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“I always feel so nervous walking around by myself at night...it’s like something dangerous is hiding in the shadows wherever I go…” Shin sighed. He knew he was probably being paranoid, but he had been feeling weird omens during the night recently. Normally this wouldn’t have been a problem, but he had recently started a late night shift at a local convenience store, which meant he was out by himself during the very late hours of the night walking to and from work. “Oh, do you want me to walk with you?” Hiyori asked him eagerly. “You see, I’m a demon, so even if some other supernatural beings try to attack you, I can fight them off!” It was a stupid joke, but Shin appreciated the fact that Hiyori was trying to make him feel better. “Hehe, sure thing. You’ll have to show me your dark powers sometime then, okay?” Honestly, Hiyori was scary enough for Shin to actually believe he was a demon, at least in spirit. But naturally, he was just a creepy human, he thought. Shin quickly lived to regret writing this all off so easily.
The biting night air sent a chill through Shin’s body as he stepped outside. “Brr...it’s freezing...I should get home fast…” He looked up to the sky and saw the full moon shining brightly on him. Despite his name meaning moon-viewing, it was not an activity he found himself ever actively participating in. It should have been comforting, but all alone in its pale glow, he couldn’t help but feel it was really eerie. The full moon was when monsters were supposed to come out, wasn’t it…? He didn’t actually believe in superstitions like that...but the mood nonetheless put him on edge. As he nervously walked along, he felt himself shivering, both from the cold and his nerves. He kept going rigid at every sound around him, but they all ended up just being small animals or wind-blown objects. But then...he heard a different sound. A distinctive pitter-patter of human footsteps. Someone was approaching him. His heart started racing and he bolted away, almost tripping over his feet as he scrambled for some sort of safety. Oh god...I’m gonna die..please, let me get back home...please...
His adrenaline eventually died down and the fatigue rapidly caught up with his weak body. He leaned against a nearby tree and took long breaths to compose himself. “Haa...haa...that was so close...am I safe?” He looked around him and was mortified by what he discovered. Somewhere along his panic-induced sprint, he had ended up detouring into the woods. Now he was lost in this dark, scary forest where something could jump out at him at any time. Oh...this is just great, isn’t it...haha…dammit...well, I guess there’s nothing to do except...wander around and hope I find a way out…He crunched his way through the maze of trees, the moonlight seeping through giving him enough guidance that he didn’t need to whip out his phone for a flashlight. This sucks so much...huh? Haven’t I seen this tree already? Did I loop around? Shit...He cursed his bad luck for this terrible predicament. All he could hear was his own quiet breath, his footsteps, and the rustling of the trees…
Wait. What the hell was that noise? He suddenly started to hear some sort of...squelching noise coming from not too far away. It almost sounded something like...flesh being penetrated and torn apart. Was it an animal eating its prey? Well, no matter what animal it was, as long as he stayed away from it, he should be safe….right? He tried his best to ignore the ghastly noise and continue on his way. He kept walking and walking...oh. He hadn’t looped around AGAIN, had he? At least the disturbing noise was gone-
It took him a while to actually comprehend what he had stumbled upon. There was a terribly bloody mess all over the ground...and what stood at his feet was...a disembodied human arm. He was immediately overcome with disbelief and denial. There was absolutely no way that the thing at his feet was a real arm, right? But he could see the point where it had been sloppily cut off...and the muscles and bones inside...He wanted to vomit. He felt himself growing faint, his knees trembling...and then his mind went blank.
“Oopsies! This is a little awkward, isn’t it?” a familiar voice suddenly declared. Out from the shadows stepped Hiyori, his face and body dowsed in blood. For some reason, Shin couldn’t feel anything at the sight of this, as though he had abruptly been deprived of his emotions and ability to be surprised. “I wasn’t expecting you to come back this way! You have a terrible sense of direction, Shin,” Hiyori said cheerfully. “Oh, and if you’re wondering why you’re not surprised, I just cut off your emotional responses for a sec. I hope you don’t mind!” As he listened, Shin realized that Hiyori had small black horns on his head and bat-like wings coming out of his back. “Here, let me just get rid of this for you,” Hiyori remarked, picking up the disembodied arm and tossing it away. “Okay, I’m going to bring your emotions back now, but don’t scream okay? It’ll be annoying…”
As soon as that was said, Shin felt his mind filling with fear and shock. “What the fuck was that!? Are you...Sou Hiyori? Hahaha...I’m losing my mind...those horns, those wings...you’re not about to tell me you’re actually a demon, are you!?” He yelled out all the emotions he should have been feeling before. “Well, you tell me! Do I look like a human to you?” Hiyori flapped his wings slightly as if to prove his point. “Wh-what...you’ve got to be kidding me...this is a dream, right!?” Shin began pinching himself all over. “A-ah...why...isn’t it working…?” Hiyori laughed at him. “Ahaha, Shin...I already told you! I told you I was a demon the other day, remember?” He smiled widely. “I thought that was a joke! Of course I thought it was a joke! Did you really expect me to go, ‘Ah yes, my best friend is a demon, that’s cool’? Of course not! I mean, this is just an elaborate prank, right!? You made a really convincing disembodied limb to scare me again...Well, you win! You got me! Now cut it out!”
“Ahaha, you’re so silly, Shin! Do I have to prove it to you? Fine, check this out.” Wh-what is he gonna do now…? Well, I’m not falling for it this time...h-huh? Why...can’t I move my body? Ah...ahhh! Shin’s limbs were moving on their own, and he heard his voice speak words he hadn’t thought. “See, Shin! I told you!” Wh-what is this? “I’m possessing you, obviously! You can be really dense sometimes…” Wh-what? I...I can’t move...if you’re possessing me, then stop it! “No, I don’t think I will. If I did that, you’d wander around the forest forever and never get home! Let me walk you there, okay? I know this area super well!”
Completely against his will, Shin watched his body walk off through the woods. What the fuck...you’re really...possessing me…”Of course I am! I wouldn’t lie to you like that~” I’m afraid to ask, but...what was with the...arm? “Oh, that was the person trying to mug you earlier! I feel bad for the guy, really! He actually thought you had any money to give him, how hilarious! I was worried he wouldn’t believe you and try to hurt you, so I just took care of him myself! He tried to hurt my precious Shin, so I had a lot of fun tearing him apart, ahahaha…” Ah...that’s...why don’t I feel surprised? Are you...messing with me again? “No? I think that one’s just the shock. You’ll get over it eventually!”
Finally, they had escaped from the forest. “There we go! We’re almost there now! Aren’t you glad you have me to bring you home?” Yeah, sure thing…. And so, Hiyori brought Shin’s body back to his apartment. Once they were inside, Shin felt sensation returning to his limbs. Hiyori’s body appeared in front of him. “There you go, all set!” he said without a care in the world. “Ah...yeah...I still can’t believe what just happened…” Shin muttered. “Oh, don’t worry! You’ll accept it eventually...but before then!” He produced a piece of paper and a pen from his suit. “Sign this!” Shin looked at it warily. “Um...what is this?” He started to read it. “Oh, just a contract confirming that you won’t reveal my identity to anyone. In exchange, I’ll protect you from danger like earlier and I promise to not kill you myself!” Shin scanned the page to make sure Hiyori was telling the truth. “Well, that seems right…and I...don’t want to end up like that guy, so...” He sighed. “Fine.” He signed his name on the line provided. “Ahaha, thank you! That’s perfect! I’ll be glad to protect you, dear! Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get going. I still have some work to attend to. See you tomorrow! Love you!” And with that, he was gone, straight out the window. Just as suddenly as he appeared, he disappeared.
Shin let out a long, deep sigh as he sat on his bed. He remembered how some people used to call him an angel as a kid. If he was really such an angel, maybe that was what attracted this devil to him. This literal, actual demon that was his boyfriend....He thought he needed to sleep for a long, long while.