Shounen Onmyouji

The night air was taught and cold. The darkness choked the stars, and a whipping breeze slapped the street into a daze of dust. The world lacked any sound, except for the crunching of footsteps.

Masahiro walked slowly. His breathes were short, as the cold burned his lungs, and his entire body felt like ice. Huddled close in his arms and half way underneath his kimono was Mokkun, quivering from cold.

The aura in the air was sinister and eerie. He did not like it. It made the air colder than it normally would be, to the point where even Mokkun with his fire was forced into shivering. No, he did not like it at all.

Masahiro cradled Mokkun closer as another wave of shivering wracked his friend's body. In fact, it was because he had flames that the aura affected him so severely. Masahiro gritted his teeth when he saw Mokkun tightly shut his eyes, searching for warmth.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, adjusting the folds of cloth that hugged his body so that they covered his friend more.

"I'm fine." Mokkun snapped back, obviously frustrated with himself. Masahiro frowned at his friend's pain.

He dragged his gaze away from him and looked at the street surrounding him. The further he strode down the road, the more the cold intensified. He must be approaching its source. He felt his jaw clench. The colder it became, the more painful it was for Mokkun.

Another look at his suffering friend, and Masahiro couldn't take it anymore.

Pulling off his haten, Masahiro wrapped the small form of Mokkun in its thick folds.

"Is that better, Mokkun?" he asked, concern dripping from his voice.

As Mokkun's shivers died down, a small laugh left his small friend.

"Thank you. But are you stupid?"

Masahiro smiled.

"No."

"You'll freeze without your haten! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Masahiro shook his head, his eyes burning with determination.

"I can't stand seeing you so cold."

Mokkun did not respond, but merely looked at his swiftly walking master. He could see goose bumps rising on the boy's skin, and even though Masahiro was trying extremely hard to hide it, he was shivering as well.

"Masah-" he began.

"The cold of night be free, as I call upon God. Come purify this darkness, bring forth warmth, and in the ice find fire!" Masahiro intoned, his free hand forming a hand seal.

Suddenly a bright, white light engulfed them both. Masahiro shut his eyes tightly, blinded by the power swirling around him. Then, just as quickly as it had come, it vanished as if sucked away by some unseen curse. Now, however, the evil, cold aura that had once plagued the both of them had gone with it.

Masahiro smiled happily at the wide eyed Mokkun in his arms, before he collapsed onto his knees.

"Masahiro!"

Panting, Masahiro took a hand away from Mokkun to help steady himself. Wriggling out of his haten, the Shikigami gave him a stern look. Masahiro couldn't help but smile.

"Are…you…warm…?" he gasped.

"Yes, I'm fine, but that's not important. Are you alright? That took a lot spiritual energy."

Masahiro nodded, before he shakily stood. However, another wave of exhaustion swept through his body from both the spiritual energy drain and the fact that he hadn't had a good night's rest in weeks. Suddenly, the ground was fast approaching him…

Strong arms caught him before he could completely fall over. Weakly looking up for a moment, Masahiro recognized Mokkun in his true shikigami form, Guren.

"Guren…" he whispered, taking a moment to simply rest in the other's arms. He felt warm inside, despite his tiredness and the occasional shivers that ran up and down his body from his previous coldness. He would shake this bought of exhaustion off, if only for Guren.

Guren held him close, calming his shivers significantly. The flame shikigami looked down at him with a complex expression. There was worry, and something else. Perhaps gratitude. Masahiro wasn't sure.

After resting for about a minute or so, Masahiro stood, energy regained. Guren eyed him with concern, and wrapped the haten back over his shoulders. Masahiro thanked him with a grin, before his eyes widened as he caught sight of something behind him

"Well, well, how cute. How soft you've become, Touda."

Guren whirled around, eyes narrowed.

There, floating in the sky amidst a dark miasma, was a demon. He looked almost human, except for his black and white striped skin. At the moment, he was smirking, revealing a row of fangs, and he had glowing, crimson eyes that stared beneath red and white hair. He wore simple red clothing, and in both his hands he held kamas that glistened in the moonlight.

"Who are you?" Masahiro demanded, taking a step so that he was side by side with Guren. Guren took his eyes off the demon for a split second to look at him, making sure that he could jump in front of him if he had to.

The demon chuckled.

"This boy is so important to you. Pathetic. I suppose I, Tobio the Fader, will take my revenge the hard way."

The demon placed his kamas on his belt before raising both his hands. Orbs of light floated around him, giving him a radiant glow of power. Guren growled, trying to think of a way to get Masahiro out of there.

"Guren! Your arms!"

Guren looked down, eyes widening. White bands were forming around his wrists. The demon, Tobio, laughed.

"You're mine now, Touda."

Suddenly his arms were jerked out to his sides so that he formed a T. His feet left the ground as the white shackles raised him into the air. Soon, he was face to face with Tobio.

Guren smirked.

"It was a mistake to get so close to me."

Tobio was smiling.

"Go ahead. Summon your flames. That is, if you can."

Guren furrowed his brow. He concentrated, but no flames appeared. He closed his eyes, and yet the emptiness remained.

There was nothing.

He felt cold and alone, as if the sun had been taken from the sky.

"Guren!"

Guren snapped back to reality, finally noticing that Tobio wasn't in front of him anymore. Frantic, he looked around.

What he saw made his heart stop.

Masahiro was…he was…!

He was on the ground. Tobio stood over him, panting slightly, a devilish sneer smearing his features. A gash in his arm was proof that Masahiro had fought him.

But things were turning for the worse.

Tobio laughed as he picked Masahiro up by the front of his shirt. The boy winced, eyes trained on Guren.

Was Guren alright? He wasn't sure. He couldn't summon his flames due to the shackles on his wrists. Was it possible that he was in pain? Masahiro felt the concern so sharp for his friend it burned.

He wanted to get Guren out of here.

"Little boy, look at me."

Masahiro continued to stare at Guren, trying to see if he was alright.

By the time he realized that Tobio was going to do something to him, it was too late.

A kama descended into his arm. He shrieked in pain as his nerves were lit on fire. His arm scorched him. The kama dug deep into his skin, and it did not help when the demon roughly pulled it out of him.

"Don't take me lightly boy." He hissed, before chuckling.

"Masahiro!"

Masahiro looked away from the demon and back at Guren, who was desperately trying to move his arms and get closer to him.

"Touda, you look concerned," the demon said in a sing-song voice. "Don't worry, I'm taking very good care of your little boy."

Another kama was shoved into his thigh, and twisted up.

Masahiro screeched in agony.

The pain.

It held him fast, refusing to let go.

The kama was ripped out of him, but soon returned to drink his blood on his opposite shoulder.

The pain.

His eyesight was fading into black dots. His own screams seemed distant, as if he was hearing from underwater.

All he knew was pain.

PAIN.

As more fire shredded through him, he simply knew that it was from the blinding torture that Tobio was giving him. His hand. His ribs. His leg.

PAIN.

And then, there he was.

Guren.

He was smiling.

He didn't see Guren smile often. In fact, he almost never smiled at all.

Masahiro smiled back.

He knew this must be a dream. Right now, Guren needed him. He needed Guren. He needed to help Guren.

Help Guren.

The pain was brutal and overpowering, but Masahiro forced his eyes open.

His vision was blurry at first, a swirling mass of shadow and light. Blinking away the pain, Masahiro attempted to sit up. He was on the ground?

His shaky hand barely supported his weight. His badly battered body was so bruised and breath-takingly bloody that he knew he could collapse at any moment.

It was then that his vision cleared.

A few feet above him, Tobio stood on air, twirling a kama dripping in blood. His blood, Masahiro realized. But he didn't have time to think about that.

The twirling stopped.

Masahiro dragged his eyes away Tobio and refocused them on the limp form of Guren in front of him. He didn't appear to be physically hurt, much to Masahiro's relief. But it was then that he saw.

Guren.

Guren was crying.

Tobio laughed.

"This mere human means that much to you? Hmmm…it really is a shame that he had to die in such a painful, helpless, weak way. All because of you. You failed him, Touda. Or, perhaps, in this pathetic boy's memory, I should call you…what was it again….Mokkun."

Masahiro could practically see Guren's heart ripping, tearing, shredding…

"You mercilessly killed one of my comrades. This is my revenge. Feel the pain, Mokkun. You're beloved little onmyouji is gone. Now it's your turn."

No.

Masahiro wasn't going to let Guren die in a place like this. If it was the last thing he did, he would at least accomplish this. He would not- no, he could not let Mokkun die.

Not here.

Not now.

Never.

So when he registered the kama descending down towards Guren's heart, he did not think.

He acted.

His body moved of its own accord, as if the pain that had kept him tied to the earth no longer existed.

His lips moved, his hands forming signals that he was so familiar with. His feet grew wings, until he was jumping, soaring, flying…

Intercepting.

The kama landed in his shoulder, but Masahiro acted swiftly.

No matter the shocked expression on Tobio's face.

No matter the incantation of binding was more powerful than he had ever possibly could have thought he was capable of producing.

No matter the pain.

He wasn't letting Guren die.

Blinding light enveloped him. The sheer brute force behind his spell smashed his comprehension of power. He thought that Seimei was the only one capable of such power, and even then, he had never seen him display this much strength all at once.

He smiled, despite himself. Take that, you old raccoon, he found himself thinking.

He heard something splinter, and then shatter. He momentarily looked back, smiling upon seeing Guren, his bounds annihilated. Good. His friend was free.

Guren was safe.

That was last thing he thought before the world became black.

When Masahiro opened his eyes, he felt the world was a swirling mass of light. Blinking profusely, he attempted to shed the brightness.

When he finally could see properly, he was staring at an all too familiar ceiling.

He was home.

He tried to sit up, but found that the effort only triggered agony. So he stayed there, simply staring at the ceiling, wondering if Guren was alright. He hated waiting, he really did. He wished that he could shake of the pain and simply return to normal.

He couldn't take it anymore.

He sat up.

His first thought was that must have a death wish. He gritted his teeth as pure anguish threatened to rip a shriek from his throat.

It was then, with his face twisted in torture, that someone opened his sliding door.

Masahiro opened his eyes upon hearing the sound, because at some point he had closed them from the pain. Turning his head, he looked up to see who it was.

It was Guren.

Strangely, he wasn't in his usual form. He stood tall and proud as Guren, presumably to open the door.

Upon seeing Masahiro, his eyes had widened.

Masahiro grinned sheepishly, pain stabbing from all over his bandaged body. Wait- he was bandaged? He hadn't noticed before.

But that didn't matter.

It was Guren.

He simply stood there, in silence, staring.

Masahiro looked back, trying hard to mask the pain glimmering on his face. He was more concerned about his friend at this point. Guren would certainly not have taken this matter lightly.

He was just about to ask for how long he had been asleep when he realized that Guren had already turned and left.

Guren…had left him.

Before he could say anything.

Masahiro looked down at the floor.

It was morning, and his open door let in the soft sun rays. He hated this.

"Did…did you see my spell? Wasn't half bad, was it…guess I can do at least one thing right…" he muttered to himself.

Quietness greeted him.

"Guren, are you alright? Please tell me you're alright. I believe in you. I want you by my side…always…"

Again, the morning air was cool and crisp and so, so oppressively mute.

"Come back. Guren."

Silence.

"Come back."

Nothing.

"Guren."

No.

Suddenly, Masahiro was standing.

He was walking.

He was falling- wait, no, he caught himself before he actually fell.

He leaned against everything that could support him. He strode, trying to be as fast as he possibly could, until finally he saw him.

Guren.

"Guren!" he called out. He had his back facing towards him as he was quickly walking away, but upon hearing Masahiro's voice, he froze.

Masahiro felt the wave of adrenaline that had erased all pain from his body fade away, as if zapped from him in a single moment.

His foot slipped, unable to support his weight. Tiredness dragged at him. Pain…

Just as he was about to hit the floor, strong arms caught him.

Looking up with a smile, because Masahiro knew it was, he felt so much trust flow through him that he felt sleep begin to retake him. He could rest with Guren there. He barely registered when the shikigami picked him up bridal style, nor the blush that dusted his nose as a result.

No, he was fast asleep before Guren had even brought him back to his room.

But when he did wake up, he could not have suppressed his smile even if he wanted too. He felt the warmth on his chest before he saw it. He blinked his eyes open to see the curled up figure of Mokkun snuggled up against him protectively.

He couldn't stop himself from kissing his forehead, either.

And at that moment, no amount of pain coursing through his body like hellfire could have kept him from repeating all that he had done. He felt no regrets.

He merely hugged Mokkun closer, and let his eyes lazily wander back into a blissful sleep.