Photo by Roland Krawulsky
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Dog gulped as he looked into the cell...
The woman was sitting on the bed with her knees to her chest and eyes staring blankly at the wall. The healing claw marks across her cheek, bruise on her neck, and bleeding lip were all signs of her treatment from Ki and Akai. She was lost in thought as she rocked back and forth slowly on the bed that it made Dog a bit nervous going in.
It was all his fault she was in there. He looked into her for Ki and Akai. If he never did maybe she wouldn't be in this predicament.
Dog made his way over to the cell door and took a seat in front of it, facing the halls. He could hear (Y/N) move a little and a breath come from her. She must have noticed him.
"Are you the spider?"
He turned his head a little to glance at her but quickly turned back around with a nod.
"The scouts you work for... it's them, isn't it?"
She must have put the pieces together. What was he supposed to say? 'Yes, I work for the people you hate'? He sadly nodded again, never turning around.
Did Ki and Akai find out about her through him? (Y/N) watched the crouching demon carefully. His tattered robes covered most of his body to where he looked like a short troll. His spider legs were tightly folded against his back and partially covered by his clothes. He seemed nervous being around her and avoided making eye contact. He must know about her ability. There's not much she can do with it anyways. Mind reading can only get her so far and it wasn't far enough.
She sighed and went back to looking at the wall. At least the spider demon seemed like better company besides the two she loathes. "Do you have a name? I don't want to keep calling you spider."
"D-Dog..."
'Dog?' (Y/N) raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Your name is Dog? It sounds demeaning..."
"...Akai named me. He said it fit me."
"Of course he did." She grumbled. No demon would willingly refer to themselves as something as demeaning as Dog. "What's your real name then?"
Poor Dog sat quietly. (Y/N) waited patiently for his response but he slowly shrugged his shoulders. "I never had one..."
His raspy voice was so quiet when saying that. The woman couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Never had a name before but the one he was given was just terrible. "I'm sorry. It must be awful, especially here."
Silence fell between them. (Y/N) assumed he wasn't much of a talker so she didn't want to pressure him into a conversation. Instead, she tried to get lost in her own mind. Forget about where she was and her current predicament as much as she could. Eventually, Ki and Akai were gonna come back and 'talk' to her some more. More like wrestle her down and force themselves on her if she didn't give them the information they wanted. Akai almost bit her neck open the last time and Ki with his unnecessary strength almost broke her arm. Yama hasn't been back since she last saw him and she really just wanted to see a friendly face after the last two days full of hell.
"Are you- a human...?"
A quiet voice broke her from her thoughts and she glanced over to the spider demon who had his head turned slightly towards her. "Hm?"
Dog fumbled with the fabric of his hood and nervously repeated. "Are you a human? You're different than most humans."
She thought she could get enough of her own kind asking her this question but even demons weren't sure of her. "I am. I got possessed is all."
"Possessed?" Dog started turning his body slightly, curious about her. He still avoid her eyes but she could see he was coming around. Maybe he's one of the good demons here. "I got possessed before but I managed to kill the demon before it could finish. That's why I have abilities other humans don't have. I call after effects."
Is that why? All those times he watched her, those were just abilities from another demon? "Is that how you can read a demon's mind?"
"Humans too. But that's all I can do." She shrugged and looked to her feet. If you could count what happened between her and Zone 11's Chief then that too but she doesn't even know how that happened or what it was. "You must be great at observing to know not to look me in the eyes then."
Dog jumped. She could tell?!
"I think your King knows that too." He did seem to have recognized her eyes somehow. But that whole Reuban thing still confused her.
She glanced at Dog again who seemed to be sort of relaxing. She did catch him off guard with what she said before but now he didn't look as nervous compared to when he first showed up. There shouldn't be any harm in trying to get to know him. Maybe he can become an ally like Yama.
(Y/N) stretched her legs out and turned her body to face the demon, the chains connecting her to the bed rattled and spooked the demon a bit. "How did you end up working for someone like Zankoku? You don't seem as bad as him and all the other demons here."
"I- uh..." He started. Before he would be reluctant to tell her anything. But she was here now and likely learned a lot. There's no point in keeping secrets anymore.
Her yellowish eyes watched him which made the demon feel anxious. He finally turned towards her all the way but kept his eyes on the ground. His mask did help hide his face but he wasn't going to risk her reading his mind.
"Um- Zankoku found me and wanted me to join his kingdom. I didn't want to... but he... made me."
"What did he do?" She asked. Being made to join didn't sound too good.
"He- he gave me a bloodbath..."
"A bloodbath?" What did he mean by that?
Dog fumbled with his clothes some more, remembering his early time under Zankoku's control. It wasn't great. "It's one of his torture methods. He cuts your body open and lets your blood drain until you're barely alive. He does it repeatedly until you say yes."
(Y/N) eyes were wide open. She couldn't imagine what going through that must have been like. Repeatedly too?! How many did times did it take for Dog or any demon to say yes?!
"Most weaker demons only need to be scared in order to join. So Zankoku only tortures stronger demons using his methods. Sometimes the scouts help him too." Dog muttered. His King was indeed a cruel being. He has seen so many demons die by Zankoku's work that everyone here doesn't want to be on his bad side. Not even his scouts.
"You said he only tortures strong demons? Does that mean you're strong too?" The woman asked. He doesn't appear to be.
Dog quickly shook his head. Dismissing the idea entirely. "I'm not strong-. I'm weak..."
"You must have been a bit of trouble in order for him to put you through that pain. You said so yourself." (Y/N) stated. If weaker demons are easy to recruit then why use those horrible methods on one?
"Zankoku and his scouts tortured me for months. They proved that I'm not strong... I'm the weakest demon here..." His voice was barely a whisper and it broke the woman's heart. He was so convinced that he wasn't strong that he thinks of himself as the weakest. What did they do to him...?
(Y/N) didn't know what to say. The poor demon sat against the bars huddled into himself to make himself seem smaller. The more she observed him the more she can see. Studying demons for years has made it easy for her to tell a demon's character just from appearances alone. Coupled with what he told her, she can see the truth that he was refusing to see himself.
Dog is strong. But he was brainwashed to believe he wasn't... Maybe to make him easier to control?
"May I?" She asked which grabbed his attention.
Dog looked at her body but not her eyes. He was confused by what she meant but never asked.
"If you're ok with it, can I look into your mind? I can prove to you that you are strong."
The demon immediately backed away from the bars while furiously shaking his head. His spider legs pulled out and carried him to the farthest wall on their own. (Y/N) quickly held her hands up and got the idea to look away from him. "I'm not trying to hurt you if that's what you're worried about! It'll only be for a second. As long as you're ok with it."
The demon was tense. His mittened hands gripped the rocky wall behind him while his spider legs positioned themselves around him like a protective cage. She wouldn't be able to get out and hurt him but it was instinct for his legs. What would she even get out of reading his mind? There's nothing there for her to see. He isn't worth learning about.
But she was keeping her eyes away this time. She was staring at the cracked floors.
"W-Why?" He stuttered. She already knows everything there is to know about Zankoku. She already knows about Ki and Akai. What was the point?
"I just want to understand you better. See what you see."
This shocked Dog. (Y/N) slowly lowered her hands, hoping she didn't potentially lose an ally or a friend. "If you don't want to then I understand. I won't force you."
Dog looked to his feet and his legs were shaking. But not in fear anymore. He was just surprised. Why was she so nice to him?
The quiet dungeons fell upon the two. (Y/N) placed her hands on her lap and waited in silence for the demon to do or say something. 'He's scared of me. I shouldn't have asked that...' Dog was different than the majority of the demons here. He didn't growl or snap at her. Or poked and berated her. He didn't look at her like she was a piece of meat. He for sure wasn't like the two scouts he works for. Having more people she can feel safe around, especially in this hell of a place was something she was hoping for. So far it's only been Yama but he hasn't been back since her first day here...
The rusty bars began to creak and rustle which made the woman look up.
Dog was making his body small enough to fit through the bars that it took the woman by surprise. His spider legs were completely flat and his body was as thin as the bars. Once he got through however his body began to fill back out to how it once was. He kept his distance from (Y/N) for a few seconds but slowly took a few steps closer to her.
Now (Y/N) was the nervous one. He was in her cell with her. What if things go wrong?
Dog stopped only a couple of steps away from her bed and cautiously lifted his gloved hands up to fumble with his mask. Almost like he wasn't used to even doing that. "D-Don't take long... o-ok?"
Realizing what he was doing, (Y/N) felt her nerves go back down. Relief washed over her as she nodded. "Just a second, that's all."
His hands went into his hood and behind his head to undo the straps on the mask. When it was loose he carefully grabbed the bottom and lowered the mask down and stopped at the middle of his face. Just enough to only reveal his eyes.
He had black skin. As dark as the night skye. There were small strands of black hair that fell into his face and over his three blackened eyes that slanted inwards like they were circling his nose. His eyes were what surprised the woman the most. Not expecting him to have three in that way.
She prepared herself and looked directly into him. Her yellowish (e/c) eyes unnerved Dog a bit but he fought the idea of backing away now.
Her eyes began to glow a bright yellow that reflected off of Dog's black ones and she could feel herself entering his mind as time began to slow for her.
She was now inside his mind.