Kitsune

v. autumn

Hoseok ran through the crowded forest of trees, keeping his eyes open as they darted from left, to right, and back again. His sandal-covered feet splashed in the shallow puddles of rain water mixed with mud and rock as he skidded around trees- mindful not to lose his balance. The demon he was chasing wasn't particularly impressive when it came down to speed and evasion as the hunter gained more and more ground on it.

A small fry barely able to call itself a demon- it must've just recently come to it's demonic light.

Hoseok reached into the pocket of his keikogi as he grabbed a small chute of bamboo that had been modified as a container. Pushing the small, circular piece of wood that was over the top of the hollow, hand length chute, he swung his arm up flinging something from inside out to fly far in front of him. Small, deep purple balls flung from the bamboo as they hit the ground and soon the rainy, woodland area was encased in a shield of smoke.

He shoved the bamboo back into his pocket as he heard the sound of the demon hitting the ground before it started gasping. This smoke was absolutely disgusting to demons, but had no effect whatsoever on humans. It didn't even sting Hoseok's eyes. It was thick, but it wouldn't be for long.

The rain won't let the smoke last, Hoseok thought as he dashed around through the smoke screen, have to act fast. Soon enough, his running came to a heel-skidding, muddy stop as the demon he was pursuing was on the ground, clawing at the dirt and mud, attempting to get back on its feet.

Sensing- then seeing- Hoseok behind it's back, it hissed in pathetic warning. Hoseok's blade that he had pulled from its scabbard was raised, his arm immediately swinging down with the intent on beheading the foul beast, but the blow was misdelivered. The demon had scrambled in the muddy and rock enough to crouch on the balls of its feet before lunging at Hoseok. The blow that was supposed to sever its head, instead sliced along it's chest. Damaging sure, but not fatal.

The demon howled as it knocked Hoseok onto his back before rolling off the fallen hunter and dashing off again. The smoke was all but clearing out now, the effects not lasting just as he knew it wouldn't.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath. The sounds of the tree branches above his head creaking made him look up. "Stay on it!" He shouted, the rain only drizzling on him thanks to the cover of the high foliage. You, from above, silently obeyed as you were soon jumping from tree branch to tree branch, easily keeping up with your lower leveled, common demon.

It had almost succeeded in leaving the thick line of trees, but freedom was soon knocked out of it as you plowed into it's back. Your knees had come crashing down on it's spine as you propelled yourself from a branch down to the muddy earth. Pinning the demon down on it's chest, it scraped the ground, flinging mud and water up to try and get away.

All but fruitless efforts.

Your hand that rested on the back of it's head ignited. Blue fire surrounded it's skull in mere moments and it was no surprise to hear it screaming and struggling against the heat. The stench of burning flesh and hair and blood waffed through your sensitive nostrils as you grimaced. You raise your free hand to cover your mouth and nose. That paired with the lingering scent of the smoke bombs from before almost made you want to vomit.

"At your back," a low voice called from behind you. You immediately sprung off the demon's back, flipping over its head, but never releasing it. You knelt in front of the demon, pushing its face into the dirt and continued keeping your fire burning strong as you pinned it down by the back of it's skull.

The thrashing struggle ended and the screams died when Hoseok's sword came down onto the back of its neck, cutting clean through the flesh and bone. You lightly lifted the severed head off the muddy, woodland floor before you threw it far into the trees. Just as a precaution. The body then began to disintegrate as Hoseok swung the blood off his blade and resheathed it.

Hoseok looked from the fading body to you as you kept a sour face on your lips and your nose and mouth covered. Partially from the smell of burning demon and partially from the scent of Hoseok's smoke bombs.

"You smell disgusting," you insulted.

"Then, the smoke bombs are working." He dug into his pocket again as he offered you back your necklace that concealed your demonic traits. Not long ago- and too many incidents of almost losing it- Hoseok thought it'd be best if he took it from you when in battle. It would narrow down the times of having to look for it if it was taken off your neck or repair if the chain happened to break.

Slinging it back on, Hoseok looked around and noticed a small path between the trees. Following it with his eyes the furthest he could with his human vision; he then turned his sights up to the sky. Peeking through the trees that had begun to regain their leaves he could see the sky of grey that continued to produce rain.

"If we follow this path," he looked back down, gesturing towards the trail, "we may come across a village. We can see if there's a place to stop until this weather passes." You ruffled your hair that had become uncomfortably damp as you started to follow after Hoseok who was already starting to follow along the semi-muddy trail.

It had been three months since you started traveling with Hoseok under Taehyung's orders. Over time, the relationship you two have built has progressed, although the two of you still weren't friends. You both had accepted that you'd be stuck with each other with no chance of a change in plans. You both could hold a conversation- albeit short ones- and you both had a mutual unspoken understanding to not pry into the pasts of each other.

Hoseok didn't care about what past you may have had before Fuuta and Shiro took you in and converted you to their side. In turn, you never prodded or poked at hints of Hoseok's past- even if you were admittingly the tiniest bit curious. Along with that, you found out quickly that the second blade Hoseok held at his side that always remained sealed and undrawn was absolutely taboo.

You had tried being sneaky one time with it since it was clear he didn't want to talk about it. You found it odd and increasingly annoying. He carried it around everywhere and any chance of it being more than three feet away from him he started to act up. Yet, despite it's obvious importance, he never uttered a word about it.

So, you took matters into your own hands

Sneaking over to his side one night while he was sleeping on the ground under the cover of a tree, you gently ran your fingertips up the sealed scabbard. You would occasionally look to see if he was perhaps connected to it spiritually, but when he didn't stir as you continued to poke and touch the scabbard you ruled out that possibility. It was only when your hands touched and gripped the chained, untouched hilt of the sword and lifted it just off the ground enough to grasp it firmly, did he wake up.

Hoseok's hand was instantly around your throat, blunt nails digging into your skin as he slammed you against the trunk of the tree he was previously sleeping under. His half lidded, not fully awake gaze drilled into your own that had been narrowed from the unsuspected attack.

This wasn't like the other times he's attacked or pinned you down. No, those times, although he was fighting to win and overpower you, he didn't really intend on killing you.

In that moment, half asleep and seeing his sword being tampered with, the squeezing around your neck told you that if he didn't wake up he really would kill you- or at least try. The most he could do is make you pass out from the lack of air, but then there was a chance of him cutting your head off after you had lost consciousness.

"Hoseok," you squawked out as you gripped the hand that squeezed your neck. Whether it had been your nails pushing into the back of his hand, your strained voice, or the passing of time giving him a moment to realize what was happening- what have it, he immediately dropped you.

As you coughed and sputtered after slumping forward to regain proper functioning of your body, you noticed Hoseok holding the sealed second blade behind him and properly away from you. The way he glared down at you that night made you wonder if it was you who was really the demon among the two of you. His gaze was so cold and hard- like was painting a target on your forehead with his eyes.

He never spoke about what happened, nor did he apologize for his actions. He just silently warned you not to touch it again- a warning you would do well to heed.

You stopped as you both had just stepped out of the woods. Hoseok, noticing your halt, stopped in turn and looked at you. As the rain now began to properly drench you both without the cover of trees, you sniffed the air. It was humid and the scent of the rain was overwhelming, but you could smell something else lingering in the air.

You closed your eyes, trying to concentrate further on the scent you tried to chase as Hoseok remained silent. He knew not to break your concentration, or else he'd have to listen to you grumble about him being annoying again. When you opened your eyes again, he knew it was clear to speak again.

"What do you smell?"

He watched your nose wrinkle up and your brows furrow. He could see your fox like traits shining through even with your necklace on as your face twisted- your eyes just barely tinting gold. He quirked his brow, waiting for an answer.

"Whatever it is, it smells absolutely rotten."

Hoseok hesitated, but decided that it must've been a long dead animal carcass or something nearby that was in the middle of decaying.

"Put up with it, I'm not planning on spending all day in the damn rain," he grumbled as he turned away from you. You hissed at his dismissal of your obvious discomfort from the stench in the air. In the end though, even if he did care- what could he do? It was your nose, not his and he couldn't just change the way the outside smelt. It was your issue.

You both were walking along the open trail, fields to either side and the occasional small animal running by or escaping the rain to return to its burrow, or nest, or home in question.

You were used to rain- when you lived independently and lingered around the shine Taehyung and Hoseok had originally captured you from, the weather wasn't an issue to you. As a demon, it wasn't like you could get sick so easily and it wasn't harmful. However, Hoseok was still human and too much exposure to inclimate weather would wear on him- whether he'd show it to you or not given his pride.

You thought about bringing it up or not, maybe try and get him to rest at the next sight of something that offered a small amount of cover. However, before you could even convince yourself to give up on the idea, something caught your ears.

You stopped and looked to the left where the trail had divided down to rolling hills still filled with fields of crops. You looked down the path that disappeared down a slope and Hoseok soon caught on to your sloshing footsteps not following him. Turning, he clicked his tongue at you, halting again. He was ready to start an argument, when he said he didn't want to spend all day in the rain- he damn well meant it.

"What are you doing, you stupid fox?" He called. He typically didn't address you as your demonic counterpart, but you were alone and there was no risk of letting your identity slip. However, he didn't come close enough to reach out and grab your arm to get your attention back, before you darted off down the hill. "Hey!" He yelled over the rainfall and slashing stomping as he immediately dashed after you, cursing under his breath.

His footsteps halted for just a moment before he was rushing down the hill now on his own conscience, his hand on the hilt of his sword as he finally saw why you were acting up so suddenly. At the bottom of the muddy, patchy hill was a demon in pursuit of a child.

"One thing after another," he hissed, trying not to bite down on his tongue as his complained and ran in tandem.

As you ran down the hill, your eyes squinted and you blinked to try and keep the rain from blinding you. The raindrops felt like small pebble pellets being thrown against your skin as you skid to a stop at the base of the hill. You noticed the moment the child being chased saw your approaching body through the rain.

"Help me!" The fragile, tiny little boy cried with a hoarse, weep-ridden voice.

"Jump towards me!" You screamed, as he immediately did as he was told in a panic-blinded instinct. You made it to him in a mere moment, grabbing around his small body as you heaved him up on your shoulder. It pushed into his stomach as you balanced him with one of your arms. You felt his smaller arms try and grab onto you the best he could as his small hands entangled in your hair and yukata.

As you tried to adjust his position on your shoulder that you were sure was more uncomfortable for the child than you, the demon now had its sights set on you. You grit your teeth as you knew that you couldn't use your fire with the child in your arms.

It wasn't a large demon and in your experience, it wasn't even frightening. A large, round body with small limbs. It was more like a lantern that had grown flimsy limbs and been put into too many fires without burning than a demon. You hissed as it twitched in movement.

As it's disfigured body lifted to swing at you, you immediately ran towards it before you hit the ground, sliding beneath its legs on your thighs while keeping your chest upright. There was no way it could reach or bend down to reach you with its body the way it was unless it broke its own spine.

The child on your shoulder cried in fear as you bent your arm that held him on your shoulder to protect his head with your hand as you jumped and moved around. As the demon turned around to see you again, it's stomach opened to reveal a mouth. You almost gagged at the stench of it's demon breath that wafted it's stomach, no doubt the result of countless human bodies being eaten. Even the rain did little to delude the stench.

In the corner of your eye, you saw a faint glint. You spun around, yanking the child off your shoulder as he yelped. You crouched to the ground and cradled him to your chest covering his head with your arms, covering his ears and pushing his face into your breast to keep his eyes out of anything he didn't need to see so young.

Your ears picked up on the sound of metal slicing the air before there was a beat of silence followed by fizzing and something landing back onto the wet, sloppy ground. Looking over your shoulder, you caught sight of Hoseok pushing his sword back into his sheath as his shoulders relaxed. He turned around to face you and the child-victim as your eyes met.

"I'm getting tired of saving your neck," he tutted as he made his way towards you. You wanted to hiss at him. It wasn't like you kept planning this, you couldn't just use your powers when you were supposed to be posing as an ordinary human. Plus, you had no material weapons. And you were protecting a child.

"Do not blame me," you argued. "I had my hands full," you countered. You loosened your grip on the sobbing boy in your arms as you knelt in puddles of mud and water. He was holding you like his life depended on it- though just a moment ago it did.

In truth you had no idea what to do now. You had dealt with kids before when you were with Taehyung, but they hardly paid you mind and if they did it wasn't affection, or in this case seeking comfort from you. You kept trying to imagine what Taehyung would do in this situation, but your mind just kept running blank.

You were pulled from your thoughts when you felt Hoseok kneel down next to you and place his hand on top of the little boy's head. He ruffled the light brown strands of hair as the child finally pulled his head up to look at the two of you.

His dark eyes were red rimmed and puffy as his cheeks were swollen and tearstained. HIs lips were chapped and patchy from biting at them. His entire small frame hiccuped with cries and trembles. Skin littered with small cuts and bruises and his clothes were covered in muddy patches.

"Calm down," Hoseok softly spoke. You were shocked he was able to make his voice sound so soothing. He had only ever spoken to you in curt, malice coated words. "Can you tell me your name?"

The boy sniffed as he took a shaky breath before he pushed out broken, incomplete noises. Trying again as Hoseok continued to stroke his head, he finally formed his name properly. "Aito," he whimpered. You were half thankful that it was a short name he was able to push out quickly.

"Alright," Hoseok nodded, "do you know where-" Hoseok's small investigation was quickly stopped by the sound of someone in the distance shouting over the rain. Calling for the name of the little boy cradled to your chest.

You stood up along with Hoseok, still holding Aito in your arms as he held your shoulders with his hands and looked around for the person calling his name. Coming up from another trail was a young woman. Her kimono was wrapped tightly around her waist as she wore an ohenro hat to keep her shielded from the rain. She soon caught sight of the two of you with the boy in your arms.

You looked down to see his face light up as tears started to fall down his cheeks again at the sight of the woman.

The woman broke into a sprint towards you three as Hoseok stepped aside. You both assumed that was the boy's mother; or guardian at the very least. You started walking forward to meet her half way and as soon as she was within arms distance of you, she snatched the boy from your arms as he unclasped his hands from you and reached out to her.

You stepped back and let the two have their moment and when that moment broke, the woman looked up at you and glared. You weren't shocked, though you did feel a pang of annoyance and offense. Of course she assumed you were after her son, you were just carrying him not long ago- but then again if you were really trying to commit a crime, you wouldn't have gone towards her to return him in the first place.

The small child must've been smarter than he seemed because he was soon tapping lightly on the woman's cheeks and puffing out his own, telling her that you and Hoseok had helped him. He dramatically told her how he was in danger and how you and Hoseok had saved his life and tried to calm him down before she showed up.

The frown on her face lessened, but didn't disappear as she looked back up. Hoseok had walked back to your side, ready to get a move on again before the rain further sours his already sour mood.

"Wait a moment," the woman in the ohenro hat called as you both were ready to depart without a word. "Are you both traveling somewhere?"

"Somewhere with shelter ideally," Hoseok bit. You shot a glare at him for his temper that he promptly ignored.

"If you're truly responsible for taking down a demon to save my son," she hiked the small boy on her hip higher in response to Aito coming into the conversation, "then my village has an extra hut we use for travelers. You can use that."

You glanced at Hoseok and he did the same to you before his shoulders slumped and he crossed his arms across his chest. You had gotten better at reading his body language and the fact that his hand was nowhere near his sword made you know he was going to accept the offer.

"Anything to get out of this rain," he replied, none too curtly.

The woman set the Aito back down when he began to squirm, not seeming to mind the rain as he ran back to you and grabbed your hand. Clearly, he had taken a liking to you- understandable since you were the first to grab and keep him from getting squashed or eaten. As he held your hand, he looked at Hoseok and smiled at him- thanking him too.

Aito's mother led you back to the village as the boy kept himself busy by chatting about whatever his little heart desired- the fact that he wasn't silent in trauma from almost dying left your mind fuzzled. If you were a human child, you'd be at least a bit choked up this soon after such an event- not a raging chatterbox.

The scowl on Hoseok's face as the boy prattled on showed that he was somewhere along the same wavelength as you.

-x-x-x-

Hoseok and you had just entered the small hut that Aito's mother had shown you to before she excused herself and her son. She was little on chit-chat and sure didn't stick around, clearly still not trusting or liking the two of you. The hut was hardly furnished, although that was to be expected. In the small closet of the one room hut were two futons with some urns and clay pots for whatever purpose. A small table was in the center of the room and along one of the walls was a space divider small enough for one person to move.

For a traveler hut, it certainly wasn't anything spectacular; but then again there is no reason it should be. It was for passerbys, not new residents. It had the bare necessities and that's all that was needed in the long hall.

The wooden door of the hut shut and you let out a breath. You had half a mind to take off the necklace on your neck and drop the human woman facade, but being in a human village meant you couldn't take it off no matter what. You felt stifled, but the orders from Taehyung just kept repeating in your head and you weren't one to go against his orders.

However, you stopped in the entrance of the hut before you could even step up into the worn, wooden floors. You wrinkled your nose, taking in the scent of something just like before. It wasn't like something you had smelt before and it wasn't just worn, rotting wood. It left a disgusting taste on your tongue and you had half a mind to go and shove herbs in your mouth to get rid of it. It was like it was wafting from under the door and through the cracks in the windows from outside and wrapping around you in whorls.

Hoseok noticed you wrinkling your nose like earlier and furrowed his brows. He had already walked further into the one room temporary arrangement as he looked back to you.

"Smell something again?" The first time this happened, he was sure it was a rotting animal when you left the forest treeline- and he was still certain of that. However, if you're smelling something again, maybe it was something different this time. He still had no reason to be hyper aware of what it is you do or do not smell though.

"I do," you confirmed.

Hoseok checked to make sure the bamboo chute in his pocket with the demon-replusing smoke bombs hadn't slipped open to be the cause of the stench you smell that he cannot. However, it was still secure and shut. He shook his head.

"Try and ignore it. We'll be here until the rain passes for the night. I don't want to loiter in one place for too long." You agreed with him, you wanted to leave as soon as possible. This recurring scent made you feel sick.

Hoseok had taken off his swords and emptied whatever he was carrying in his pockets and placed them back into the cloth duffle he had always kept with him and placed them neatly in one of the back corners. Leaving his sandals where he slipped them off by the dirt landing by the door.

He walked to grab the divider and moved it to the center of the floor before he jerked his head in a silent command to bring you inside so you don't just keep standing at the entrance like a spoked deer unable to move.

"Strip," he told you as he stood on the left side of the divider. He jerked his head backward as he turned so his back was to the screen and he started to work on the belt around his waist. "Our clothes are soaked. Get undressed on the other side and let them dry."

You did as you were told. You stepped around to the opposite of the dividing screen before you started working off your yukata. You and Hoseok were still fully aware that your body was built and worked differently than humans- just standing in the rain for a couple hours wouldn't make you ill. Though, the wet clothes that clung to you were uncomfortable and any place that had begun to dry felt stiff.

Hoseok had shrugged out of the upper half of his keikogi, leaving his bottoms to hang loosely on his hips without the leather belt that kept the fabric snug to him as he walked to the closet. His top hung over the dividing screen for a quicker drying process in the stuffy, humid, open room. Opening the sliding doors of the small, wooden closet, he grabbed only the blankets from the sets futons and threw one over the top of the divider. The screen itself wasn't very tall, he could peek over it fairly easily and as he tossed the futon over, he could catch glimpses of your scarred, naked back.

"Cover up with that," he told you. You were silent, yet he knew you heard him as he heard the rustling of the blanket and soon the fabric of your yukata was thrown over the screen to join Hoseok's. You took to sitting on the ground, tired of standing; especially since you had no reason to be on your feet at the moment.

The space you both occupied was silent, save for the sound of the rain hitting the roof from outside. Hoseok could faintly hear the rushed steps of villagers outside, trying to minimize the amount of rain that soaked them as they went about their chores. Sounds of animals and chatter murmured from a distance, also drowned out by the raindrops.

Silence wasn't a stranger to the two of you. Although, it wasn't like when you first set out and you refused to speak, you just often held your tongue. You didn't want to openly annoy Hoseok, and he didn't seem like one for holding conversation- at least with you. He may not snarl and scoff at you constantly anymore, but the cold shoulder he showed you still hadn't warmed up to the point of semi-friendly conversation.

"What does it smell like?" His sudden question shook you out of your own mind, starling you to a degree. You pulled the thick blanket further around your shoulders, even if you weren't cold, the fabric was comforting.

"What does what smell like?"

"The scent you keep complaining about."

"Oh," you breathed as you thought of how to put it into words. "It's difficult to explain. It's like a mix of things, but I can't tell them apart. It feels like my sense of smell is being overloaded. Like a grotesque bonfire."

Hoseok on the other side of the screen sat on the ground undressed as the blanket he pulled for himself rested on his lap and covered his legs. He leaned back, his palms bracing behind him as he looked up at the ceiling.

Hoseok wanted to open his mouth again and speak, but furrowed his brows at the idea of chatter- he felt irked at the silence he had been so accustomed to. It annoyed him that he suddenly had the urge to talk to you, annoyed that he had the urge to initiate conversation himself too boot.

However, the moment his lips parted to even try, the door to the guest hut swung open without so much as a knock.

You jumped, squeezing the blanket around your naked body as Hoseok jumped up and kicked at the screen divider. He had assumed no one would just barge in with visitors inside, so neither you or he were hidden from view. The screen's faces were pointing to the left and right sides of the empty huts interior, leaving you and Hoseok both fully facing the door. He swiftly kicked the corner facing the door, so the screen slid easily to cover you from anyone's prying eyes as he sprung to his feet.

You pulled your feet back, your heels touching your rear and tucked your knees to your chest as the screen suddenly covered you and soon you saw the back of Hoseok's head pop up over the divider. He was facing the door and from the faint, overcasted light of the outside shining in, you saw his shadow. He had a blanket tied around his waist and one of his arms holding the thick fabric up and the other was stretching out to keep the screen in place, as if to further shield your body from view.

Your eyes widened at the idea of him treating you like a human woman. Hiding your body so whoever just stormed open the door- be it man or otherwise- had no chance of peeping on you and getting so much as a glance at your body.

"Oh!" Hoseok was right to act hasty as the deep voice of a man echoed inside. You rolled your eyes. Of course it would be a man, barging in and already sounding like he hadn't been guilty of any basic ignorance. "I heard from Lia that we had visitors." His voice was far too loud as it bounced off the walls and into your ears and he spoke like he had some title of importance. Perhaps he was among a group of men who helped run this small village.

"Is there something we can help you with, Sir?" Hoseok's voice was sharp and annoyed. You silently started to get to your feet, keeping the blanket covering you as you slowly peeked over the screen and Hoseok's shoulder so you could take a proper look at the rude, loud man.

"You were caught out in this nasty weather, weren't you? I figured I'd come and offer you a change of dry clothes. Good to see I was right in assuming you had already stripped your cold, wet ones." The man's eyes drifted behind Hoseok's shoulder to where you peered around him. "Greetings young lady!" He smiled, but you could only frown at him.

You were certain that if you could, you'd snarl and bare your fangs at him. Hoseok stalked towards the man as he took the folded kimonos he was carrying in his arms.

"Thankful though we may be, you can't just assume that a lady is undressed and still barrell in like a barbarian," Hoseok sternly scolded before he turned the man by his shoulder and promptly shoved him out the doorway. "Thank you," he bit once more before he slammed the wooden door shut at his back.

You let out a breath as the man was out of sight before Hoseok brought a wooden plank that was attached to the side of the door down, making sure no one else would barge in. He separated the kimonos before walking back to the screen and handing you one.

"Get changed before anymore villagers bull through the door like animals."

His retorts and constant muttering under his breath as he began to change almost made you smile. It wasn't often you saw him so riled up and it wasn't you on the receiving end of his pettiness.

It wasn't too much longer when a knock came on your shut and barred front door. You were adjusting the sash around your waist and settling the fabric on your shoulders when Hoseok walked to the door already dressed. He lifted the wooden plank and only cracked the door open, blocking it with his forearm so no one could push it open further to give you extra time to completely cover up.

Hoseok took to small talk with the person at the door, and this time it was a woman's voice that flitted into your ears. However, her voice and sentence delivery made you wish the rude, boorish man from before came back. She sounded foul-mouthed and rude, someone you could clash with openly in the eyes of society because you were also a woman. Nothing was going to keep you from mouthing off if she attacked you in some way, verbal or not- besides maybe Hoseok.

You rolled your eyes, hearing her complain about the man who barged in before and apparently saw a naked woman, as if that was your fault. Hoseok looked at the sky and saw the grey of it darkening as time dwindled on. He silently praised the sun for dipping behind the horizon beyond the overcast.

Somehow, Hoseok managed to shoo the woman off before shutting the door again as a final que of ceasing conversation and returned the board of wood back across the span of the door. He sighed, pushing his forehead against the wood as you lifted your arms to lean on the dividing screen.

"I'm starting to think taking up that woman's offer of staying here may not have been worth it," he muttered as he turned around and rubbed the back of his neck. You eyed him, not seeing him this relaxed with you before. You wondered briefly what had sparked the small, yet unforeseen change in his attitude.

"You were the one who wanted out of the rain so badly," you chided. He just clicked his tongue at you.

"Regardless, the door is shut and is staying shut. Do not open it for anyone else tonight." The tired and annoyed look on his face combined with the bags under his eyes had you nodding in agreement. You were also starting to get fed up with the amount of interactions you've had in just a single day.

You both didn't speak another word to each other for the rest of the evening. You had given in to the stifling feeling of hiding and had taken off your necklace, even if you shouldn't be so lax in a foreign place undercover as a human woman. You always had it close just in case you needed to quickly slip it back on. Hoseok spent his time checking his blades, cleaning them when he needed to before he was taking a small inventory of what he's gone through in supplies so far.

You just sat in silence as you occasionally watched him before you were leaning against the wall and closing your eyes in boredom. The sound of the rain had lessened considerably and you were certain come morning the rain cloud would finally be passed. You'd have to leave this hut and continue on your way when the sun rises.

You hoped that when that happens, the small break in the tense relationship between Hoseok and you wouldn't disappear either.

-x-x-x-

When the morning came, Hoseok was just barely half awake when he felt himself shiver. Or, perhaps it wasn't himself, but the floor he slept on. He woke up further when he felt another shiver, but it didn't feel like him shivering at all. He was fully aware when he heard you fling up from your side of the dividing screen and another round of shivers. Instead of shivers however, he realized they were tremors. The floor and ground shook and he was sitting up as he watched you run towards the door.

He flung his blanket off as he scrambled out of his futon and over to his one-abled sword and dashed out after you who had just ran out of the door, too quick for him to stop.

"Hey!" He shouted with grit teeth as he stepped outside. The ground was chilled in the morning dew against his bare feet combined with the effects of the rainwater that had soaked into the ground overnight. The sky was clear today, only barely spotted with clouds. He squinted, his eyes not adjusted to the sudden morning sunlight as he brought his arm over to shield them.

Then, he heard the commotion in full roar.

There was a flock of giant, demon crows flying around the village, ranging from the size of a small cat to a fully grown cow. They were diving into the roofs of huts and homes, screeching and the bigger ones were flying low to try and snag a villager to take for a bloody, human meal.

Hoseok lowered his arm, scanning the area of chaos. Some trees were knocked down, some still standing but with knocked off limbs. Debris from roofs and chunks of wood from the sides of huts scattered the dirt paths of the village.

Among the rushing of the villagers gathering up their children, running into huts and then rushing out of them to try and avoid whatever crow was trying to drill their way inside, Hoseok caught sight of your back.

"Hey, Y/n!" He shouted, running over to you. You had just snatched the arm of a child and just a bit too harshly yanked them out of the way of a crow before you were pushing them towards a barrel.

You knocked it over, vegetables from the fields close to the village spilling out as you dug the barrel clean.

"Get inside and don't come out until its completely safe," you told the little girl. She just sniffled, nodding as you set the barrel back upright and lifted her so she could squat inside. You placed the wooden lid it was covered with previously back over it. You hoped the smell of vegetables would mask her own human scent well enough to keep her safe until the raid ended. You then scooched the barrel to sit against a wall before you turned to Hoseok who had just ran to your side.

"What are these things," Hoseok hissed.

"Demon Crows, their annoying carnivores who travel in decent sized flocks. They're not easily shooed off either. If they leave, they'll just come back."

"Damn," he sighed as he rolled his neck and removed his sword from its scabbard. "I really didn't want to wake up to work today." His brows scrunched together in a scowled as he tossed his scabbard to you, knowing full well that you had to have something to at least bat at the crows since you couldn't exactly give away you were a demon by fighting them barehanded. "My head already hurts."

You took the scabbard, rolling your eyes at him with a small quirk on your lips. He really was a cranky riser.

You both separated as Hoseok started going after crows that he could easily swing at in hopes to sever their heads. Making him scale walls and trees to try and get any sort of clean strikes. You stayed on the ground as you ran about, batting at crows who went after humans before directing the villagers on where to hide and not to come back out until you commanded them to. You were fairly shocked to see most, if not all the villagers you instructed listening to you without hesitation.

Even the men were quick to heed your commands. You blamed the obedience on the state of desperate peril.

All while you and Hoseok worked on scattering or dispatching the demon crows, something lingered in the back of your head. If crows were the only problem plaguing this village at the moment, then what the hell was the tremor you felt earlier?

It wasn't the same tremors you'd experience when a tree fell when uprooted and it certainly wasn't the same as when a body of a demon collapsed. Not that any of these crows had been killed by the fearful, fleeing villagers before you and Hoseok stepped in anyway. Not to mention, there was something else in the air.

Something that definitely wasn't a bird.

Whatever it may or may not have been, it didn't show itself. Even as Hoseok and you thinned the numbers until the crows had been lowered to single digits, the scent lingered at the base of your nose.

The scrap with the crows lasted longer than you would have liked. The last one, just the size of a calf and clearly desperate for something, anything, with the rest of it's flock killed, bee-lined towards you. It's teeth lined beak opened and you held Hoseok's scabbard horizontally in front of you as it's beak chomped down on it.

The crow pushed against you, cawing louding in your face as it's demonic bird breath made your nostrils burn. You hissed, a small noise that the bird definitely picked up on as it hesitated. You knew it could smell your own demonic scent being so close to you, but before it could pull away from you, you released the scabbard as it hit the ground, no longer in the crows mouth before you wrapped your arms around it's beak and clamped it shut.

You tucked the large beak under your arm, wrapping both of them around it to keep it securely shut as it shook and jolted and flapped against wind, you, the dirt and ground- all in an attempt to escape you.

Disgracefully, you fell backward, plunging the tip of it's sharp beak into the ground as you kicked its body to a vertical position with your heels. It mimicked a plank of wood used as a gravemarker standing rimrob from the earth. As you held it into the ground, the crow squirming in your hold, cawing muffled by the dirt and your arms, and you shouted.

"Last one!" You pushed your back completely flat against the dirt as you heard the sound of Hoseok's blade slice the air before it came into your sights. The blade swung just above your nose, and you could feel the rush of air it created as it cut through the neck of the crow with ease.

The grey, disgusting blood of it's body that had fallen to the ground beside you covered your face and top half of your borrowed, previously-clean, kimono as you finally released the beak of the now dead demon crow.

You immediately sat up, coughing and gagging as you wiped at your face relentlessly to try and get the blood off you. Crows' blood always smelt like rotten flesh from their decayed human prey.

When your eyes were clear, you looked at Hoseok as he picked up his scabbard you had discarded and replaced his sword inside it after flinging all the blood off it. He'd definitely have to clean it later to get all the dried grime off. He looked down at you still seated on the ground, seeing your face spotted in drying, grey blood as he sighed and offered you his hand.

You looked at his hand with a lifted brow, not that anyone could see it under all the blood. Hoseok didn't need to see it to know it was there though. He hadn't offered you a literal hand before, and that was on a good day. Right now, you were absolutely filthy, even you wouldn't touch you if you had the option to.

Hoseok rolled his eyes, bending down and grabbing your arm to lift you up on your feet when it was clear you weren't going to take his offered hand. He made sure you were stabled on your feet before he was straightening up your kimono stained in blood, staining his hands in the process.

A normal woman would have slapped his hands away, thinking this was a man's way of trying to be sneaky and cop a feel of your chest that had become bare to witness as your kimono had slacked due to your scrappling before. Instead, you were just shocked still as he then untwisted your necklace, almost confirming that it wasn't broken and still placed safely around your neck.

"Stop gawking," he bit, which brought you out of your stupor. "We need to start gathering information," he stepped away from you and looked behind his shoulder, seeing a few heads of people popping out of their hiding places to view the silence. "Because, I'm beginning to think we weren't just brought here on a whim anymore."

You both had been under the impression that you were just brought into the village as a repayment for saving Aito, just repayment for a little boy's life. However, now that you saw the villagers pop out one by one with looks on their faces of fear and uncertainty, you were also starting to doubt.

Soon, there was a group of villagers standing in front of you both as you looked them over and you saw Hoseok cross his arms over his chest. You began to feel uncomfortable, skin feeling stiff from the blood drying on you and your clothes, making them stiff as well. From among the group stepped forward a man, the same man from yesterday who barged into your temporary hut without warning.

However, his goofy grin and lax attitude was gone- clearly it had been a friendly trick to keep you and Hoseok off what the real issue of this village was.

"I'll apologize up front, but when we heard of you saving Aito from a demon, we had to see what you both were truly capable of."

You felt your brow twitch as you placed your hands behind your back, ensnaring your fingers into your kimono's stained cloth as you gripped it tightly into a fist. You bit into your lip, containing the words of anger you were ready to throw at this group of humans. If you weren't in your human form, you could have sworn that your claws would have torn through the fabric you held to keep what little remains of your composure.

"What were you planning to do if we weren't all that you were expecting?" you asked, your eyes narrowed.

"Hey," Hoseok warned in a small voice, trying to at least keep you from going completely off the rails. He knew your temper, probably too well since he was the one who provoked you in the past constantly.

"You're implying that you set a way to lure a flock of man-eating crows to your village and endanger everyone- even yourself, just to what? Test us because we saved one life?"

The man's face twisted, as he took a step forward. "That's not what we-"

"No," you shut him down. His step forward was retracted two steps back at your tone. Hoseok was even tempted to back away from you, your anger was rolling like storm clouds. That also confused him. You were angry and for what? Because a human villager put other humans at risk? Perhaps if you were a human yourself he'd understand, but as far as he could tell you hadn't really given much care to human's in the past- just put up with them for Taehyung's and the late- Lord Fuuta's sake.

Was he wrong?

"You put the lives of women, children, your friends and family, other men all on the line to 'see what we were made of', and you cannot argue otherwise. What if, at the end of all this, all of you were dead instead of the crows?" The man remained silent, not even granting you eye contact anymore. So, you continued. "What if, at the end of it all, we just saved Aito by accident? None of you truly saw us do anything, only Aito himself and he's a child who could see something and blow it completely out of proportion. Perhaps he saved him because the demon was already close to death, or maybe we just got lucky, then what? You'd all be corpses."

Hoseok didn't speak, letting your words drift through the air and sink into the villagers' skulls. He knew you had a point. It was reckless of them, tactless of them to run a 'test' on so little information. The chances of you both being properly trained to take down demons was slim with their lack of true knowledge. Taking the word of a child isn't something to be completely disregarded, but they should know when to draw the line of what to take 100% for fact.

When he grew tired of the silence you created between both parties, he sighed. Clearly, you had no thoughts of continuing your spiel since you had properly finished chewing them out, so he took control of the situation in your stead.

"Regardless of what could have happened, the deed's been finished." Hoseok stepped in front of you, beginning to speak with his hands in small motions. "From now, we'll need to speak to the head villagers for further information. Depending on how my companion and I feel about your circumstances, I'm sure we can come to an agreement of sorts." Hoseok turned to you, eyeing you up and down before he withheld another sigh at your ruined appearance. "First, however, you're going to need to get cleaned up."

You were suddenly once again well aware of your blood soaked appearance. You had momentarily forgotten in lieu of your rage. Strange how emotions can make you forget things like your own body being covered in dried, uncomfortable demon blood. Not to mention you had forgotten how horrible it smelled until Hoseok brought it back to the forefront of your mind.

Now, you had to hold back from wrinkling your nose at the god awful stench.

"There's a river," a younger village girl spoke up, probably somewhere among her mid-teenage years. "A river just outside the village where you can wash your body. We can also lend you spare clothing if yours aren't-"

"No, thank you," you interjected. You would've felt a bit guilty for interrupting if you hadn't just started your day off fighting man-eating, overgrown birds and getting covered in grime and sweat and blood. "My own clothes will be fine."

Without another word, you spun on your bare heel, twisting and moving bits of dirt under your feet and made your way back to the hut. Hoseok stayed behind for just a moment longer, telling the villagers that he'd come and get whoever he needed to converse with later on when you both were ready. Then, he followed behind you.

-x-x-x-

Hoseok watched wordlessly as he entered the hut and saw you grabbing your now dried yukata and slinging it over your arm before turning around again. You went to the door, passing by Hoseok without a word, or even a glance towards him before you were gone.

As you made your way to the river, you picked up on the sound of the rushing water. The river itself wasn't large, nor did it look too deep. You could see fish swimming in the clear water's current and you shivered at the thought of how chilled the water must be after a long rainstorm.

You set your yukata on a nearby stone, safely off the muddy, damp ground and well away from the stream. You began to tread into the water, the chill of it immediately sending goosebumps up your skin as your borrowed kimono darkened in dampened color and clung to your skin.

When you were waist deep in the middle of the stream you pulled the sash from your waist and began to shrug off the fabric from your shoulder. You figured it wouldn't get much deeper even if you moved up or down stream.

When you felt the fabric completely leave your body you pulled the wet fabric from the water, wadded it up and threw it onto the river's bank in a wet, soaked heep. The new spring air mixed with the chilled morning, river water made your bare chest shiver as you covered your breasts with your arm.

"If you're here to peep, you can leave," you said. You hadn't addressed him, but the moment you left the hut, Hoseok was silently following behind you without a word. Just following and observing as you felt his eyes on your back.

Looking over your shoulder, you saw his back leaning against a tree not far from the river bank. His arms were crossed and he hadn't even twitched to look back and address your dismissal of him.

"I'm not here to peep, so just shut it." He told you without looking. He kept his eyes forward and his arms crossed, unmoving and seemingly unbothered. "I wouldn't want to look at you anyway."

"Then why are you here?" You hissed.

"Because, I don't trust the village men to keep their eyes to themselves."

"The village men?" Your body twisted at your hips at his words. Why would he care what the village men do or don't do?

"Their so-called leader barged in yesterday when he knew you were changing," Hoseok said, making you remember how he had kicked the dividing screen to cover you as he tried to shoo the man out so you could dry off and warm up without eyes on you. "I have no reason to believe they'd let you bathe in private either. Just ignore me like you normally do and wash the blood off."

"Oh," you spoke more to yourself than to him.

He was just looking out for you.

Somewhere in you, you figured Hoseok wasn't really a bad man. He had a hatred for demons, and somehow you could understand why- you hated humans for a long time for the same reasons he hates demons. Destruction, war, crimes- you name it. Humans were ugly creatures to your eyes, and to Hoseok, demon's were just as hideous.

So, even if you knew that he wasn't completely bad, or evil in any specific way, when he treated you like a person- like a human woman- you weren't sure how to act. He was standing guard so that no peeping toms could sneak a peek at your naked body in the clear river and you hadn't even asked him to.

He just did.

You turned your back to him, trusting him to keep you safe as you started washing the water up your arms and onto your face. You dunked your head under the water, shaking around as the cold water slightly chilled your cheeks as you shook your hair out of grime.

Breaking through the water surface again, you let out a breath as you run your hands over your face in relief. You finally felt clean again. The water had become comfortable to you now that you had been in for a while and your body had become adjusted to it. You were tempted to sit in the shallow bank and relax, but you knew you couldn't spare the time for it.

You soon wadded through the water as it began to get more and more shallow, the water climbing down your legs until you were kicking through it with your ankles. Before you could reach your yukata, Hoseok stopped you.

He tossed a wad behind him towards where he could hear your footsteps as you caught it. It was a cloth to dry yourself with.

"You were in such a rush, you forgot it. Were you planning to get dressed soaked?"

You once again didn't answer him as you were soon running the cloth around your body, soaking up the water droplets and drying your skin. You set the cloth down and began to dress yourself.

Hoseok glanced to his side when you came into his peripherals, the cloth he tossed you folded into a damp square in your hands.

"Are you finished?" He asked, taking the cloth from you. You had every intention of carrying it back since you had dampened it, but he had already tucked it under his arm away from you before you could argue. "Then, let's go back."

You watched as he started to make his way back first along the path you took to get here. You started behind him in silence, quickly catching up to him. When the sounds of the village cleaning up the mess made by the raid and rustling around of children and animals caught your sensitive ears, you finally spoke.

"Hoseok," he didn't even hum to acknowledge you. "Thank you."

-x-x-x-

When you got back into the village, you weren't shocked to see them cleaning up the mess made by the flock of crows. Picking fallen foods and splintered wood off the ground, taking into account what needed fixing and where, along with how long it may take. The soiled kimono in your arms was soon taken from you when an older woman came and requested you hand it to her so he can treat and wash it later- or for all you knew she was just going to trash it when she rounded a corner considering how soiled it truly was.

The leading man from the village caught sight of Hoseok and you coming back and made his way towards the both of you.

"Sir," he started to address Hoseok, completely skipping over you. You partially didn't blame him since you had chewed him out earlier, but that didn't stop the twang of annoyance that rattled in your chest.

"Do not call me that," Hoseok immediately shut down. "My name is sufficient enough. Hoseok, call me that." He reached back and snatched your wrist, pulling you out from behind his shoulder and into the view of the man. "Address her as well, do not ignore her."

You heard the man's voice falter before he offered a short, "of course." You supposed that since you had been with him a few months now, Hoseok's glares didn't really affect you anymore- so when the man's voice faltered, you weren't entirely shocked. The man cleared his throat before his eyes traveled to you and Hoseok's hand left your wrist. "And your name is?"

"Y/n."

The small formalities were cut short when Hoseok got short once again with the man. Threatening that if he didn't get to the point where they could all talk about what the hell is truly going on in this village, he would leave the issue open as their own problem to solve. Clearly, the village's incompetence when it came to demon slaying was astronomical, so the headman clamped his jaw shut and directed the two of you into a large hut, larger than most of the others, and inside was a handful of more men.

You immediately felt their eyes on you narrow. You rolled your eyes, silently disregarding them and their stupid sense of hirachy. You partly wished you could take off your necklace and really scare these men- you could only imagine how they'd react when the seemingly normal woman turned into a demon right before their eyes.

Then again, if you did, there was a high chance you and Hoseok would be attacked and run off. Then the entire situation that's happening with this village- whatever it may be- would continue without resolve. That just wouldn't sit right on your conscience.

The village men sat among the back wall, lined up and sitting formally with their knees folded under them. The headman sat down in front of you two, cleared his throat and began to finally explain the entire situation you both had been roped into once you and Hoseok joined the rest of them on the floor.

"Allow me to start from the beginning," you almost scoffed. "A month ago, some men working out in the fields discovered a box buried underground while digging up soil for further cropwork to be done. We decided to take it back to the village and placed it in a shed we use for old pots and clay and other items we don't necessarily use. The next day, a demon showed up and attacked our village."

"You believe this dug up box is responsible then?" Hoseok questioned- not exactly willing to hear any more of the story. The headman was not one born for story-telling.

"We believe a spirit may have been tied to the box, yes. Ever since that day, the same demon continues to randomly attack the village without warning."

"It could just be a coincidence," Hoseok proposed. "Demon's tend to shift their hunting grounds more often than one would believe. This village is filled with all sorts of nutrients for a demon."

"This village was never attacked before hand and-"

"Calm down," Hoseok roughly sighed when the headman began to argue- the last thing he wanted was for these men to get aggressive. "I didn't say it was improbable- I was simply thinking aloud. I presume you all still have this box your men dug up?"

"We do. We've wrapped it in a cloth washed in the river water and hidden it away in a locked chest we keep in an isolated shed."

"Go and bring it here. Y/n is a priestess, she can determine if this box is linked to the demon attacks or not."

You glanced at Hoseok, in control of your own body enough to keep a small jerk from your shoulders to signal your own shock.

You're a what?

As a few men got up to leave and fetch the box in question and the others that stayed put murmured among themselves at the new information of your apparent spiritual status, you nudged the hunter's arm. He looked at you and your unamused face; even if you weren't that expressive to others around you, he had been with you long enough to read your facial expressions well. Even if the small dips to your brows were hardly noticeable.

"I am not a priestess."

Hoseok rolled his eyes. "Though, you lived and worked along Lady Shiro for a year. You know the basics at the very least. Not to mention, you can sense other demonic presences with your own demonic nature. Just use that as an excuse not to be found out."

You bit your lip, relenting. It made sense, and you almost hated that it did. Not all of it was a lie per se. You were blessed by a priestess- Shiro- and you survived it. Shiro did teach you basic spiritual protection as a way of testing if you really did have some of her power in you due to her blessing scarred into your back. And you could trace and sense other demons and their auras thanks to your own and your heightened senses.

You'd simply have to go along with the story since it was the only thing that could keep your identity safe.

Every time you were forced to mull over who you were, you became less and less sure if you could give a straight answer. All your life you were a demon- nothing more and nothing less. Now, you were a mixture of all sorts of things. You had a demon body, but due to your blessing, you had a spec of bright, spiritual power in your body among all the demonic darkness. Your mind was more or less that of a human now, living among them and helping them in your travels for so long had made it so. And your goal was that of a demon hunter: to kill another demon.

Right now, you weren't sure what or who you really were.

Not too long after your small discussion with Hoseok and your own mental scorn, the men who had left returned with a cloth wrapped cube in their arms. Hoseok immediately saw your nose almost crinkle up from beside him.

Okay, he confirmed mentally, so there was something suspicious about this box.

The men set it down in front of you as you glared down at it. Even under the cloth, all you smelt was foul smelling, wet dog. When you carefully unwrapped it, the scent only intensified- the wet smell dimming just barely since the river damp cloth had been removed.

"This demon, it's a black hound, isn't it?" You asked as a small murmur of awe made its course around the room of- apparently ignorant- men.

"It is indeed. It seems your perception is nothing shy of remarkable."

"Flattery will not erase your ignorance, Sir," you bit with an icy tone. "Had you simply left this box be and reburied it in the earth where it belongs, you wouldn't have plagued your village with such gruesome attacks. The demonic entity tied to this box familiarized itself with your scent and in anger your men's disturbance, followed you all the way back to your home."

"So," Hoseok looked at you, "it is connected after all."

"It is." You placed your hand on top of the box, almost feeling a bit sorry for the demon. It would have stayed asleep forever, had it not been dug up. How frightfully troubling to be a demon it is in this world. "Though, there is something else as well. This type of hound also happens to be a magnet to other demons around the area with the same attributes. You may claim to have lured the demon crows to your village, but in the end, they would have found this village even without you provoking them.

"What type of attributes are we dealing with exactly?"

"Black-coated, red-eyed demons from the far shore. They drag the souls of their prey to hell where they reside. They travel to this world of the living through gateways that cannot be seen by the human eye and only they can smell." You looked back up from the box and glared at the headman. "Who knows how many children and villagers are burning now due to your negligence."

It was silent before you stood up, taking your hand back from the box. Your palm that sat on the box felt like it was on fire as you curled it into a fist, your limb hiding under the long sleeve of your yukata.

"I'm certain there is one more demon hiding somewhere among the village. It's likely connected to the same demon hound you've asked us to deal with. So, I'll need the rest of the villagers to come and meet with me. Send each household to the hut Hoseok and I are residing in temporarily."

"Is this truly necessary to really rid us of the hound?"

"You want us to just dispel the dog and leave another demon to keep tormenting you?" Silence was your only answer. "That's what I thought." You looked down at Hoseok. "You finish up with them. I'm going back, it's far too suffocating here."

As you started leaving the hut filled with nothing but men, another man who had been silent the entire meeting and seemed to be in his late 20s perhaps, called out to your back.

"Hey, wait! What- uh- what should we do with the box now?"

You looked over your shoulder at him, your eyes narrowing and a chill ran over the room. Hoseok shut his eyes, almost understanding your sudden dip in emotion given your faux priestess title. He'd keep his mouth shut. "Address me so casually again, and I'll leave this village without a second though, young man."

"Ah," his voice only came out in a sound that was much higher than his true voice. It sounded timid, as it should. "Of course, I apologize, my Lady."

"Bring the box to me later as well. I"ll properly deal with it so that no one in the future can be as foolish as you all." Then, without so much as another word, you left the hut, Hoseok's eyes reopening and watching your back as you did so until you were out of his sight. He was almost shocked you didn't slame the wooden door on your way.

He brought his attention back to the men who were obviously now very well aware of your presence and apparent pride in who you were- at least pretending- to be. You were not just some woman to be brushed off because you traveled with a man. Hoseok could do things you could not, and the reverse was also true. There were things you could do that Hoseok could not.

He hated to admit it, but Hoseok and you stood on the same ground.

"I'll remind you all to respect Y/n and I both while we remain here. We are helping you a great deal, remember." Hoseok spoke. There was a unanimous agreement among them. "Wonderful. Now, let us continue."

-x-x-x-

It was a few hours after you had left when Hoseok had come back to the hut the both of you were staying. You were sitting along a wall, looking out of the low windows without even acknowledging Hoseok's entrance- it was silence that greeted him back. He wasn't shocked, you had never truly welcomed him back anywhere before and he never really expected you to start.

He walked further in and began to take his swords from his side, disarming himself for a while since he was in the hut. He was in close enough range inside to reach for his weapon if the need arose, so carrying them on his person was practically overcautious. He would take small glances at your unmoving form peering out the window as he began to toll the situation over in his head.

This is exactly the type of complicated situation Taehyung would grab Hoseok's own neck, hold him hostage and force him to help with if he were present. So, remaining true to his friend's - and leader's- words he had already decided to stay put until the ordeal was properly solved. 'For the good of the suffering people', Taehyung would say.

Hoseok glanced again at you after pulling his blade from its sheath and looking at it. It was stained from the bloody battle this morning and he grimaced at its unclean appearance. A good cleaning was in it's very near future.

"They said they'd begin sending households in our direction shortly," Hoseok opened as he pushed the blade back into its home and set it against the wall he walked to stand in front of. In truth, he was going to think over the action of the people to himself, but without much thoughts- or maybe none at all- the words pushed themselves up his throat to audibly tell you.

He was going to just keep to himself until he was forced to speak with you- or about you- again like he had been. You both were traveling together, so giving people the impression you at least got along was a must to ensure a sense of comfort. It was more difficult than he assumed it'd be, since you both were pretty inexperienced in small talk- not to mention you both were still just getting on 'decent' terms with each other.

Was he being too harsh, perhaps? He sat down against the wall he had set his swords against on the side of the room divided invisibly by the screen in the middle of the room.

He would scoff at the irony of the room. It was like a giant metaphor. The both of you on opposite sides, against opposite walls divided down the middle by a wall. Though, still occupying the same space regardless of the division.

How laughable.

Hoseok watched you from across the room. Whether you were aware of his intense gaze or not, he didn't know as you paid him no mind- or you didn't seem to notice him staring. It was silent in the hut the entire time since Hoseok spoke last. His body jolted when you looked away from whatever was outside the window that was just so interesting and you looked back across the room into his own eyes.

The gazes you two held with each other was silent and unwavering- a strong eye lock but nothing behind it. Normally the two of you would glare or sneer, but there's not even a hint of malice. There's just... nothing. Just staring. Though, for a moment, Hoseok thought he saw something glimmering behind your eyes; like he saw past the fake brown colored irises that hid your true golden eyes.

The knocking at the door and the movement of your head to follow the sound yanked him out of his almost hypnotic state. The color wouldn't have faded- he just put fresh blood into that pendant a few nights ago. It must've just been his imagination.

He watched you get up and shadowed the action, rising to his feet, snatching his one usable blade and walking to the front of the hut. Stepping down into the dirt landing from the raised wooden floors, he sat down at the entrance. You stood behind him.

"Do you plan to stay there?" You asked.

"I don't feel all that comfortable having you invite everyone inside one by one. Just have them step in, meet them and step out." He set the tip of his sheath by his feet with the hilt leaning against his shoulder, resting the body of the sheath in the inside of his elbow, his arm cradled around it and no chance of slipping from his possession.

He opened his mouth to speak softly, knowing the only thing dividing you and the villagers was just the front door. "I don't know what you're looking for, but if something's got your fur in a rat so much you're willing to investigate this thoroughly, I don't want to take any chances."

For the second time today, Hoseok was making quite a bit of sense. You nodded, stepping past him, down to the dirt landing and lifting the wooden plank covering the door.

"Suit yourself."

-x-x-x-

Hoseok couldn't tell you how boring the entire process of meeting people back to back for what felt like hours was to him; even if he wasn't the one actually meeting and greeting the villagers. He's had more fun wading through rice fields in the dead of the violent summer heat than this.

Through it all, he had kept an eye on you, telling you not to leave the frame of the hut or not to leave his sight as you did whatever it was you had to do. There was only once when you had to be snapped out of whatever sort of stupor you fell into by him.

You had been standing silently still in thought, and from his perspective behind you just barely able to see the side of your face, he saw your eyes narrowed and brow dip just slightly.

Hoseok had to reach out with his sheath and push it's end into your back to snap you out of it and with a quick apology and an excuse of just being tired, you were back to what you had been doing previously.

Once all the villagers had met you and left, Hoseok had pulled you back inside the hut by your shoulder, slammed the door shut and pulled the wooden plank along the door to secure it with a huff. He couldn't stand all this interaction in one day and he was frankly getting low in energy. So, when you bid your final farewells to a father and son duo, the hunter was quick to close up the hut- even if just for a while to recharge.

He couldn't remember the last time he had dealt with people for this long all on his own without someone in higher command like Taehyung to take the reigns.

He stomped back inside as he sighed, slumping against his wall and setting his sword down at his side, feeling a bit more relaxed since he wasn't on guard any longer. He pushed the back of his head against the wall and shut his eyes, taking a moment to let his shoulder sag.

As you stepped back inside behind him, Hoseok opened his shut eyes and followed your body with them as you sat back down. You weren't against the wall beside the window you had been staring out before, but instead chose the middle of the room to sit as you looked at the floorboards.

"Why did you freeze up before?" Hoseok questioned. "You noticed something, didn't you." His voice told you that it wasn't much of a question, so much as an accusation. "Y/n," Hoseok called, following your silence to his words.

"Something about that village child," you finally begin to respond. "A small boy, maybe ten, came with one of the families. His eyes, they just weren't right." You looked at Hoseok in an expression that he could almost label as concern. "A human's eyes shouldn't look like that, at least not a child's and he just didn't feel like how a human should."

"So? What's wrong with him? Is a demon playing pretend like you or something?" Hoseok didn't mean to word his question the way he did. It came out cold, rushed and angry- like he was offended in some manner. It sounded like he hated you for protecting your identity- but that wasn't the case. Hoseok understood why you did what you did.

Not only were you following Taehyung's instructions, but every time you went outside like a normal woman and acted like a normal woman, you were acting solely on defense. You weren't out looking for your next victim like other demon's would if they had the cognitive function you did, and you weren't out to just cause problems.

You weren't hostile and it took a long time for Hoseok to finally realize it. Took even longer for him to come to terms with that discovery.

His question went unanswered as you simply ignored it with a small glare that the hunter saw you diminished before you could start something. Clearly, you weren't in a mood to argue and truthfully neither was he.

The sun outside had begun to dye the sky orange and red as dusk approached. You stood from you spot and backed away to the same window you were staring out before. Hoseok saw you bypass your folded and out of the way futon and narrowed his eyes. As if you had read his thoughts you opened your mouth and spoke.

"Demon hounds have a tendency to be more active and hunt during dark hours or the hours leading up to or after dark, like dusk and dawn. Although, since this village did a fine job of angering this hound, that may not be the case."

"The headman mentioned that it showed up in the middle of the day before, but it attacks most frequently in the early evenings and mornings, like you say."

You nodded at the information, silently thanking him for his input on what he had learned earlier after you had left the meeting hut.

Without saying so, Hoseok knew you were planning on not sleeping tonight. You've gone days without sleep before since your enhanced body didn't necessarily deman rest everyday like a proper human did. Hoseok hated that if he tried not to rest in a silent attempt to show you up, he'd eventually find himself waking up from a slumber he didn't remember falling into.

He had long since stopped trying to battle that- letting his ego just take the blow.

He sighed, not planning on stopping you. He trusted you knew your own limits- he wasn't your babysitter nor your caretaker. You were a grown ass woman and could handle yourself. He was simply traveling with you to achieve a goal.

While lost in his head, you had turned to look at him. Studying his facial expressions before opening your mouth to speak once more.

"Feel free to rest. If something happens, I'll wake you up, rest assured." Hoseok once again said nothing as he just started moving around after you finished talking. He had taken out his futon he had put away at the beginning of the day and began to loosen up his clothing and get more comfortable. Grabbing his sword, he plopped down on his futon and unsheathed the blade before grabbing a cloth and a chute of bamboo that kept a liquid clogged inside it from his bag of belongings.

Finally comfortable in the silence of the hut now that his hands had something to do, he began to clean his sword of dried blood and dirt. The reflection of his eyes staring back at himself as he cleaned the blade.

As night slowly fell and Hoseok's small list of mental chores concluded from refilling his flask of water, priming his blade, making sure the restraints of his second sword were still secure, among other tasks, he finally crawled into his futon blowing out the small candle in the room- consuming the hut in darkness.

His arm was tucked under his head as his back was facing your body he knew was still staring mindlessly out the window. Part of him wondered if you'd do that all night with the moon watching over you.

The air was almost awkward in the silence and not even the window and distant sounds of night were enough to distract him from how heavy the air felt to him. He inwardly scoffed at himself as he shut his eyes, a crinkle in his brow and simply wished for sleep- far ready for morning to already be upon him again.

That night, he kept the dividing screen against the back wall as he slept in the open room. The moonlight casting shadows as you kept watch.

-x-x-x-

The next day in the village was far less eventful than the day previous. The morning crawled and midday was no better. By the time evening came around once again, you felt exhaustion creeping up on you. You felt restless all day, so you wandered around the village, aiding with random chores and tasks to stay busy- but anytime that village boy was in your sights you were watching him like a hawk.

Now, just like the night before, you sat against your wall as you rested your head against the low window's glass and fiddled with your fingers and clothes to stay awake. You'd been so worked up recently that you were running yourself tired, but you didn't want to fall asleep yet. You wanted to stay alert- and you knew that you could go days without rest so the insistent urge to close your eyes only made you angry.

The remaining scent of dog wafting around in the air and the unstable, suspicious village boy should have been enough to solidify your desire to stay awake. Though, you still fought hard against the dreariness that lingered behind your eyes.

Hoseok wasn't in the hut when you came back and you were partially glad about it. If he saw you fighting sleep this hard, he'd probably scoff at you or something- after all, you were under the impression he still looked down at you. You weren't sure how long you stared out the window with sleep blurring your vision, but your trance was broken when Hoseok finally did return.

Immediately he noticed the way your eyes were dropped, attempting to keep them open and not show how tired you truly were.

He saw the air of alertness you forced, but didn't say anything as he walked inside and ran through his last moment chores and throughs just as he had the night before. He knew, if he paid you seemingly no mind, you'd lessen up your guard with him being present. He wondered if you knew that you did that- lessened your guard around him recently, because he had.

When it finally happened, he wasn't sure, but somewhere in his subconscious he was worrying about your health in his own way. After a handful of minutes, he carefully glanced back over to you without being noticed to see you slumped against the wall sleeping.

Looking so perfectly human with that pendant on your neck as his reminder that no matter how you looked- you weren't.

He was frustrated at you, at himself. Clicking his tongue, he got to his feet and walked over to you as quietly as possible before he bent his knees and squatted beside your sat-up, sleeping body. He watched your chest rise in small motions and how your hands were lightly curled into fists as they rested on your lap.

In actuality, where he squat right next to you with his knees just brushing your aura, this was the closest he's willingly been to you since he met you- well, not including everytime you both scraped and fought, pinning each other to floors and walls in aggression and intent to intimidate or even wound.

This small space of closeness was totally different. There was no sound, other than the crickets and small chatter of late night crawlers, and there was no smearing or growling or angry insults being tossed. No tense situations that required steeled minds or lightning reflexes.

Just this moment existed.

Honestly, Hoseok's opinion of you has changed so much since he first met you, but he's just too proud to say that out loud. He found the atmosphere of you both constantly on edge around each other exhausting and part of him wants to lay it all out there just to make it go away. He was tired of being on edge all the time and he was tired of pretending that he hates you, because as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't.

Getting up, he walked to your futon, grabbed the blanket off the cushion and walked back to you, gently draping it over your shoulders. He was certain that you wouldn't get sick or anything- could demon's even catch colds? Though, he figured that having something to cover up with was far more comfortable than nothing at all.

Stepping away from you, he walked back over to his side of the hut, making himself ready to sleep so that the next day could roll around. It took him some time to finally close his eyes and shut his mind off however, since he thought that maybe it was time to start making amends with you for real.

And that felt like it would maybe be a struggle for him.

-x-x-x-

It was the sound of shrill screams and snapping wood that harshly yanked you and Hoseok out of sleep. You flew to your feet, tossing the blanket that was over your shoulders off as Hoseok sprung out of his futon, lunging to grab his sword beside him. He quickly met you at the door of the hut to rush outside.

Once the door opened, the stench of dog hit your senses like a brick. You almost stumbled back on your heels by the sheer force of it before Hoseok's shoulder knocked into yours, shoving you forwards. Coming back to yourself, you rushed into the thick of the village with Hoseok beside you- you were careful not to run fast enough to rouse suspicion, though you doubt anyone would notice your unnatural speed right now. You both finally came to see the black furred demon hound with your own eyes in the middle of debris and chaos.

The hound was easily the size of one of the village huts, as villagers were grabbing their child in their arms or yanking on their wrists, running and screaming to try and escape the wrath of the demon they've been tormented by.

It's fur was as black as a pupil, almost resembling the void emptiness of an abandoned well and it's red eyes glowed a bloody red. Teeth as white as the snow you remember watching from months ago.

The hound opened its mouth, a loud howl erupting from deep within its being that shook you to your core; taking a glance at Hoseok, he was feeling the same effect within himself. You stood momentarily in pure awe at the beast in front of you. You had heard of hounds like this before, but you hadn't ever come across one- and you assumed the same with Hoseok. He had been used to lower demons- some with grotesque bodies and some who were able to speak within reason. From the look in his eyes, he had never met a true beast like this hound.

You were both brought out of your temporary paralysis when it's jowls snapped shut and one of its paws were lifted from the ground before swinging down to strike another hut. The hut's wooden frame and straw roof shattered and scattered along the debris ridden road on impact. You shielded your eyes with your arms to keep anything from flying into your eyes and impairing your sight.

"Hoseok!" You shouted over the chaos as the hound began to move again. Jumping from its place further into the village, the hound continued swiping at more huts and more villagers were running amok. "Try and keep the villagers away from it's range."

Hoseok wasn't fond of taking orders from you, but now was hardly the time to argue back. Right now, he had to ensure the villagers were safe from harm- or at least not in any fatal danger. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if there was a single 'safe space' in the village right now. He rushed towards the hound, sliding under its belly and slicing the back of one of its front paws that had just been lifted, only for it to be brought back down by the cut.

The hound howled in pain, as Hoseok had crouched to the ground. His heels up and balls pushing into the dirt as he grabbed a woman under her arms and jumped away with her, keeping her out of the range of any swipes for the moment. Setting her back down on the dirt, she was a crying, weeping, dirty mess. Panic flooded her eyes when she pointed behind Hoseok's back.

"My little girl!" The child the woman had previously hidden had come out of her hiding place in terror. She stood- no older than 6 years old- with her arms clutching around herself, frozen in fear at the hound. Her small hands tightly gripped the worn fabric of her kimono.

"Shit," Hoseok cursed, spinning around ready to try and grab hethe little girl from across the way- as little chance as possible it seemed he had- but he was stopped by the same woman snagging her fingers into the back of his keikogi. He hissed, jostled as he twisted at the waist to try and quell her wails to aid. She wasn't even aware she was keeping Hoseok from helping her child- too panicked and filled with worry.

The little girl screamed and Hoseok whipped his head to look back at her and felt his blood run cold as the jaws of the hound began nearing the child. Then, you jumped in front of her.

Wrapping your arms around the small girl, you curled inwards around her as the hound engulfed the two of you in it's mouth before lifting it's head back up. The demon re-opened its jaws, throwing both you and the little girl you clutched desperately to your body into the air. The child screamed as you held her as close to you as you could. Before you both fell back into the hound's mouth, seemingly going straight down it's throat

"Y/n! God dammit," Hoseok cursed again as he pried the hands of the woman still clutching him off. She had gone slack, seeing her child be swallowed by a giant hound- and Hoseok couldn't fault her for that.

Hoseok knew in the back of his mind that realistically, it'd take more than just being swallowed to kill you. You were a demon, the inside of another demon surely wouldn't instantly kill you, but that little girl was just a frail little human who had barely known how to cope with a scraped knee.

The hunter jumped around as the demon tried again and again to stop and swipe at him. Hoseok would take slices- shallow ones since he couldn't get any clean cuts- at the legs and paws that were non stop attempting to crush him or throw him across the village into a hut. Hoseok hopped around like a grasshopper, rolling and ducking before twirling his sword and slicing and repeating. Each slice he managed to successfully land, the dog would howl or whine, bring its paw up, lick the wound lightly and then return to trying to squash the 'bug' that was Hoseok as if nothing had really happened.

It was frustrating.

If he could just bring the demon down to its knees or even knock it over somehow, he could try and get a clean cut on its neck, or even take out it's eyes. Perhaps even slice open it's stomach. Something to slow the son of a bitch down. Hoseok could dodge and duck and roll as much as he needed to, but the moment the demon takes it's attention off him- he's screwed.

With you being- well, in the hounds stomach somewhere- he was left to try and keep the village victims and casualty count to a minimum. Even for him, in this kind of situation, that was a tall order. That's why, every time Hoseok moved out of the way of another swipe, he would return one of his own. A few cut up legs could keep anything's attention.

Hoseok had rolled back to where the mother of the little girl you had with you inside the hound still sat slumped and unmoving. Hoseok could understand the grief of watching your child get swallowed by a giant black dog, but her presence in this specific area was definitely a nuisance when it came to battle.

He quickly spun on his heel, scooped her up under her arms just like he had earlier and began to move away from the demon. The moment he did though, the woman fought back against him. She thrashed and screamed and slammed her elbow against his back and shoulders to try and make him drop her. Grieving so much for her child she wanted to stay in harm's way.

Hoseok bit his tongue, getting a safe enough distance from the demon before throwing the woman into the dirt again. Landing on her back and rolling to her side, she coughed as she inhaled the small cloud of dirt that erupted around when she landed on the ground.

"Sitting in the middle of a battlefield with intentions to die won't help your daughter, so stay out of the way!" He screamed, fed up with her pity party. She could properly mourn later if she wanted to- but the fact of the matter was that you were in there with that child. "The little girl may not be dead, so don't get in my way again." Hoseok hissed. He knew enough about you that you'd try and protect that little girl- even in the pit of a demon's stomach.

Behind his back, he heard the demon whine. Whirling back around, he brought his sword up again, not sure what move it would take towards him next. The woman behind him was more aware now- still angry as tears stung her eyes, but the harsh drop to the ground must've jostled something in her head.

Hoseok's eyes narrowed as his lips parted in a questioning manner. The demon wasn't trying to go after or chase him, in fact it wasn't trying to do anything right now. It whined and kicked and pawed at the dirt. Its chin dipped under its chests before it came back out towards the sky and down again. It spun in a circle before it dipped it's chin again, all while continued whines and almost painful-sounding growls came from it.

Then Hoseok saw something in its stomach bulge.

It resembled what an unborn baby would look like, pushing and kicking at it's mother's stomach. It pushed out before it pulled back in and then pushed out again, further. Like something was jumping up and down inside it.

Hoseok stepped back enough to where the back of his thighs pushed against the mother behind him to insure she wasn't going to rush anywhere while his back was turned.

The demon hound howled one last time, it's head rose to the sky before it's stomach tore open.

The demon was separated clean in two, the rear half the demon falling backward and the front part flopping forward as something landing in the middle dropping from where the stomach had torn open. The dropped figure was engulfed in a black mist before it started to come towards Hoseok.

He could feel the mother behind him grab the cloth on his leg as it got closer, but Hoseok did not move to attack it. He knew better. He lowered his sword as the woman looked up at him in disbelief.

"What are you doing?!" She screeched, yanking his leg. "That thing is coming closer to us! Kill it!"

Hoseok fully deflated as he let the tip of his blade hit the dirt. "There is no need."

"What?" The black mist encased figure stopped before it bent down and soon, a smaller mist covered object was rushing out. The running figure rushed the mist away revealing the previously swallowed little girl.

She ran into her mother's chest as Hoseok stepped away from the woman when she released his leg. She sobbed as she held the child to her chest, the little girl crying in turn and holding around her mother's neck. The remaining black mist fading to reveal your form, coming to stand beside Hoseok.

The little girl's mother looked up with teary eyes as she palmed them away to thank you. Though, her words were lost immediately at the sight of you.

Your pendant had come off- or rather inside the demon you had yanked it off. All your demonic features were on display, the lines on your cheeks, your abnormal eye color, your fangs and claws; everything.

She clutched her child to her chest and moved to shield her from you, turning her away from you. "Stay away from us, demon!" Your face showed no signs of anger at her insults, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt. This is why you can't forgive human's, no matter how kind some may be like Taehyung. Others will smile and treat you kindly, but no matter how many good deeds you did or how much you helped them, the moment they see you as a demon- you are the enemy

You are evil to them.

You clenched your fist. You weren't like others. You weren't evil. You-

"Y/n is the only reason your daughter is alive," Hoseok battled her words. You looked at the side of his face with wide eyes. Was he taking your side? "She protected your daughter during and after being swallowed and even got her out safely. You should be praising her," he seethed.

"It's alright," you told him.

"It is not." Another voice caught your attention as you and Hoseok had turned to see the headman coming from wherever he had previously been. He looked you dead in the face, seeing your demonic nature. He looked at the split in half body of the hound as it twitched. Of course it wasn't dead yet, it still has it's head.

"Hoseok," you called.

Without you having to ask, he marched to the twitching front half of the hound before raising his sword and swinging it down on its neck. A clean cut. The head limped to the ground in a small thud as the body began to finally disperse. You let out a small breath.

"That's one demon down," you muttered to yourself.

The headman walked up to you, approaching you with no fear in his eyes and from what you could tell, no resentment either. What was this man's motive for looking you dead in the eyes now?

"Thank you for rescuing one of our children," he spoke as your eyes slightly widened at the thanks. "If not for your efforts in protecting her, one more young life would have been taken today." You took a step back from him when he lowered his head to you, bowing in gratitude.

Hoseok watched your face. He hadn't seen you make that face before. It was all scrunched up in confusion. A human man was lowering his head to you after thanking you sincerely even after learning you and Hoseok had lied to him about what you were. You were no priestess, you were no human. He knew that- he could see it. But still he-

"With all due respect," he opened his mouth again, keeping his head down. "That second demon you had previously mentioned before. Would you please exterminate it as well?" He lifted his head back up. "Rid this village of all it's evil."

"I-" you were at a loss for words. Hoseok rushed back to your side, pushing his hand on your arm, pulling you back to regain the step you had subtracted away from the headman.

"We plan on it. But this second demon is something we believe to be a somewhat complicated situation. It isn't just a demon, but we think it's something similar to a demonic possession."

"Yes, and that person who you believe to be possessed is my son, is it not?"

Both you and Hoseok stiffened up. What? How could he have known that? Why was he not asking more questions and acting like he had known something this whole time? It was like while the both of you were keeping your identity a secret, this man had one of his own.

"My son is just coming up to his teenage years, you met him with my wife before. Though, recently he's been absentminded and even aggressive. He's angry at his siblings and argues with his mother and I constantly. He's nothing like he used to be. He-" the headman stopped. His words catching in his throat when from behind the two of you and coming out from behind a hut was the boy himself.

You turned to face him and this time- instead of the uneasy feeling of his presence and the dull look in his eyes, there was more. He had deep bags under his eyes and you were quick to push your sleeve over your nose as you scowled. Hoseok looked at your reaction and then back at the boy, not needing you to explain to him what you were smelling off him.

"The scent of a demon is seeping from that boy," you muffled through your sleeve. "Then, there's the smell of a corpse." The headman remained silent as the boy started to take shaky steps towards the small group of you. His steps were weak as he wobbled and his arms flopped around like they had no strength in them.

Like he was just a walking corpse.

"Headman," you called as the man behind you only hummed in a small, sorrowful tone. "I don't want to be someone to bring you such news, but your son is already dead." You heard him take a small whimper of breath as he held it for a moment and let it out.

The 'boy' feet from you started to finally show his true colors. Rather, something jostled under his clothes. His chest fluttered before a hole was torn in the fabric from the inside and from that hole out peeked a demon crow's head. It cawed angrily as the body had started twitching like a puppet on tangled strings.

"Thats-"

"A demon crow- a small hatchling. It carved its way into your son's body and made itself a nest when the rest of it's flock was killed by Hoseok and I. Crows cannot survive on their own, so it decided to do the next best thing and hid."

You turned to the headman behind you. His eyes were filled with guilt and sorrow for his son that he had probably already convinced himself that he indirectly killed. If he were to say it out loud, you'd agree with him. It was his foolish decision that killed his son and you wouldn't sugar coat it.

"What do you wish for me to do?"

He looked down at you, a single tear falling from his flooded eyes. He was a proud man, you knew that much. The shaky breath and shutter he let loose from his lips told you that.

"Kill that demon."

You nodded, turning back before you bent your knees and looked at the hole the demon's beak was poking out of- not planning to waste any more time. Hoseok had already departed your side, leaving to find a way to sneak around to the back of the boy's body. The moment you saw Hoseok behind him, he twisted his sword in his grip, the blade gleaming off the morning light before you moved.

Your speed left a trail of dust behind you as you were immediately at the boy's chest. One of your claws hands harshly gripped the boy's shoulder before your other reared back before plunging your claws through the hole in his chest. Your hand curled around the crows neck inside the boy's chest before your hand burst through his back- taking the crow with you.

The crow squirmed and cawed as you squeezed it's neck. It's talon came and scratched at the boy's back, tearing it and catching your own arm and skin. You grimmanced as your tightly-shut palm sparked blue before fire began to ignite the feathers of the crow. Smoke seeped through your curled hand and off it's neck before the boy's body slumped against your chest fully- the dead weight of a corpse no longer under possession pushing against your body.

"Cut it off!" You cried, Hoseok acting immediately to dash towards your outstretched arm before he reached around, and grabbed your forearm. Using that as a guide on where to cut, he flipped his blade to rest against his own forearm and sliced horizontally through the crow's neck. It's body hit the ground at Hoseok's toes as you pulled your hand- and severed crow head- back through the chest of the boy before you pushed the body back for Hoseok to catch.

Holding your hand in front of you, you grit your teeth as you lit the head on fire, a rush of flames devouring the feathers and beak and eyes before it was all but ash. Dispersing your flames, you opened your hands, letting the left over soot and ash leave your palms and fingers.

You dropped your arm, small cuts beading with small trails of your red blood trailing it before the droplets hit the dirt from your fingertips. Looking at Hoseok, he knelt in the dirt holding the now fully deceased body of the headman's young son. You let out a small breath.

"It's all over now."

You stepped back as Hoseok positioned himself to carry the body of the boy in his arms and walked over to the headman, handing him over.

"You should give him a proper burial. His body was contaminated in life by demonic energy so he may be a magnet for other parasitic demons who leech to corpses." Hoseok turned to you who had been quiet. "Y/n," you looked at him when he called. "You have a charm to stop possession, don't you?"

You approached the two men before you dug into your yukata and brought out a paper charm with red ink writing. It was in a language Hoseok and other humans didn't recognize.

"It's up to you to believe me, but this should allow your son's body to erode and decay properly. Bury him with this and he should be able to rest easily."

The headman gently took it from your grasp and set it on his son's chest. He smiled and thanked you before he bowed his head low to you, his head coming to rest on his son's cold chest. Holding him one last time.

"Thank you, very much."

-x-x-x-

You were in a daze for a while after everything. You remember feeling dizzy before you felt Hoseok grab you around your back and pull you up and before long you were laying on the floor of the hut you both had been using.

It had been a while since you had actually gotten so worked up in battle, being swallowed and bathing in demon acidic guts didn't help matters. You felt hazy and tired as you lay on your back. You were only vaguely aware of Hoseok messing with your arm, dabbing your cuts and wounds with a wet rag and wrapping it with bandages, folding herbs against your skin with them to help the wounds heal.

"I don't... I don't need treatment," you huffed out, exhausted. "My body is different," you almost passed out, your eyes rolling for a moment before you snapped out of it and tried to concentrate on the boring hut ceiling.

"Too bad," was all he granted you. You were still in your daze when he finished and had dumped the water he used to clean your arm off outside the hut door before baring it closed again. He wasn't so trustworthy of the possibility that some rebellious village folk wouldn't ambush you with you this weak. Of course, he could hold them off if they tried anything; but fighting humans is harder than demon hunting- since he couldn't just kill humans.

As Hoseok watched over you, he would think back to the look on your face when you pulled your arm out of the dead boy's body earlier. Or even before that. When the headman thanked you, when he had asked you to destroy everything toxic and demonic in his village, when he thanked you a second time as he was handed the dead body of his son. So many emotions flooded your face, and if he hadn't been with you these past months, maybe he wouldn't have even noticed them.

But he did.

You looked like everything had pained you. Like seeing that child being used as a bloody puppet made you hurt- made you angry. A very human response. Then, he wondered if maybe that was what your face looked like when Fuuta died and you found his body. Hoseok wondered...

Were you sympathizing with the headman and the loss of his child to Fuuta and Shiro's deaths?

"Hey," Hoseok lightly called, your droopy eyes opened a crack before shifting to look at him. "Why did you look like that? Back there?"

"Because it hurts," you told him, your voice slurring in your haze. "It hurts losing someone like that- to a demon. It hurts being a demon." Hoseok wasn't sure if it was because of your hazy point of view, still slurred from your sloshing around in demon guts, or something else- but your eyes grew misty. So misty they overflowed and tears trailed down the side of your face. "It really hurts."

His eyes widened just a fraction before his mouth moved before his brain could stop him.

"I've lost someone that way." His hand flew to his mouth, the back of his hand pushing against his lips as he turned his head away and frowned. Why did he blurt that out?!

It was silent afterward and he half wondered if you hadn't heard him at all.

"How?" Your one single word response was enough to have his head whip back to you, look down at your laying, recovering form. Your eyes were still misted with tears and there was no lace to your tone that indicated mockery. Any other demon would have laughed in his face if they found out he lost someone to a demon- laughed and told him he'd join them eventually.

You didn't. And part of him knew you wouldn't. Maybe that's why he said it- maybe he trusted you more than he thought he did without even realizing.

"It was a long time ago," he said. He pushed himself off the floor with a huff, walked to the wall, grabbed the one sword he never drew and returned to your side. He put the sword on the ground in front of him and grabbed your wrist. He pushed your hand onto it's hilt- your palm immediately twitching. The last time you touched this sword, he had attacked you so viciously.

"This sword- it was his."