, too.” Yuugo put his arm around Tomoki's shoulders, and pressed his cheek against Tomoki's soft brown hair. Yuugo had just been able to come home the other day He hadn’t been able to move tor about a month, and had recuperated in the Depths of Dreams. Tomoki had come to visit him every day, and he had heard the whole story about Kanon and Shiki from him.

Tomoki’s sadness and pain didn’t seem to be easing. Yuugo was sure he would never forget it. When they heard about the victims of the massacre on the news. Tomoki was heartbroken about it. Yuugo told him. "You and Shiki were both victims of the demon, too.” He didn’t want Tomoki to feel responsible for anything that happened. “It’s not our fault that we were bom with these powers. Shiki wasn’t the kind of person who got enjoyment from killing people, right?”

Tomoki had nodded his head in response. “It's not...Oniisan's fault!” He hadn't wanted to kill anyone. He was raised to obey Kanon’s orders. Tomoki thought his brother had cursed the demon and jumped into the crater because he wanted to save Tomoki, his younger brother. And he wanted to end the pain of that demon, Kanon...

“Shiki protected this world," Yuugo had whispered as he combed his fingers through Tomoki's hair. He hadn ’t met Shiki, himself, but Yuugo knew he probably resembled Tomoki a lot, both in appearance and in spirit. And he had saved Yuugo’s precious Tomoki...He wanted to sincerely thank Shiki for that.

“I’ll always remember my brother..." Tomoki had whispered. White flower petals floated down from the pale pearl-colored sky above them. He didn’t want to think that his brother had disappeared. “I hope he’s in a place as peaceful as this ...”

“Me. too..." Yuugo answered as he ¡jazed up at the sky. Tomoki was painfully beautiful as he cried silently. Yuugo wanted to hold him. At the same time, he wanted to be held by him.

“I love you, Yuugo.” Tomoki whispered, burying his face in Yuugo's chest. They only show ed this kind of sweetness and affection to each other.

"I love you. too.” Yuugo smiled gently. “I love you, Tomoki.” He leaned over and gazed into Tomoki's eyes.

Even though Tomoki was used to it by now, that smile still made him blush. “I better not catch you smiling like that at anyone else!” He said firmly, his cheeks red. Yuugo tilted his head. "I'm really jealous and I want you all to myself, so you better be careful!” Tomoki continued and pointed a finger at him. Yuugo blinked his eyes in surprise.

“Ha ha ha...You’re so cute. Tomoki.” Yuugo whispered in Tomoki’s ear and hugged him tightly to his chest.

“And you better not whisper like that to anyone else, either!”

“I won’t.”

“And you better not do this with anyone else, either...”

"I know.”

Tomoki pushed his lover down on the bed and kissed him.