Chapter Text
silence. horrifying silence.
throughout his hundred years of living, the black haired demon has never really felt anything close to being terrified. sure enough, he had been remotely scared before, when he realized he was losing his people and when he was stuck in that nightmare that still haunts him to his day. but today is a lot different.
as the clock ticks in the quiet room, vox can almost hear his own heartbeat. he was aware of every single little sound in the room, even the sounds outside of it. he was able to hear a small whine and chatter from the room next to the space he was in, mostly due to the slightly gaped door. upon hearing a stern 'no' from the older man in the room, vox's back straightened up.
in a second, the bedroom door was locked and vox heard footsteps. and they were approaching towards him. rapidly. and it stopped. shu's right behind him, isn't he? when vox chose to stay seated in the sofa, shu got the memo and took a seat right in front of him. shu's sharp piercing gaze tore into vox's trembling core.
"what happened to watching movies?" shu asked.
well, fuck. shoto and vox in fact, did not watch a movie as vox had planned, but fucked instead. after falling asleep last night, shoto had woken up to being in his bed alone, and although vox was nowhere to be found, shoto felt clean and pretty from the bath vox gave him. "vox?" no response. problem being, the room was pitch black and shoto's night light did not light the room up like it usually would.
shoto is scared of the dark.
"shogo?" he called, patting around the bed.
oh, right. vox tossed shogo off the bed.
"vox?" shoto called again, this time a little louder. when shoto realizes he's all alone in the dark room: not even shogo is with him, shoto began panicking. his breathing picked up, his eyes wondered around the room trying to find a slight bit of light for guidance. to no avail, not even a slither of light shone in the room, leaving shoto blind.
"want shogo— shu!" he cried, everything was flashing in front of his eyes. he remembers. the day shu stood in front of him, fire blazing from the base of his neck, covering his entire spine. shu stood strong, pushing shoto down to his knees, shielding him from the entities. shoto can still hear the screams, the flashing light, the sudden darkness as he was engulfed in the flame.
shoto was hopeless: he could only hear shu's worried scream as he he felt hazy, he couldn't see a single thing, only an infinite of darkness. he heard the maniacal laughter, followed by shu's embrace, before the laughters became pained shrieks. shoto couldn't help himself, he could only cry and sob as he reached for his eyes, only feeling the fog of darkness under his eyelids.
as he scratched and rubbed his eyes in desperation to gain his vision, shu held him tighter, cupping his cheeks as the sounds died down, only the crackling of fire echoed in shoto's ears. he could smell burning flesh, a rotting scent surrounds him as he felt a deep gouging sensation on his eyes, as he regained his vision. there was shu admist of the chaotic flames, he was smiling so kindly at shoto.
"those demons and spirits are gone. they're gone." shu said. but shoto was yet to reach this moment right now. as he claws the blankets, he still couldn't see a single thing. he couldn't see shu's face. why isn't it ending? why is it still dark? why is everything in a loop? must shoto live in this memory forever— "shu!" in panic, shoto failed to notice how shogo lit up purple for a brief second.
vox, who was in the living room gathering some of his items felt an energy shift, rapidly standing up to run to shoto's room. he knew something was up, and at this point every theory vox created in his head seemed to make sense. something was seriously wrong with this mansion. how was vox, a demon, not able to find this house after years of him living here?
not only that, shu kept a lot of locked rooms. vox couldn't seem to ignore the eyes he felt watching him and a strong stream of energy flowing through him as he entered the house. he just couldn't get a finger on what is it exactly that's causing this. before managing to reach for the knob, vox felt a hand on his shoulders and it gripped, hard.
"shu?" vox's voice peaked. why is he here?
"move out of the way. don't go in." said the man.
so, vox stepped aside and stood dumbly in front of the now locked door. how was shu here? wasn't here far from home? he must have returned because of something. vox had to hold himself back from turning the knob, he can hear shoto crying inside of the room, he swore he felt his heart break.
"shoto, baby, i'm right here," shu whispered, as he tossed his coat aside and held shoto in his arms. the night light were now turned on, shoto could see the concerned smile on his brother's face. softly bringing his hands to the side of shoto's pale face, shu caressed the side of his tearful flushed cheek, smiling when shoto leaned into it like a puppy. "are you okay? can you see me?" shu gently asked.
"'m okay, can see you." the boy replied.
pulling away from shu's hands, shoto moved closer to hug shu closer once again. "miss you. was scared." was all shoto could say as he held back a hiccup. shu knows shoto tends to speak in simpler terms when he's overwhelmed with his emotions, and at times he just wants to protect his brother so badly from his very own mind. shoto is fragile, and shu acknowledges that. "i miss you too, shou."
suddenly, shoto froze.
"i smell him. outside the door." he whispered.
shu frowned again. vox was still standing in front of the door, exactly where shoto left him. standing up, shu assured the whining shoto once he removed their connected body from the hug. when the door clicked open, there stood vox, unmoving but worry was displayed on his face. shu wasn't sure if it was an act or not.
"what happe—" vox knew to keep himself quiet when he finally saw the glint of dark purple in shu's eyes. oddly reminded him of a once familiar acquaintance he had a long time ago. it wasn't only shimmering with anger, but they were glowing ever so brightly, it pulled vox further into the gaze.
"i told you he was scared of the dark." shu coldly said.
"shu—"
"where were you?"
"living room." for summary, vox stepped outside of the room after dressing shoto into some new comfortable clothes. since it was midnight, so he had went to grab some water in case the boy woke up thirsty. seeing one of the abandoned bowls he felt from earlier, vox decided to clean it before it gets sticky. soon after, grabbing his phone and some snacks in the living room before he had rushed to shoto's room.
vox glanced at the stairs. he was currently guided by shu to take a sit in the upstairs lounge area, right next to shoto's room. the idea of sitting down on somebody's couch after you've made their brother cries somehow scared vox a little. speaking about shoto, vox can still hear the small knocks he made and his calls for shu behind the door.
now, in the present moment, vox is still sitting down, hearing shoto whine through the gap of the door. he was able to catch an argument shoto had made about wanting to stay with shu, but his brother had told him to stay in the room until he was done: surely enough, this resulted into more crying. but shu was stern, he had locked the door and walked back to vox.
"what happened to watching movies?"
"we ended up sleeping early." not a lie. vox did leave out one important information. well, what shu doesn't know won't hurt him. vox can feel shu's piercing eyes looking at every inch of his body. "you're a demon, aren't you, vox? i can feel you draining my mana will all this tension you have." shu said, sighing as he finally took a seat.
'mana'?
"you're a sorcerer." vox said, finally reaching a conclusion. shu most probably sealed the mansion away from view and the eyes vox felt were simply shu's energy. "and a demon slayer. shoto was a demon slayer, too." shu explained, glancing at the door when he realized shoto had stopped knocking. hopefully shoto got tired and finally went to sleep in his bed again. after all it's past midnight.
"was?" asked vox carefully upon noticing the extensive use of past tense. he knew something must have happened in the past. when shu stood up, vox figured he must have not want to talk about it but he unexpectedly told vox to come along with him. pitter pattering towards shoto's room, it didn't take long for them to realize how quiet it was compared to earlier.
"shou?"
as the door creaked open, they were greeted by a shoto who was clinging onto shogo, sleeping on the floor right in front of the door. when he heard the door opening and was basked in the light, the puppy like boy blinked adorably, rubbing his eyes and smiled at vox: successfully making vox receive glares from shu and vox could only grin happily. "hi baby," shu greeted. realizing his brother was there, shoto then extended his arms out, asking to be carried by shu.
now vox was the one huffing at shu, as the purple haired man smugly pulled shoto closer. sleepy shoto wasn't aware of the silent competition he has caused, only happily snuggling into shu (and shogo) who was already standing up to return to the living room as vox tailed them. letting out an 'oof' shu was finally seated with his brother still on his lap. "coooooold," complained shoto, hugging himself tightly as he leaned into shu's chest. vox was simply eyeing the sorcerer, glancing at his muscular arms.
he carries shoto around, maybe that's why he's—
"maybe that's why i'm ripped? yeah." completed shu.
can he hear my thoug—
"no, i cannot hear your thoughts. i predicted them." vox couldn't lie, he felt a little uneasy at shu's unnerving smile. the way the man was completing his thoughts was plain creepy. but vox knew well enough that sorcerers doesn't possess those mind reading traits, so he didn't push on it further.
"you know, he was a demon slayer before."
that caught vox's attention.
"and a few hundred years ago, it happened. that demon was pure evil. she made a pact with a spirit and was basically eyeing shoto the whole entire time. shoto has always been a brave boy, but he had his breaking points. she knew when to strike and it was just horrible. shoto was bleeding, he was burned into flames, his eyes were taken away. that day, i promised to never let anyone hurt him." explained shu.
he was caressing shoto's hair, lulling the boy further into his sleep. he knows shoto has grown a little too tall these days, but shoto will always be his big baby. he will forever carry shoto like he always do. he will carry shoto on a piggyback whenever the boy asked him to. he will make whatever food the boy wants if he ever asked. shu was willing to give the world to his little brother.
"we barely made it. mysta found us. he was a fox guardian of the nearby forest and he gave us shelter. we later learnt that the demon was dead, i killed her. her name was voxanne. she was your sister, wasn't she?" shu asked, blankly smiling at vox who was frowning. shu only chose and agreed to let vox babysit because he knew the relations vox had with voxanne. it was risky but shu knew himself: he was capable.
"she was my sister. but she soiled the clan's name. she killed a fellow clan member from rage. i belong to the akuma clan, and i was thrown out of it because of her. so, i built my own empire, never let anyone near it and renamed the akuma clan. i swore to my life that i wouldn't let anyone think badly of my clan ever again." explained vox.
and shu's face softened.
he laughed, which sounded heavenly in vox's ears.
"i knew i was right. you are the vox i once knew. i am from the yamino clan. we would always watch upon you, but we never spoke to each other. i couldn't believe it when i knew somebody from the akuma clan that we looked up to had harmed by brother. so i travelled to find you, in that castle of yours. i had worn a fox mask made by mysta on that day."
"milord, somebody has requested to meet you."
"tell them to come in." vox calmly said, staying behind the wooden panel lit up by candles. when he heard the small gentle steps of his guest, he knew he was dealing with somebody important. the delicate steps flowed along with his energy, directed straight towards vox. so, vox pulled aside his wooden panel, revealing his guest.
"evening, milord."
vox smiled. "evening, what brings you here? you're tense."
"my brother was attacked by a demon. and i ought to know the way to cure deep cuts from a demon's attack. i, myself, am a demon slayer but this particular demon sided with a spirit and she had done quite the damage on the boy. please, with the highest of gratitudes, help me to find a cure." the fox masked man revealed with a shaky voice.
as vox began pulling out ointments and remedies for the latter, he realized the angered gaze from behind the mask, making vox stop midway. "you have unfinished business. don't hesitate to finish your sentence." vox said, as he continued to prepare everything that was needed for the 'fox' to bring home. "it was voxanne." was the last thing vox heard as he turned around to nobody.
that was how vox found out voxanne had passed.
"i knew you were different on that day. after shoto was cured, i tried finding you, but you disappeared without a trace after the fall of your very own clan. here we are again, milord." chuckled shu, craddling shoto closer as he sighed in relief. shu knew by having vox care for shoto, he could evaluate whether or not vox has changed. surely enough the demon stayed true to himself.
vox threw back a smile. 'milord', what a memory.
"i am happy you're here, shu. you should've told me from the very beginning. i would've remembered you clearer and wouldn't be wary of you." joked vox, it was true he was highly suspicious of shu at the beginning although they both knew mysta. "what a shame i didn't get to meet shoto back then. i am sure he was a youthful boy."
at that, vox and shu gazed at the sleeping boy. tired from sitting, shoto then stretched and whimpered, as he raised his arms above, shirt riding up revealing his stomach. and his collarbone.
shu's eyes widened.
at that exact moment, vox knew he was going to be killed.
"...did you fuck my brother?"
shu's eyes had lit up once again. he was clutching onto shogo angrily as the flames on his back lit up, waking shoto up. "shuuu, don't get angry. don't like it." shoto whined, he hates it when shoto's angry, the air becomes bitter and his mana becomes overwhelming. "did he force you, shou? did you cry? what happened?" shu rapidly asked, holding tightly onto shoto.
"hey, i'm a demon, not a monster!" vox grumpily said at the accusation. it was true that he shouldn't have fucked somebody he was babysitting, but shoto was too adorable to ignore. vox noted that shu was actually as adorable as shoto was, perhaps because they're brothers. one day, he'll make sure to apologize properly.
"just— don't make it obvious. ugh, you horny demon." shu settled. it is time to finally let shoto grow up, but not in a way where shu was willing to openly discuss his brother's sex life with a demon he hired as a babysitter: who was the one doing the fucking. shu simply couldn't stomach the idea of that and chose to be blind of the demon's sex life.
"don't hurt him. or i'll poison you one day."
"oh, sure you will."
this time, vox realized he has his own set of comfort once again and he won't have to worry about them every leaving him anytime soon. he's glad he accepted the babysitting job.