Kiku was shuffling through his house, trying to clean it up last-minute. Shoving some dishes in the dishwasher, his doorbell rang. Alfred was already there. The house looked okay, but as he looked down at himself, he noticed he looks awful. Grabbing random clothes from his room, he went to the bathroom and yelled to Alfred that he could come in.

"Yo Kiku, what took you so long? Where are you anyway?" Alfred started looking around when Kiku didn't reply, since he was in the middle of brushing his teeth in his boxers. Just as he was about to answer after finishing, Alfred walked in without knocking, you know, like most Americans. Kiku just stood there in his boxers, his cheeks burning bright red.

Hand still on the doorknob, Alfred's face was also bright red. "Um…. Err," Not really knowing what to do, he just hands him the blue button-up shirt he pulled earlier, and backs out, awkwardly staring at the little Japanese man, taking in as much as he can of the enjoyable view. He leans against the wall after closing the door, smiling.

Still standing there, Kiku dresses, feeling really embarrassed, and stupid for not saying anything before it happened. He didn't care that Alfred saw him, but was more worried about what he might think. Since Kiku was in love with him, he wondered how attractive he was to him. He walks out of the bathroom, still blushing, as Alfred quickly wipes the smile off of his face.

"Ummm, that was kinda awkward…" Kiku stares at him, trying to read the expression on his face.

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that" he turns to him hand on the back of his head, gentle smile on his face. "Well, uh, what do ya wanna do?

"Well, I thought we should go sight-seeing. Like, to some shrine or something like that… and maybe later out to the city?"

"Sounds cool. You lead the way!" Alfred follows him out, as they walk through the streets, they stop at a tall flight of stairs.

"At the top of these is a small path through the woods, and then at the end is the most sacred shrine around, it's quite beautiful." Gazing up the stairs, Alfred slumps.

"Ack! So many stairs!" Kiku gives him a hard look, offended slightly about his laziness of climbing stairs that lead to a sacred place. Realizing this Alfred quickly says "But, uh, that's all right, it's sacred and all!" and starts climbing up the stairs, Kiku follows behind him. When they reach the top, Alfred is already exhausted, so he sits down.

"You are really sad, come on, it was only 100 stairs!" Kiku says teasingly pushing him by the shoulder.

"Bro, how… are you not… worn out… yet?" He grabs the hand Kiku stretches out to help him up.

"I'm used to it. As a child I would race other children up them, then back down, almost every day." They continue to walk towards the shrine. When they go inside, Kiku kneels in front of the scroll of Buddha, putting his hands together in front of his face. Not knowing how to react, Alfred does the same, not really knowing why. Kiku looks up at the scroll, and gasps. Alfred looks up to and watches, confused as Kiku backs away in horror.

"L-look out Alfred!" Alfred looks at the scroll again, and his eyes widen. He starts screaming for Kiku's help, as a strange creature pulls him into the scroll. Kiku lunges after him to try and pull him out, and ends up sucked in too, by what he now knows is the legend demon, Goshinki. They both find themselves in a strange castle, but they are separated.

They both start too wander around. They call each other's names, but neither can hear it. Kiku turns around hearing footsteps behind him, expecting to see Alfred. Instead a strange ogre demon grabs him and drags him off, as he passes out from fear. The some happens to Alfred. Kiku wakes up in a dark stonewall room, chained to the wall by his wrists. He peers around in the darkness, and sees a shadowy figure that resembles a human.

"Alfred! Alfred! Is that you?" he whispers at it. With no response, he looks closer at it, and realizes it's a deceased man, body too rotten for distinction. Looking around more, Kiku sees there's not 1, but 4 of them. "Well, THAT explains the smell of death in here! Where the h*** am I? I need to get out and find Alfred!" The cuffs around his wrists are pretty tight, but after contorting his hand a bit, he slips out of the chains and fids his way to the door. "D***it, it's locked!" Hearing large footsteps he hurries over to his chains and slip back into them just before the door opens. The same ogre come over and grabs him out of the chains, and, holding his arms behind him, drags Kiku out.

Alfred wakes up, in the same situation as Kiku, only he's chained in front of Goshinki.

"What the hell? What is this you bastard? Let me go!" suddenly he remembers Kiku jumping in after him. Enraged he stands and walks toward Goshinki as close as the chains let him "Where's Kiku? He better be okay or-"

"Settle down, Alfred. You can save your little friend, you know." Goshinki chuckles and watches as the fear starts to show in Alfred's eyes. He pulls up a hologram-like image from a dark orb setting on a large table in front of him. Alfred stares in horror, as the images of Kiku tied up and beaten bloody dance across the light shining from the orb.

"YOU! YOU LET HIM GO D*** IT!" He jerks the chains, unsuccessfully trying to break free. "What do you want fro me? I'll do anything as long as you let Kiku go!"

A dark smile spreads across Goshinki's face. "Anything?"

The ogre drags Kiku into a new room, and chained yet again. Goshinki sets across from him, black orb on a large table. Goshinki silently shows him images of a chained and beaten Alfred from the orb. Kiku watches, terrified for Alfred's safety. "No, it's not real! It has to be fake!" Kiku remembers that Goshinki is known for manipulating people. He likes to screw with them by portraying fake images of the one person they love the most n pain, in order to gain something from them. "I'll just play along with him…" Kiku displays distress to the monster. Satisfied with Kiku's performance Goshinki continues his plan.

"Now, as you see, your Alfred is in pain. I will free him from this world, and to where he belongs, on one condition." He pauses to watch the conflicting emotions play across Kiku's face. "Sell me… your soul." Kiku freezes, as a wave of shock courses through his body, his heart sinks. "NO! Alfred must be hearing the same thing now as I am! He doesn't know that it's all a trick!" Kiku has his hands behind his back, as his slips out of them he grabs the knife he hid in his jacket. Studying Goshinki, he realizes it's only an illusion of him, now he just needs to get through the guards. There's only two, but they're heavily armored, the only place to cut that would kill them is their necks. "D*** it! Their necks are al least two feet over my head! Well, it's worth a try…" Kiku stands and runs after them quickly. He takes a leap and just barely gets the first guard's throat enough to kill him. The other lunges at him. Kiku swings again but misses, and ends up with a deep gash in his left arm.

"Bastard!" he retrieves the sword the dead guard carries. Turning to the second he smiles "Heh, something I can actually use, lucky me. Now, LEND ME YOUR NECK!" Kiku runs at him, and cleanly severs the beast's head. "Good ridden." He looks where Goshinki sat, and sees the illusion has disappeared. "He might already be sending more of his slaves after me already, I have to hurry!" He cuts the lock on the door, and grabs the sword and scabbard from the other guard, and fastens it to his left side. He walks out the door, and fortunately is alone on the other side. He notices the pain in his arm. "What. Oh yeah, that guard did this." Ripping the sleeve off his shirt, he ties I as tight as possible around the wound, and runs through the castle in search of Alfred. "Alfred, you better be okay!" racing through the castle he hears a clanking noise down another hallway. Keeping close to the wall, he cautiously peeks around the corner, and sees three guards blocking a door. "They must be holding Alfred there! He must have known I'd go for him, that's why there were no guards elsewhere." Delighted, he holds the sword firmly in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he runs at them.

"See you in hell!" he yells. Catching them off guard, they have no time to react as he so easily kill them all in one swing. He wipes the fresh blood from his eyes. Looking at his blade, he drops it. "Too sh**y now…" he takes another sword from one of the guards, and what looks like a large axe, he ties that to his right side. "Hm, now that I think of it, I've never killed so easily before. I guess it's true, when driven by love or hatred, you won't even recognize yourself anymore…"

He opens the doors, expecting the worst possible, so he can stay calm if it does happen. Sadly, that didn't work out. He immediately runs to Alfred, who is lying on the floor lifelessly, not even noticing Goshinki was there himself.

"Alfred! Alfred you idiot! Get up!" Shaking his shoulders, he knows it's too late, but refuses to believe it.

"Fool! Did you really think you'd be able to save him? Though you are strong, you've met a dead end. I've taken your friends soul! He actually believed I'd let you live if he did!" He chuckles tauntingly at Kiku. "Your friend is a lifeless corpse now. But don't worry, you'll be joining him soon enough!" Kiku gently puts Alfred down, and runs at Goshinki, swinging at the arm that comes for him. The sword strikes him many times, but it doesn't even scratch him.

"Heh heh heh, it's no use, human. You're no bigger than my thumb! Do you really think you can kill me? Just give it up! It's too late to save your friend, his soul's gone for good!" he grabs Kiku holding him tightly in his fist, Kiku struggles to get out, barely able to breath.

"I…. I can't give up! As long as I'm alive, I have to… keep… trying!" Kiku gets out and now stands on his hand. Holding a sword in each hand he runs up Goshinki's arm, and stands back as the demon's head turns towards him slowly. "Good, just as I planned!" an evil smile spreads across Kiku's face, as he shoves one sword into each eye. Goshinki screams and holds them, now completely blinded.

"You little s***!" Goshinki thrashes around, in hope of getting Kiku, who stands on his left shoulder, satisfied. He climbs on top his head, but Goshinki, feeling his little footsteps, grabs him and slams him down to the hard stone floor. Amazingly, Kiku remains conscious, but he now suffers a few broken ribs, and a broken wrist. He lies in pain on the floor for a few seconds. "D-d*** it! What no! I can't really function with a broken wrist, and these ribs… maybe if I tie my other sleeve around it, I can still hold my sword, I just can't bend it…" he decides it's worth a try. Once it's fixed, he slowly gets up, as Goshinki laughs.

"Heh, are you alive down there Kiku? That was too easy, and he thought he could actually kill me!" he laughs triumphantly. "How in the hell do I kill this guy?" Kiku thinks. "Maybe his heart? I'll have to start there!" Kiku silently climbs up the demon's chest, and shove both swords through his flesh at where his heart might be. He pulls the swords out and runs back down as Goshinki just scratches where he cut. "Nothing but an itch? Maybe it's not him I need to cut…the orb has to be it! My swords have no effect on anything but his eyes…" Kiku turns around and walks to the 40-foot-tall table. Taking his swords. He uses them to climb by stabbing them into the tablecloth, his broken wrist sending fiery pain through his arm.

He reaches the top, and glances at Goshinki, who just sits there, then at Alfred, who lies in the same position he had left him. He walks over to the giant orb, and eventually climbs up the slippery side. Peering into the blackness, he gathers the last of his strength and pierces the swords through it. Nothing happens, and then suddenly the orb starts to shake, knocking Kiku off. Lying on the table he watches intently, then it suddenly explodes, throwing Kiku against the wall. He hears the screams of agony from Goshinki, and watches as his body seems to crumble into dust and then vanishes. He crawls over to where Alfred lays. Placing his head n his lap, he watches the souls as they fly out of the castle, waiting for Alfred's to return.

All the souls have left, but Alfred's does not return to him. Tears fill Kiku's eyes, as he hold Alfred's cheeks. "Alfred, wake up. Why aren't you back yet?" he leans down and listens for a heartbeat, but instead, there is silence. "No… it can't be! Alfred!" the tears can no longer remain in his eyes, and start to flow down his face. "Then, you are truly not coming back, then, I'll have to get you back home for burial, and then you may rest in peace…" Kiku leans down and kisses Alfred, for a long time. Then, suddenly, Alfred starts kissing back. Startled, Kiku's eyes widen, and he stops and looks at him.

"Hey there, Kiku. Did I die and go to heaven?" He smiles, and then it fades away as he sees the condition Kiku is in.

"No, not yet. Well, you did, for a while. But I killed Goshinki, and regained your soul." He half smiles at Alfred's reaction. "Heh, I got a little beat up, huh?" he stands to help Alfred up, but instead he get up on his own and gently picks Kiku up.

"Thank you, now lets get out of this place." He kisses Kiku on the forehead. "And by the way, you looked really adorable in your boxers earlier." He smiles down at him.

"Heh, thanks Alfred." He smiles back with red cheeks. "I love you."

"I love you too, Kiku." They walk out the door together and find the portal back at the same place Alfred had entered.