Chapter Text
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍
★──────★──────★
𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐲
The feeling of her heart nearly beating out of her chest was all she felt as the hole's darkness took her in. One would call her brave to jump in such an unpredictable gape where absolutely nothing could be distinguished, especially in a temple that has been abandoned for years where many people were killed, but she was left with no choice. She would never make it if she tried to jump across, and if she were to die, she'd much rather go out by falling to her death rather than having her body torn to shreds and mauled. Her body would probably be mauled anyways, but to feel teeth sinking into her skin and bones before she dies doesn’t sound pleasant.
She really thought it was going to be the end. How cruel it would be if she'd only get to live one year of peace through out her short life. One year while her past years were thrown down the drain by shitty parents and shitty friends. It was truly unfair. She'll never get to say goodbye to her best friend.
Although, the fear of death basically bounced out of her as soon as she felt her feet impact against a floor not long after jumping into the hole. She anticipated it to be a far drop, so the floor cutting so close made her nearly stumble over, muddled.
"What—?" she inquires in her mind as she tilts her head up, looking up at the top of the hole as she was now within it. From the floor, it was about seven foot drop, and Charli expected it to be more like a thirty foot drop to her death.
"Are you fucking joking? All that panic about jumping over earlier and this crap's, like, six feet deep? And what the hell was that loud crash?"
The stomps of Kamono draw more closer, and Charli's panic immediately returns. She gasps inaudibly, her view now focused on her surroundings— that she couldn't see. She holds out her hands, attempting to feel her way through the mysterious area underneath the flooring. It didn't take long for her hands to graze along against something that felt metal with a ridged like touch. Her hands feel around it, tracing along its edges, realizing it was in the shape of a square.
"A vent?" she thought, "what's a vent doing underneath the floor here?"
Her hands trail along to the bottom of the vent louver, her fingers squeezing between its openings. When grabbing a firm hold, she pulls up, making it open. Her eyes peer into its darkness as she holds up the small louver, not seeing anything but the air vent's square outline. It was quite the tight space, but right at that moment, Charli didn't care.
She nearly jumped out her skin as soon as Kamono leaps down into gap, landing crouched. His eyes were shut as he stood there idle, and it wasn't long until they opened, and their green glow nearly brightened up the hole's gloom. Charli didn't waste any time; she quickly scampers into the vent, feeling it tight around her shoulders. She had a deep feeling within her that she was going to get stuck because the space was undoubtedly tight and small, she could just barely fit.
As she quickly crawled in, Kamono dashes for her leg, his grim hand firmly grasping her ankle, beginning to pull her out.
"No!" Charli screams. "Fuck off!"
With her other leg, she kicks him in his face as hard as she could. Each kick became more forceful and violent, to the point where his nose breaks from the continuous rough pressure. Straight away, blood pours down from his nose, oozing down his lips and toward his chin before it trickles like a faucet. His grip on her ankle releases, and she promptly begins to crawl through the air vent now that she was free, the louver closing behind her.
Kamono lifts his hand, wiping his blood off his face with his palm. His broken nose cracks back in place, the fracture healing within seconds. His mouth shapes to a smirk as he sticks out his tongue, licking his blood clean from his hand. He makes sure not to miss a single spot as the tip of his tongue glides in between each of his slim fingers.
He then lowers his hand and uses his other to grip the louver, and with little to no strength, he easily rips it off its hinges, tossing it to the side. Its metal clangs against the floor before it slides a good ten feet away from him. Wasting no time, he crawls into the vent after Charli, the sound of the vent's steel banging from his every move making her panic more. Her head peers behind her shoulder, taking a glimpse of his dark figure with glowing eyes crawling after her.
"Get away!!" she screams, her tone infuriated as her eyebrows furrowed.
She then whips her head back forward, continuing to drag herself through the strenuous vent, her heart palpitating so fast and rough, it was like someone was holding it right up to her ear. Her scream only triggered Kamono to crawl faster, as his hands grip either side of the vent, his fingers piercing through its steel, leaving holes.
The inside of the vent was freezing, enough to make Charli's nose burn and her body ache, but the dread and distress that coursed through her as the demon crawled after her made her sweat and practically pant. Up ahead, her vision began to make out a figure in the distance that she couldn't recognize. It made her worry, but she was more worried about the demon creeping closer and closer. No matter what the figure was, she had to keep moving to make it out of the vent alive.
Wriggling more near the figure, small details begin to stick out to Charli, and she was expecting all things, except an animal. It appeared to be curled up in a ball, and it had pointy ears, similar to a wolf; it also became clear it had fur. She pondered if it was even alive, but edging closer, she noticed the side of its stomach gently rising and falling, indicating it was definitely alive and breathing.
She truly didn't want to have to get anywhere near and accidentally wake up whatever it was, but she was left with no choice. As she grew closer, she presses herself to the left side of the vent as far as she could, squirming past the sleeping animal. Upon passing it, her eyes glance at its aspects now that she was right beside it, noticing a collar around its neck. Her mind was too cluttered to even reflect on it, but she immediately perceived it as a dog.
She makes it past safely, her legs barely grazing against the dog's fur while passing it. A small hint of relief lightens her up since she made her way by without waking it, and now it was back to escaping Kamono. She crawls faster as she makes a safe distance away from the snoozing canine, her heart begging and pleading for an exit, and she ended up getting one.
She unexpectedly feels herself plummet down as she unknowingly reaches the vent's dead end. She was too staggered to even scream; her mind was utterly bewildered as she descends down the vent, unable to see a thing but just feel the bizarre, queasy feeling in her stomach as she falls. Landing on her wrist, she lets out a meek groan, feeling the bone break.
"Fuck," she grumbles, fixing herself within the tight vent.
She's never broken a bone before, yet Charli had a high pain tolerance, and could toughen out most pains most other people couldn't. Her other hand grasps her wrist, feeling a sensitive, tender sensation that spread through out her hand, all the way to the tips of her fingers. She sucks the air in through her teeth, her eyebrows scrunching over the discomforting pang.
Her mind that was fixated on her wrist now gravitates to the demon that was just after her, realizing he hasn't followed her down the vent that suddenly dropped. She figured this would be a great time to continue through the ducts until an exit appears. Her legs push herself off the end of the vent behind her, continuing to wriggle through, although it was much more tedious since her wrist bone was cracked out of place.
Startlingly, the sound of clothes tearing and snarling echo through the air ducts, causing Charli to jolt in fright. Frightened until she came to the conclusion that Kamono possibly awoken the dog, and it resulted in not the most pleasant way. Charli snickers as she continues to hear the ringing sound of a pestered canine and clothing ripping.
"Thanks, doggy," Charli utters amongst herself.
⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆
Finally finding another louver, she manages to break it open after just a few punches, and she desperately crawls out the dense vent, freed from its cramped and claustrophobic despair. Taking a deep breath of the icy, fresh air, she stumbles along the floor on her back in boundless relief, her eyes centered on the ceiling of an empty room. She really thought she wasn't going to make it out alive in that one, but if it weren't for the random dog, she probably wouldn't have.
"Lord have mercy . . . damn bastard. I hope he doesn't kill that dog," she thought as she takes a breath of alleviation.
She sits herself up before standing to her feet, holding her fractured wrist to her chest as her other hand delicately cradles it. Hastily exiting the room through its open sliding doors, she navigates through the sinister temple, not recognizing the part she ended up in.
"Doma?!" she calls out, "where are you?!" her voice having a slight tremble to it. She didn't like to admit it, but she was rather clingy with him, and the second he wasn't around, she'd feel her heart hurt, not just mentally, but also physically. She regularly had a firm, satire attitude with him, however deep within her, she had the biggest emotional soft spot for him.
Prowling through the temple gravely, her eyes catch sight of light up ahead, making her mind of anguish brighten. It was the same area they entered from where Doma left the one door open so moonlight could mystically seep in. She darts toward the door, keeping her wrist safe against her chest.
"Doma!!" she screams out after exiting the temple, greeting the outside and bewitching view of mountains in the distance before her. She feels her throat swell, and her eyes trail down to all the platforms across the murky, grimy marsh. There was no sign of her best friend.
But there was something that caught her attention like a fish on a hook. She pivots her head more to the left, glancing at a figure trotting on all fours across one of the bridges towards the woods. Her eyes squint, making it out as the dog she had just saw in the vents. It seemed to be completely unharmed, no blood visible along its fur, or a limp in any of its fluffy legs.
"Thank God . . . he's okay," she thought.
She then makes her way down the perron stairs, and briskly makes it across the platform with ease, avoiding all the broken boards just like before. At that point, she wasn't scared of falling in the water anymore because she just experienced something much more terrifying that she'll never forget about. After making it up the arduous hill, feeling her ears and nose burn, she snaps her head back at the temple to give it one last look since she'll most likely never go back there.
Her eyebrows furrow as her eyes fixate on the right side of the temple, noticing debris and wood cluttered almost everywhere along the bridges and floating in the water. Her head quizzically perks to the side.
"What the—was all that there before? Where on Earth is Do—" her words get caught in her throat as she watches the demon that was just after her in the vents walk out of the temple. His cargo pants had rips and tears, revealing his pale skin, along with his haori and tanktop. One long, slanted rip went across his black tanktop from top to bottom, making his abs and naval visible.
Charli almost trips as she begins to walk, her sight still on the demon. She turns, quickly dashing down the forest, keeping her wrist tight in her grasp. Her legs burned, her wrist ached, her whole face felt frozen, and a side stitch nipped her. This certainly didn't turn out the way she thought it would, and Doma did warn her about demons possibly lurking around; although, it definitely wasn't the worst birthday she's ever had, in fact, it was the best.
Her eyes began to tear up, so her initial reaction was to close them, and not even twenty seconds later, the man she was searching for ends up bumping into her left shoulder clumsily, nearly knocking her down.
"AH!— I'm so sorry!" he sputters as he turns around. "I wasn't paying attentio—oh, Charli, it's you! Oh, I’m so happy you're okay! I thought you were some random person!"
"Wow!" Charli exclaims with sarcasm as she winces, holding her wrist, deep breathes exiting her mouth. Both of their heavy breathing was almost synchronized, following with sweat dripping down their faces, even though it felt like Antartica's weather payed a visit.
"So you'd say sorry to some random person, but not to me?" she inquires ironically as she looks up at him.
"No! No, no," Doma shakes his head as he waves both his hands. "That's not what I mea—" His words then stay shoved in his mouth as Charli grabs his throat with her good hand, pulling him close down to her height, his face just mere inches from hers.
"Where the hell have you been? I almost just died in there!" she points with her other hand as best as she could toward the direction of his temple. Her fingers felt numb and tingly because of her wrist, so she could just barely move them.
"Gngh—" Doma chokes from her grip on his neck. He grabs her hand, tugging her grasp off before he breathes in deep and hacks, covering his mouth with his hand.
"Whoa, whoa, cut me some slack, okay?!" he whines. "That girl demon blasted me away, and it made me maaaad! I took care of her, though! But now I feel all icky and sweaty and—I don't know. I feel like I'm gonna be sick. I've never been sweaty before, it feels gross!" His eyes droop as his back hunches, his shoulders feebly swinging from side to side.
"Blasted you away? That's what that loud explosion was?! Goddamn. And yeah, holy shit, I’ve never seen you sweat before! Look at you!" she puts her one hand on her hip, looking him up and down while laughing.
“You need a serious bath.”
"Oi! Don't be cold to me, look at your hair and your clothes," he protests, reaching out his hand and carding it through her hair. "You've got cobwebs and dust all over!"
Charli smacks his hand away. "Well, at least I don’t look like I just jumped into that nasty lagoon at your temple, dude.”
Doma breathlessly chuckles and wheezes. "Okay, come on! It’s not that bad! Shut your mouth, you’re making me feel embarrassed about it!”
"Look, the demon!!" she suddenly screams as she points toward the direction of the temple.
Kamono had made his way up the steep hill with a somber look on his face. His fists clench tight as he cocks his head to the side. His haori and hair swish along in the flow of the breeze.
"I'm finished playing silly games. A demon shouldn't commit such foolish acts. What is the true reason you are keeping a lowly human by your side? And why is the Master allowing it? I loathe this. A divine rank within the Upper Moons is being withheld by a dolt. A dolt that believes this is all some rash joke."
Doma wasn't even paying attention to any of his words. His view stationed up at the sky for moments before his rainbow eyes meet with Kamono's green ones.
"Would you look at that. It just turned midnight! That means I haven't seen you since yesterday!" with his lip curved to an amused beam, he points at Kamono.
Kamono had nothing to say. His face looked genuinely baffled, yet disappointed as his arms remained at his sides, idly standing and practically having a staring contest with Doma. Charli had dashed more down the woods prior, not wanting to get lumped into a fight. She stops beside a tree, hiding herself behind it as she peered at the two demons in her far distance. Half of her feared if Doma could even oppose the demon with the condition he was currently in.
"What is he doing?" she ponders to herself as she watches.
Crickets and faint animal hollers in the distance accompany Doma and Kamono's silence for what felt like eons. The trees and bushes flowed in the wind, and it also made Kamono's ripped clothes flow as well, followed by his hair and Doma's. Finally, after what seemed like lightyears, Kamono speaks up, his tone flat and unamused.
"Was that supposed to be funny?"
"Yeah, yeah it was!" Doma exclaims instantly, lowering his hand and clenching both into fists, his eyes sparkling with pride. His smile was gone, yet his expression riddled with eagerness as his eyebrows were furrowed, like he was really hoping his joke was funny.
"I'm not laughing," Kamono responds with his straight face and unimpressed demeanor staying put.
"That's all right, it doesn't hurt my feelings!" Doma shouts with passion, his eyes only sparkling even more as his hands remained balled to tight fists. Silence strikes again, and the air between them began to alter to immense, heavy awkwardness, making Kamono feel visibly uncomfortable. He didn't take his displeased eyes off of Doma once the entire time, too.
" . . . I'm going to walk away now," he says. He then walks alongside of Doma past him in a slow manner, and once he walks further behind him, he rams forward, beginning to run where Charli ran.
As a quick reaction, Doma receives one of his fans from his pocket, and upon opening it, he waves it downward, making a small gust of icy, sparkly wind spread along the ground, completely freezing it like a frozen lake. With that, Kamono's boots slip on the ice, resulting in him plummeting down on his hind.
"What the—?!" he grunts bitterly. He then attempts to get up, but it was utter useless. He only slipped and slid, either landing on his bum or on his stomach face first.
"I think I'm definitely too weak to do any more of my major moves. I don't wanna overdo it, but never mind me using my powers. Demons fighting demons is pointless, anyways. I can kill this demon without the sunlight or a Nichirin," Doma thinks as he watches Kamono frustratingly struggle to get up.
"So, your name's Kamono, right? And Inazuma calls you Mono?" he quizzically asks as he closes his fan, dropping it back in his pocket.
"Why the hell does that matter?!" Kamono curses. He manages to stand to his feet, his balance wobbly, but as soon as he tries to take a step, his legs swivel, and he finds himself on his rear once again, only inducing him to more vexation.
"Unfreeze this— this sickening ice! Do it now!" he orders with pestering veins popping around him.
"Answer all my questions first, and then I just might," Doma beams, his expression rather wicked as his eyes narrowed. "Maybe we can become friends, I just wanna get to know a little about you. So, Inazuma calls you Mono?"
"Yes!" Kamono hisses. Repeatedly, he carries on with trying to get up from Doma's icy, slippery misery. Though, his mind wasn't wholly focused on Doma, and it was more fixated on succeeding to get up without slipping. He couldn't care less about the questions he was going to ask, he just wanted the ice to be unfroze.
"I see. Are you great allies with her?" he questions again as he watches him. His voice as usual was reposeful and soothing, yet anyone could tell he was fatigued just by hearing it.
"Yes!" Kamono retorts again.
"When did you two become demons?"
"Seven years ago!"
"Have you ever dreamt of becoming part of the Twelve Kizuki?"
"Yes!"
"What color's your eyes?"
"Green!"
"What's Master Muzan's last name?"
"Kibutsuji!—"
As Kamono was attempting to get up again, he stopped in his tracks, his face going expressionless, as if he had just witnessed a loved one die. His mind wasn't fixated on trying to get up anymore. His hand shoots up to his mouth, and he covers it tight, his eyes only going more wide in horror. He came into realization of what Doma just did.
Doma lets out a mirthful chuckle as he walks past him, around the frozen ground. He whips his head back at him, giving him a provoking smirk; the corner of his coaxing eyes brimming with amuse.
"Got you," he coos.
"No . . ." Kamono utters, muffled into his hand.
"Right . . . you'd be surprised over how much power you have over someone who isn't paying attention to your words. Tsk, tsk, tsk," Doma clicks his tongue along the roof of his mouth as he shakes his head. He then turns his head forward, running down the woods to Charli.
"No—no, no, no!! This—is unfair!!!” Kamono cries out as he skids on the ice once again.
"Forgive me! Lord, forgive me!!" he frenetically pleads, clasping both his hands together, screaming up into the sky. The white sclera of his eyes began to gradually alter to a deep, crimson blood red, along with the veins that spread across his face as the curse arises.
Doma pants as he continues to run down the forest.
"He's gonna bloww!" he yells out.
Charli remained behind the one tree, messing around with her wrist, oblivious to all that happened. Her head perks as she hears Doma, and she turns around from behind the tree, watching him ram towards her.
"What?—Woah!!" she flinches, holding up her hands as Doma charged toward her like a bull.
Swiftly, Doma grabs her good hand tight in his frigid grasp, pulling her with him.
"You for sure do not wanna see that! Come on now, run! Don't look back!"
"Wha—I—oh—okay!" she stammers as he unexpectedly tugs her with, and they both descend down the forest.
⊱ ───────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────────── ⊰
A good five minutes of running was enough to entirely overdo Doma. From running, he slows down to jogging, and from jogging, he slows down to walking, and from walking, he slows down to standing still. His chest rises and falls, his breathing sharp as he wheezed in and out from his mouth that was gaped open just a few inches. Sweat streams down his cheeks to his chin, where it steadily drips off onto the ground.
Charli was also panting, but not nearly as bad as Doma. She looks at him before letting go of his hand.
"Are you all right?" she asks, her tone and look concerned. Doma didn't answer, as his view was pointed towards the ground, his eyes just half opened.
"Doma?" Charli taps his bicep, and he jolts in the slightest, his eyes blinking a few times before he looks at her.
"Huh? Oh—yeah, I'm fine," he breathlessly says between gasps. "I'm fine. I just . . . I feel like I’m gonna—“
Before he could get his sentence out, his vivid rainbow eyes flutter shut, his soft voice trailing off as he falls over to the ground on his side unconscious.
"WHAAA?!" Charli panics before she kneels down beside him, grabbing his bicep again and shaking him.
"Doma? Doma?! Is he dead?? Wait—no, demons can't die unless they're exposed to sunlight, or get their heads chopped off by that sword, so. Is he— asleep?" her tone lowers as she peers at his face.
She reaches her hand, gently brushing his hair out his face with her fingers, carding it behind his ear. His lucent face was as innocent and pure as a blissful angel, sleeping like a newborn baby. She's never seen him sleep before, that and he hasn't ever slept before as a demon. She couldn't help but smile over the sighting.
With her finger, she traces along his sharp jawline delicately, his ravish skin smooth to the touch.
"Thanks for coming back for me, cariño," she whispers, the look in her eyes tender and fond.
She then stands to her feet, and with one hand, she slips her hoodie off carefully to not disturb her wrist. Kneeling down beside him again, she tucks her hoodie underneath his head to imitate a pillow. Now having on a short sleeve black shirt, goosebumps trail across her skin and her teeth chitter from the cold smacking against her skin, but she didn't mind. She wanted him to rest comfortably.
She stands, hugging her arms to her chest as the wind blew through her long hair as her eyes lingered down at Doma, until a rustle in the bushes behind her prompts her to turn around quick. In her plain distance between the shrubs and undergrowth, the dog she saw in the vents stood there passive, its honey brown eyes observing Charli, its tail up and wagging from side to side. There was something about this dog that was mystifying. Its presence was out of the ordinary.