A/N: First off, I don't own Demon Diary or its characters in any way, shape or form. I

don't even own a single copy of the manwha. Sad, isn't it?

Anyway.

Demon Diary. I fell in love with this manwha, what else can I say? Fanfic is a natural progression from obsession- you know, right there after multiple readings and a few slots before cosplay...and although this appears to be my first anime fanfic, your eyes are deceived, my friend! My beta foureyedbookworm and I have started up an Inuyasha collaboration which is, as of now, still not posted. Hopefully, we'll pick up speed with that soon. This is a mini project of mine. If I actually get this posted, it'll be nothing short of a miracle. .

Hope you enjoy, and, as usual, reviews are greatly appreciated. All quotes are from one of my favorite poems, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot.

How to Presume

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous--
Almost, at times, the Fool.

Chapter One: 'I Have Seen the Moment of My Greatness Flicker'

The castle had become dusty after years of disuse, unpleasantly cold in the evenings and more sinister than it had been before. People had taken to labeling the abandoned property as 'haunted', which happened to most places after any decent period of inactivity. When three years in the castle had passed without so much as a visit from the Demon Lord and his servant, most people felt the title was justified.

The local boys had made visiting the haunted castle something of a dare. Of course, not one of them had yet gotten the courage to do it. They'd tease each other and brag about nighttime expeditions in the castle's halls, but it was an unspoken truth that nobody had been there, really, and besides- their mothers would all kill them if they set foot in the place. It was a fact of life that was simply understood.

Occasionally, the castle and its masters were brought up and discussed when the housewives, out by the river with the week's wash, met to gossip. One of the demons- tall, with long dark hair- had certainly been handsome. It was still disputed whether he or the boy was the true Demon Lord.

Time passed and, in the village, life changed and wearily ground on, while the castle stood untouched. No one seemed to think the two would ever return.

The rumor appeared late one night at the local pub. The usual customers were there, village men resting after a long day of work, but there was also a stranger. His cloak trailed puddles when he stepped out of the rain, but no one missed the rich fabric it was cut from. His boots were shaped from fine, supple leather, and the hand that gestured for the bartender gleamed with signet rings and gold bangles.

"Ugh. I absolutely refuse to believe that this is your finest wine." The stranger set down his wineglass and studied its contents with a look of vague disgust. On the other side of the counter, the bartender appeared stricken and more than a little alarmed.

"P-p-pardon, milord, I only-"

"If you're not going to serve me properly," the man interrupted, "-at the very least allow me to speak my piece. I came here with news, after all."

By then, all conversations had lapsed suspiciously into companionable silence. Nothing could be heard but the rain tapping patiently at the East windows. The stranger seemed pleased by this, and went on.

"I came a long way to tell you this tonight. Listen well. The mountaintop castle has been empty for three years now, yes? But now, very soon, it will be abandoned no longer. Maybe even tonight, if you're lucky.

"The Demon Lord Raenef V will be returning shortly to his realm."

There, he stopped for emphasis, waiting for an uproar. He was met with blank stares.

"What? You don't believe me?" Offended, he stood up to leave in an appropriate huff of dignified fury.

Immediately, the crowd protested - the bartender apologized profusely, and a few men offered to bring him better wine from their own cellars. Smiling into one well-manicured hand, he returned to his seat.

"Well," he announced, settling himself against the bar. An eager audience surrounded him- a bit coarse for his tastes, but good enough for the purpose he had in mind. "Where would you like for me to start?"

The rain was getting heavier across town. Out where the village intersected the main road, the two travelers looked more like blurred shadows than a Demon Lord and his servant as they entered town.

"We're almost there! I can nearly see the castle from here." Raenef shifted the weight of his teacher's arm more solidly around his shoulder with a cheer.

Eclipse, as usual, didn't reply. His protests had stopped hours ago and since then, he had spoken as little as possible. There was no use in making himself weaker than he already was.

For such a skinny boy, Raenef had shown surprising strength. During the past few days, he had been supporting most of Eclipse's weight, and the last two hours had been spent wallowing through the rain. How the boy still managed to keep his spirits up was beyond reason.

"Once I see the castle, I should be able to transport us over there, right, Eclipse?"

"That's right, Master Raenef." He inhaled sharply...traveling was painful.

A cripple- that was what he was reduced to. There was no excuse for relying on his master like this, and he had explained this repeatedly to Raenef. Yet the fool had still refused to leave him behind.

"Do you need to rest, Eclipse? We can stop for awhile if you want," Raenef panted, again shifting his grip. "There's a tree over there-"

"No." Truthfully, he was feeling a bit faint. Any other time he would've agreed to rest; but now, so close to the castle, it was better to keep moving.

Slowly, they limped through the village. "I don't think it's changed much since we left. At least it doesn't look like it. I wonder how Leeche is doing, here. How old would she be now?"

"Don't want to talk about her," Eclipse replied heavily.

Raenef, seeing the expression on his face, laughed; the bright sound managed to cut through the heavy rain, and it startled Eclipse. He felt odd, being pleased to hear that laugh. Lately, he'd found it difficult to focus on anything but his sudden weakness.

"Sorry, Eclipse, that was hypothetical." Suddenly, he became concerned. Eclipse felt Raenef take his hand. "Don't over-work yourself, okay? You shouldn't speak too much. And I shouldn't be making you talk. I know it hurts."

"I'm fine." Strange, he thought to himself wryly. No matter how many times you insist that, it never once becomes the truth.

Once the castle was in view, just visible through the heavy rain, it was a simple matter for them to get there. Normally, a demon could transport himself anywhere he could visualize in his mind; with the location in mind, all he would need would be to speak the 'Go' command, and he would be appear there instantly.

Eclipse had not been the only one affected by the battle, though he had taken the brunt of the damage. Both of them were drained of most of their magic- Eclipse had so little, he could do little to nothing with it. Raenef, however, had still had some power remaining in the battle's aftermath. Eclipse remembered telling him exactly that while lying wounded in the hot Southern sun.

"You have just enough to take us back to the castle." Eclipse forced the words out through clenched teeth. He pressed one hand against his injured left side- the other covered his eyes. "Try now, Master Raenef."

Raenef nodded. His hands were cold and obviously shaking where they supported Eclipse's head; the blood on them seemed uncomfortably hot in comparison, and sticky. He reached down and wrapped one protective arm carefully around Eclipse's torso.

Despite his master's caution, Eclipse bit his tongue hard enough to taste blood in his mouth...then again, that might have already been there from before. Times where his memory failed were few and far between, but this was one of them; there was blood everywhere and the sharp smell of copper distorted his senses. 

He didn't dare close his eyes.

"It's not working...it's not..." Raenef's increasingly frantic mumbling brought him back into focus. "Eclipse...why isn't it working!? Is there something wrong with me? Did I do something wrong again? I bet I did. This is my fault, I can't believe I'm such-"

Eclipse grasped around for Raenef's hand and managed to catch hold of it. The babbling stopped, then. But the trembling only became worse. "Stop. Master Raenef, please. Calm down, or you'll exhaust yourself."

"Eclipse-!" Raenef tried to start again, desperate. Again, Eclipse interrupted him.

"Master, you must listen to me." Eclipse squeezed the hand harder, and Raenef made a faint, worried noise in the back of his throat. "You can put my head down now. I'll be fine."

"Of course you're not fine!"

"Master Raenef, put my head down. Go on. Go back to the castle." It was like cajoling a puppy to let go of its favorite toy, in a way. 'Let go, go on, now, there's go a good boy' He almost smiled, but that would have been foolish. Now wasn't the time to be remembering how unlike a Demon Lord his master was.

"What? Eclipse, we can't, I couldn't get my magic to work."

"It could be that, if..." he said softly. He began to pry away Raenef's fingers from his side, very gently, and eased himself out of his master's arms. Raenef, somewhat shocked, did nothing to stop him- it was still difficult, and his thoughts became disconnected again...He could hear Raenef beginning to cry as he began to realize what Eclipse meant for him to do, but he sounded very, very far away.

"No, I won't, I won't let you-"

"If you went alone..."

"I won't!"

"You could make it then. Transporting two is more difficult that just yourself...I...don't have the magic to-"

"I order you to stop it, Eclipse!" His shout startled them both. Eclipse had begun to let go of his hand, but furiously, Raenef gripped it tighter. "How can you even...I- I won't let you stay here and...and die!"

Shaken after his outburst, Raenef finally stopped holding back and began to sob.

Eclipse said nothing, listening for a while to the sound. Yes, he remembered at the worse moments- his master was no Demon Lord. He was little more than a child, really, and now he was much like a frightened little boy who had done something terribly wrong. His snuffling, hysterical tears were more than enough evidence of that.

I have already forgiven you, he thought. I would have everything back as it was, if I could. But you will never forgive yourself.

After some time, Eclipse released Raenef's hand. The boy meant to protest, but Eclipse spoke before he had the time to.

"Let me rest a bit, Master Raenef. It will be a very long walk."

As it was, the journey had been more than a long walk. Pulhel was a good five thousand miles south of the castle, at best, and the two had found themselves in the desert just south of the city. No, Eclipse remembered wryly. It had been anything but a pleasant stroll.

They had been gone for three years and, in the castle, it certainly showed.

"I guess we're in my room, Eclipse. Gosh, there's so much dust..." Raenef's room- well, that made sense. His own bedroom was probably what the boy could visualize best. Eclipse had expected to find himself in his own room, but now he realized that Raenef had never seen it...and he himself would never see it again.

There was probably very little difference between the two rooms, at this point. He shook his head faintly. It shouldn't have mattered.

Raenef led him over to the bed, tripping once in the dark on a forgotten trunk so that they both nearly fell over, but soon he had gotten Eclipse settled down on top of the bedcovers. A cloud of dust rose up and settled on them, making Raenef sneeze.

"You'll be all right?" he asked anxiously. He brushed some more dust off the headboard, and sneezed yet again. 

Eclipse smiled. "It's good to be home, isn't it, Master Raenef?"

Even though he couldn't see it, Eclipse could hear the smile in Raenef's voice. "Of course! We've got so much to do, though. The first thing I need to do is call in a healer for you, and then-" He sneezed. "I'm going to get rid of some of this dust."

"I'd rather you not. If you remember the last time you tried to dust..."

Raenef huffed. "I'll get Chris to come help me then. He's good at that cleaning stuff."

Chris? Eclipse thought of the arrogant little cleric, amused. "Master Raenef, Chris is now the High Cleric."

"Eh? Does that mean he can't come over anymore?" asked Raenef, puzzled. Eclipse sometimes wondered if that innocence was feigned- Raenef was whole now, after all, and he was much more powerful than he seemed sometimes. But times like these reminded him that he was probably wrong to think so.

"I don't know, Master Raenef. Maybe tomorrow I could tell you. Go rest now."

"You're the one who should be resting," said Raenef guiltily. He sneezed one last time before Eclipse could hear his footsteps retreating to a futon that, he remembered, was at the far side of the room. "First thing tomorrow, I'm getting that healer. You'll be fine. I'll get you fixed, I promise, Eclipse."

By the time Eclipse was prepared to reply, Raenef's breathing was deep and even. He was obviously asleep. There was no other sound in the castle except for the distant sound of rain.

Eclipse closed his eyes. The sight he saw there was no different from what he saw when he woke in the morning, and could feel the sun on his back. It was no different than what he saw on a snowy evening, or on a cool spring night when the moon was huge in the sky.

All he had seen for years, now, was darkness. In his mind, he could visualize the room and the castle- but everything looked the same when seen through blind eyes.

He fell into a deadened, dreamless sleep.