Pairings: pre!Shinichi x Kaito (reversible)

Warnings: shounen-ai, grammar mistakes / errors, sorcerer!Shinichi and demon!Kaito, fantasy AU that I didn't actually explain, general failure, etc.

Notes: What can I say? I just really, really like demon!AUs. Recently I read one in the Bleach fandom that inspired me, which led to this little piece. It was "Forever Responsible for What You Have Summoned" by Aleia15, if anyone cares to look it up. Renji/Byakuya, anyone?

Anyway, hope you enjoy! – Luna

Summoned

The air was beginning to grow heavy as the assortment of candles around the small, circular room continued to burn. Shinichi dabbed sweat from his face with the back of his hand as he chalked in the last symbol on the flat stone floor, taking a step backwards to admire his last two hours' work. The room was hot, uncomfortably so, but Shinichi knew it was necessary. As so many texts had said, the thermal shock of passing from hell to the human world can be lessened or even remedied if temperatures in the summoning chamber are brought to resemble those of hell. Many small, controlled fires are recommended, as large fires can disrupt the pathway or distract the demon…

Kneeling by the side of the chalk circle, he checked it over to locate any mistakes, fixing a couple slightly-skewed places and smoothing out a line or two. Once he was done, he sat back, swiping his sleeve over his forehead once again. All he needed now was to finish the enchantment.

Shinichi retrieved the leather-bound book he'd placed to the side and cleared his throat, skimming the handwritten notes until he reached the passage that required verbal incantation.

Allowing himself exactly three minutes to memorize the words, Shinichi shut the book again and returned it to the side of the room. He positioned himself carefully outside of the circle and began to chant lowly, allowing his energy reserves to be depleted. Lingering white light rose from the circle as it started to glow, faintly at first, then strongly.

Shinichi hit the climax of the chant, his voice growing in volume and strength. A flood of blinding light erupted from the circle, enveloping the room in a crisp white glow. Shinichi's voice didn't waver, continuing on even as the light twisted in beams and sent shadowy shapes careening over the walls. The candles flickered uncomfortably as wind began to swirl outwards from the circle.

As he reached the end of the chant, Shinichi bent and placed his hands on the edge of the circle. "Summon," he finished, and the room nearly exploded as the floor rocked. The candles clattered nervously as they bumped and rolled against each other. Shinichi's vision went white for a full minute, and a painful ache began to build at the base of his neck. A flash of doubt went through his mind. Was he not strong enough after all?

But his vision returned to normal, the pain slowly subsiding. The light faded as the room slowly stopped shaking, the candles shuddering as they ground to a stop. Shinichi rose, a tired smile halfway across his face. The summoning had been successful.

Standing in the center of the circle was a demon.

Although this was one different from the others Shinichi had summoned, he thought to himself with no small measure of interest. The others had been animalistic, with stooped postures and feral expressions, claws perpetually unsheathed.

This one was human in form and definitely male in gender. He wore dark clothes, just a simple shirt and pants, but upon closer inspection, the material shimmered and refracted light, threaded with gossamer gray strands. His posture was perfectly straight, but that was mostly due to the binds produced by the summoning circle. He had skin that visibly shone golden, defined muscles rippling under an array of complex, dark tattoos that shifted in the candlelight – from runes to snakes to jagged lines and back again. Unexpectedly, his hair was a wild, unkempt, mess, sticking up in vague curls over his head and painted a dark color that seemed to waver between burgundy red and umber brown.

But the part of his appearance that was most startling was his eyes, Shinichi decided as his gaze swept up and down the demon. His eyes were blue – not just any blue, but a blue with an almost purple tint. Indigo, he'd call it. The color was so bright, so vivid, so ethereal, that from it alone, it was clear he wasn't human.

The demon's lips parted. His voice was unexpectedly human-like in quality, though there was a jarringly otherworldly hiss underneath the smooth, normal timbre. "Why have you summoned me, master?"

"'Master'?" Despite that he was panting for breath, Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "That makes me sound old. I'm Kudou Shinichi."

The indigo eyes narrowed. "Why have you summoned me, Kudou Shinichi?"

"I don't think you'd believe me if I said for fun, am I right?" Shinichi cracked a wry smile as he finally caught his breath. He felt sweat travel down his spine.

The demon didn't look impressed. "Who do you want to kill?"

"Huh?" Shinichi stared. "Are you kidding?"

"I don't exactly kid," the demon replied, beginning to look bewildered. "But then, if you don't want me to kill someone, perhaps the better question is what do you want me to kill?"

"Uh… nothing."

Eyebrows lifting, the demon asked, "Who do you want me to…" He seemed to struggle for a word. "I don't know, kidnap?"

"Nobody."

"Torture?"

"Nobody." Shinichi flinched at the thought. "Thanks for offering, though?"

The demon was looking more and more confused. Shinichi could relate – he had no idea why the demon was sputtering such weird offers. "Maim? Burn? Assassinate?"

At the last one, Shinichi frowned. "I thought I already said I didn't want to kill anyone."

"Then why have you summoned me?" The demon gaped at him. "I'm a high level demon. I've only ever been used for slaughter and bloodshed."

Shinichi rubbed the back of his neck. This was a bit… unexpected. None of the notes had said that high level demons were particularly used for killing, although when he thought about, it made sense. It would allow the summoner to control someone that could kill just about anyone, no matter how highly skilled the target was – a perfect killing machine, in essence. The thought made Shinichi's stomach clench.

He shrugged at the demon, though, when he realized the indigo eyes were still fixed on him, expecting some kind of explanation. "Well… sorry, but that's going to change now, I guess."

For a full minute, the demon didn't speak, just staring blankly at Shinichi. "What do you want from me?" he finally questioned, and Shinichi noticed for a moment that the demonic hiss had left his voice. He sounded almost vulnerable – and strikingly human. Only the inky shift of the tattoos on his skin and the too-bright shade of his eyes set him apart.

"Nothing else, really. I've already gotten what I wanted," Shinichi told him, shrugging. "I just wanted to test if it was possible for me to summon a high level demon."

As if seeing him for the first time, the demon's eyes traveled across Shinichi. "How old are you?" he wondered, the smoldering indigo of his eyes tempered as his gaze loitered on Shinichi's face.

Rolling back his shoulders self-consciously, Shinichi admitted, "I'm eighteen."

"Eighteen?" The demon's voice was a combination of horrified and intrigued. "Why would you even attempt a summoning at that age?"

"I've been trained," Shinichi complained, shifting from one foot to another. A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face, running towards his chin. "I've been summoning demons since I was sixteen, anyway."

"Just not us high levels," the demon muttered, sweeping a hand (his nails tapered to dull points, Shinichi noticed) over his face. The motion was restrained, carefully checked by the summoning circle's bindings.

His eyes were unreadable as they fastened to Shinichi's. "I'm sure I'd remember hearing about a sorcerer as young as you. None of my equals have ever mentioned you."

"Yes, well." Shinichi wasn't quite sure what to say now. He offered the demon a small smile. "Anyway, the contract I formed – how long is it supposed to last? I couldn't get the calculations quite right, and I assumed that the demon decides that on their own."

The demon sighed. "When you first summoned me, I assumed this contract would take a good deal of time. Most of mine do, after all." His expression was reproving, but Shinichi just rolled his eyes. "I left hell with the intention of spending two months in the human world. The gates will be closed to me for that period of time."

"Two months?" Shinichi sighed. "Ugh. Well, it can't be helped." He smudged the chalk line, and the last bits of white light vanished. The demon fell forward before righting himself, caught off guard from the sudden lack of bindings holding him in place.

He glanced up just in time to see Shinichi throw one arm out wide. The candles all simultaneously sputtered before dying, leaving faint ribbons of smoke curling through the air.

Shinichi reached for the trapdoor set above his head, yanking it downwards. A rickety set of stairs unfolded with a creak. Shinichi was about to set onto them when he suddenly had a thought.

He looked over his shoulder to cast the demon a questioning look. "Do you have a name?" he queried, and the demon blinked, surprised.

"No. None of my previous masters have ever given me one."

"Oh." Shinichi bit his lip. "Damn, I'm not good at names. Uh…" He ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "How about Kuroba? Kuroba Kaito?"

"Why?"

"I don't know," replied Shinichi with a hint of embarrassment. "I think it sounds okay. But if you want, I could always just call you 'Demon' –"

"No," the demon immediately disagreed. "I like the name. I'll take it." Lifting his arm in front of him, he tightened one hand into a fist, as if grabbing onto something, and Shinichi's eyes were drawn to the tattoos on that arm. The ink seemed to gather in one spot before spreading, falling gracefully into the characters for Kuroba Kaito. Unlike the rest of the tattoos covering Kaito's skin, this one stayed in place without changing.

Shinichi blinked in wordless surprise before he nodded. The stairs groaned under his feet as he started climbing upwards. "Then, Kaito, let's go. Welcome to your new home for two months."

Kaito flexed his arm once more – the Kuroba Kaito rippled, knitting into the shape of a rapidly beating heart.

He scowled down at it and shook his arm warningly. The heart reverted back to the words, though they seemed to almost pulse, growing and shrinking just the slightest bit.

The demon sighed and followed his new master up the steps.

I'm not planning a continuation of this, to be honest. It was pretty much just for fun.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed & drop me a review if you did. Love you all! – Luna