Humanly Demonic (IwaOi)

The wood

Iwaizumi Hajime was a lively child. He loved climbing trees
and there was no wood he hadn't explored. He loved adventures and chasing
insects.

One day, while he was following a beetle, a colorful butterfly appeared in front of his eyes, capturing his attention. He lost interest in the beetle, and began to chase the butterfly.

"Stop!" he shouted at the insect, losing patience.

Suddenly he fell to the ground, unaware of what had just happened. He rubbed his head and then realized that, in front of him, another child was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" Hajime asked, getting up, not taking his eyes off the boy.

"Tooru...Oikawa" he replied uncertainly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you," said Hajime smiling.

Tooru seemed to remain with his mouth open, his gaze fixed on Iwaizumi, as if he were some strange being.

"I was chasing that butterfly," explained the boy, indicating the insect that was now resting on a leaf.

Tooru turned in the direction indicated, then returned to stare at the other.

"There are so many around here," he said, drawing Iwaizumi's attention.

"Really? I've never seen them so colorful though"

"Come. I'll show you a place" said Oikawa, starting to walk the paths.

Iwaizumi, without the slightest doubt, followed him. His sense of adventure was stronger than the distrust he had to have for strangers.

After a while, they arrived in an open field, with a small lake and a few trees around it. Myriads of colorful butterflies flew here and there, surrounding the two children. Hajime, surprised, smiled at the sight of many butterflies and began to run, picking up a few with the net in his hand.

"Look how many I got!" he exclaimed, approaching Tooru to show them.

"Can you free them now?" said Oikawa, smiling slightly.

"Free them? I wanted to take some home," Iwaizumi replied, looking confused.

"I understand...but don't you think they'll suffer? Their home is here" Tooru said, looking down.

Iwaizumi could not understand it. They were just butterflies,
it couldn't be a crime to bring some of them home. Oikawa's gaze, however, made
him feel guilty.

"Okay" he said, releasing them and watching them fly away, far away.

Oikawa looked at him in surprise: of course, he never expected Iwaizumi to listen to him. Hajime started walking in the vast lawn, followed by Tooru.

"Do you come here every day to catch insects?" Oikawa said after Iwaizumi told him his story.

"Yes, I like to explore. And you?"

Oikawa smiled and replied: "I live here"

"Don't joke! Nobody lives in the woods!" Hajime exclaimed, laughing.

Noticing that Oikawa was just smiling, he stopped, turning to look at him in the eye.

"Oi...what are these?" Hajime asked suddenly, putting one hand on the other's head, pointing at it.

Small horns sprouted from Oikawa's head, mingling with his wavy chocolate brown hair.

"N-nothing," Tooru said, moving slightly away from the boy.

A beetle suddenly passed in front of them, attracting the attention of Hajime who immediately ran after it.

"See you tomorrow!" Iwaizumi exclaimed, turning for a moment, smiling at him, before returning to chase the insect.

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Oikawa and Iwaizumi met every day now. They played together,
explored new places, climbed trees, unaware of the dangers.

"What's this?" Oikawa asked, looking at the small object that Hajime had given him.

"It's a spinning top. If you turn it..." Hajime explained, but a sudden whine from Tooru made him shut up.

"Aaah! It's alive!" Oikawa exclaimed, while the top kept spinning until it stopped.

Hajime looked at the other in surprise, then burst out laughing. That boy was so funny. Suddenly, Iwaizumi's gaze settled on an abandoned building in the distance. His sense of adventure left him no other choice: he absolutely had to explore that place. When he stood up, Oikawa stared at him in confusion.

"Let's go and see" said Hajime, starting to run.

Tooru followed him perplexed, asking for explanations along the way. When they arrived on the scene, Iwaizumi didn't hesitate to enter.

"Iwa-chan, I don't think it's a good idea!" Tooru exclaimed, following him as he looked around.

"Shh!" said Iwaizumi.

The building was full of dust and cobwebs, which Tooru hated. Oikawa loved the light, the flowers, but that place was so dark that it made him shiver. Hajime didn't seem to listen to Tooru's complaints: he was too focused on exploring the rooms and the various places of the building to pay attention to him.

Suddenly he heard a scream, it sounded like a familiar voice.

"Oikawa!" Iwaizumi exclaimed, realizing that he had lost him.

He started looking for him everywhere, continuing to call him, until he found him curled up under a table.

"Hajime!" Oikawa exclaimed, as tears streamed down his face.

"What happened?" the other asked approaching him, worried.

Tooru reached out to indicate a huge cockroach a few steps away. Iwaizumi, incredulous, turned to the boy, glaring at him.

"Is that why you screamed like a sissy?! You made me feel an heartattack, damn it!" Hajime exclaimed, standing up, crossing his arms in indignation.

"I-It's not just for that! I was afraid of losing you forever, Iwa-chan..." Oikawa said, starting to cry.

Iwaizumi looked at him in surprise, lowering his arms to his sides.

"I couldn't find you and-and...and I thought Iwa-chan had gone without me..." Oikawa said between sobs, trying to stop the tears.

Hajime smiled and walked over to him, hugging him tightly.

"I won't go anywhere without you, Tooru. I'll never leave you behind" he said, as Oikawa tried to calm down.

Once out of the building, on the way home, Iwaizumi looked at his friend and then asked him: "What happened to the things you had on the top of your head?"

He was referring to the small horns of Tooru he had seen during their first meeting.

"It was two twigs that had ended up in my head. I had fallen to the ground and I didn't notice," said Oikawa, hoping that that explanation would be enough.

And for Iwaizumi it was enough, since he no longer asked for anything and started chasing various insects to catch them. As Oikawa watched him, a few words kept coming back to him.

"You absolutely mustn't show your true nature to strangers, especially humans. They would try to kill you, just because you are different from them. As soon as you meet a human, hide and don't be seen for any reason. Promise me, Tooru."

Oikawa hadn't hidden, hadn't run away and Iwaizumi had managed to see his true nature, even if only for a moment. Nothing had happened to him. Iwaizumi hadn't killed him and he was still alive.

Tooru began to think that his father's words were not so true after all.