Alcohol

I lay across the battlefield, listening to him ramble. The transition between his angry terrifying voice to his calm, sad, and almost melancholic one as he tells me his tragic backstory is noticeable. His gaze on me softens as memories of his past rush into his mind, clouding his fury. He helped me up after realizing what he had done to me and apologized profusely. "Sorry, my anger got a little... Out of hand" he smiled scratching the nape of his neck. My breath was labored and words barely managed to leave my mouth to respond to him "I... Hate you..." I muttered. He laughed dramatically in response. "well, I hope you learned a thing or two from this" "What do you mean?" I questioned him. He lifted his head to look at the dark red cloudy skies of the demon world, he was silent for a bit before answering "You know I did this for your own good right? To teach you a lesson" he looked at me. "There's no lesson to be learned here, I'm right" he sighed in disappointment at my words and spoke again "I don't want you to get in trouble Ryu, That's why I decided to stay quiet about this. I will not be telling anyone about your little secret." My head jolted up to look at him with a wide grin planted on my face "Really?" he smiled in return and nodded. "But you have to promise me one thing"

"What is it? I'll do anything I promise" I spoke with a hopeful tone of voice. "Promise that you will never show yourself in the human world or interact with anyone ever again."

My jaw dropped at his outrageous request, I knew if I wanted him to leave me alone, I could agree to his conditions. But I also knew for a fact at this point that I will never leave Hanako, even if she wanted me to, this is also why I can't tell her about what happened today. She needs me more than she thinks she does. Perhaps agreeing to his terms and breaking them in secret is the right choice. However, Genji has eyes, everywhere. The chance of him not seeing me with her is extremely low. "If you chose to disagree, I will not guarantee your complete safety from my colleagues, I had a reason not to tell on you because I care about you, but they certainly don't" I stood in front of him, lost in thought. I needed to think about this thoroughly. "Fine... I agree" I spoke hesitantly. He smiled grabbing my arm and dragging me away with him "Great! Now let's go get some drinks!"

Hanako pov:

It's been a while since I last saw Ryu, an entire school day. I'm not one to worry about people, especially him, he seems strong enough to defend himself in dangerous situations. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little anxious. I locked my bedroom door behind me as I entered, throwing my school bag on my desk chair and plopping down on the bed. The window was open, as usual, and the blinds danced gently with the calm breeze. The sun's beaming afternoon light infiltrates the small space and creates lovely golden lighting in the room. I got up to water the plants near my bookshelf when I was rudely startled by a familiar horned male behind me. "Hey..." he says under his breath and I turn around to face him. My eyes widened when I turned to face him. His slender body lay on my door frame, he was a mess. His once clear pale skin is now filled with a wide range of bruises and cuts, his neck had strange blue marks and his clothes were torn and wrecked. Dried droplets of blood rested on his cheeks as he grinned softly, clearly looking tired and worn out from whatever happened to him. I gasped at the sight of him, letting the now empty watering can fall to the ground. I walked slowly toward him, hesitantly, and as I got closer a certain smell hit my nostrils, Alcohol. The stench of alcohol filled the room as I stepped closer to him, it smelled different from regular wine thought, it was a lot stronger and smelled similar to rotten flesh. It was quite recognizable, It smelled like my father. The smell was all too familiar, the smell of his rage, his uncontrollable fury.

I started to panic, what if alcohol has the same effect on him? I highly doubted that though, Ryu has never done anything to hurt me or threaten me in any way, but still, I had to keep my guard up. "What's wrong? You look scared, did something happen? " he asked, his voice cracked mid-sentence when he spoke, it sounded slightly deeper than his normal voice, kind of raspy too. "What happened to you?" I asked with a low worried tone. His smile grew wider as he slowly stepped toward me. I instinctively backed away from him, and he stopped realizing the look of fear on his face "Don't be scared Hanako, I won't hurt you" he assured and I somehow felt safer hearing his warm comforting voice. I walked closer, eyeing him up and down, scanning his disheveled body. My eyes meet his as he spoke "How have you been? Did you miss me?" Ryu teased. My look of worry quickly turned into one of cringe when he spoke. He stepped closer and pulled me into a loving hug "Were you drinking?" I questioned, he pulled away, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment "Maybe?" that explains the bruises, he probably got into a fight at a bar, he strikes me as the type to get himself into something like that. "Wait here," I said before rushing to my desk, opening a drawer, and grabbing a first aid kit. I always keep one in case my father's beatings got a little out of hand.

I walked towards him, motioning for him to sit on my bed, I dragged my desk chair to sit in front of him and started working on his face, using a wet piece of cloth to wipe the blood off his face as he winced in pain. I then cleaned his wounds and put bandaids on a few cuts. He flinched each time I touched his skin and his eyes' gaze never left me. I could feel his skin getting warmer every time I touched it. I smiled brightly as I covered up the last visible cut on his face. His eyes were locked on me as I placed the first aid kit back in its original place and then sat back in front of him, ready to bombard him with more questions about his sudden long disappearance. "So... what happened?" I asked, placing my hands on my lap, and waiting for his response. He quickly replied, by hastily grabbing the side of my face and pulling me for an unexpected kiss.

My eyes widen and his closes shut as the demon's lips touched mine. Ryu never fails to surprise me every time, he always finds a way to make our interactions unique and interesting. I closed my eyes slowly, leaning into his lenient touch. He placed his other hand on my waist, pulling me and my chair closer and making our knees touch. He pulls me nearer as his lips moved smoothly across my lips, his thumb traced my jawline tenderly as his other hand moved from my waist to my head, holding it and stroking my soft purple hair. His tongue slowly penetrated my lips and it danced with mine, moving in perfect harmony. He held my waist again, pulling me even closer to him, making our legs intertwine. Without much thinking, I slowly placed my hand on his knee, rubbing it gently as I felt him relax a bit more. He finally pulled away to catch his breath. He inhaled before smiling innocently. The alcohol took over his body which probably explains this sudden act of affection. I smiled back at him, not sure how to react to this moment. "y-you should rest" I said, pulling away from his hold and pushing his weak injured body on my bed. He chuckled in response "I don't need to sleep Hanako" I heard him say as I rushed out of my room, red-faced and stunned at what just happened.

I stood in front of my bedroom's closed door, hesitating to step inside, to face him. I left to grab a blanket for him and now I don't know how I'm going to walk inside again after what took place in this very room. I squeezed my eyes shut and walked in, bracing myself for inevitable shame. I was surprised to see Ryu, passed out on my bed, he looked completely exhausted, like he hadn't slept in years. I made sure to cover him with the blanket before leaving again to let him rest. I didn't know demons had a soft side but now I do, and it felt good to learn that Ryu had one too.