The era was Feudal Japan. Throughout the vast land, the area was inhabited by four groups of entities: mortals, demons, cherubs, and hanyous. And our story begins with one particular demon by the name of Mephiles the Dark, the Demon Lord of Japan....
Mephiles silently crept though the canopies of the surrounding trees. His knew prey often kept to himself in a wooded area. And this afternoon, he found himself looking deep into the forest, trying to sniff out his prey. There was a tang in the air. Sweat. It was his, it had to be! He easily remembered it clearly from all the attacks before. So, it wouldn't be long now....
The demon suddenly stiffened, he was coming to the trees near him! This was his chance, the short drop from underneath wouldn't give him enough time to react. His hand gripped his sword, slightly pulling it out of its hilt.
A silver ear twitched at a faint sound, but didn't pay if any attention. Probably a bird, he thought. The owner of said ear was a white furred hanyou by the name of Silver. Silver was a hanyou, or half breed. And like many others of his kind, he often found himself just struggling to survive on a day to day basis. And today, he was out hunting in the woods-the only place that he could call home-trying to find something to stave off his starvation.
Slowly, he rounded the tree that unknowingly held the demon lord and quietly crept forward, a grazing rabbit in his sights up ahead.
The hanyou had no idea that he'd turned his back to none other than his greatest enemy, Mephiles--Demon Lord of Japan.
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Mephiles silently noted what half-breed was after; he'd allow him this catch. Plus, it would keep him distracted long enough to make his move.
Skillfully and silently, he crept closer in the trees.
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Silver silently stalked closer to his prey, his amber eyes focused solely on the now still rabbit, the poor thing now frozen in fright.
Silver stopped a few feet from the creature, paused momentarily, and then he pounced with speed that could only come from his demon side--the rabbit crying out in alarm when it was caught, its frantic thrashing instantly stopping when Silver quickly broke his neck.
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Mephiles instantly took his chance while the hanyou was skinning his meal. He came lunging from the trees, but even from what warning the loud crash he'd made, it wasn't enough time for Silver to defend himself. But Silver had fortunately moved enough that the other's blade didn't pierce through him. Mephiles had--in one swift movement--pinned him down before the hanyou could react, his claws digging into his kimono.
"Hello, darling," he snarled down at the ambushed hanyou.
"Mephiles!!" Silver gasped in shock before growling and trying to shake him off, the silver male crying out when the claws dug deeper, drawing blood.
"Get off me, you bastard!!" the angered hanyou shouted, trying to reach his sword which had been knocked a few feet away.
Mephiles chuckled, digging his claws into his neck. "I'm afraid I can't do that, you've lived for too long, escaped from me for too long." He then bit down into his neck, easily taking his blood. He knew his prey was weak, so it wouldn't be a problem to kill him.
Silver screamed in pain, managing to somehow get one of his hands free--raking his claws across Meph's face, leaving a four deep slash marks across his otherwise perfect face.
Mephiles slapped him in retaliation, "B***h!!" He clamped his fangs down on the hanyou again, this time smelling something a bit different about him. Mephiles stopped all movement, deeply distracted by this smell. Upon recognition, he shivered as a bone chilling smirk grew on his face.
"You're in heat," the demon purred down at what he'd come to realize was a submissive male, or a uke, for lack of a better term.
Silver instantly stilled under him, eyes wide in horrified fear. He then saw the evil smirk grow across Meph's face that was now free of scars due to his advanced healing and the silver hanyou uke felt his blood run cold.
He quickly renewed his struggle to get free.
Mephiles easily ripped the hanyou's kimono off. He was getting turned on by the hanyou's smell. Mephiles lost himself in his own hormones and instincts; his lime green eyes slowly turning red. He wouldn't do this normally, especially with scum like this, but he started to bite Silver again, but in a more teasing manner, hardly drawing blood at all this time around.
"Dammit, Mephiles, snap out of it!!" Silver growled out, kicking and cursing as he tried his best to get free. But Meph was too strong, easily able to pin his arms above his head and keep his legs still by holding them down with his own.
The silver male was quickly growing weak, only this time it just wasn't simply from his already weakened state, but the fact that his Submissive instincts were telling him to submit to the Dominant above him so that he could easily be taken.
Only thing was, Silver didn't want to be taken, especially by his enemy of all people!
But unfortunately, despite his protests, Silver was fighting a quickly losing battle as Mephiles rid them of their clothes, both males' eyes quickly bleeding red as they lost themselves to their baser instincts and more corrupt nature.
Demon matings were always painful and bloody- especially for the submissive partner of the pair- there wasn't anything loving about it. Their instincts only provoked them into creating the next generation of offspring, that's it. Any love making would come afterwards when pairs were mated and the Submissive was not in heat.
Mephiles groaned, enjoying every bit of the uke's scream. This is exactly what he needed. He'd been holding back the whole breeding season so he wouldn't be stuck with a mate. He would've stopped this now if he realized he was doing exactly what he'd been trying to avoid all along, but his logic was too far gone.
For nearly an hour, the two lust-crazed demons rutted right there on the forest floor--blood and screams coming from them both, though the screams were mostly from Silver. And it was with a harsh bite to the uke's neck that spelled the end of their rut as both reached their peak, Silver then leaving his mating mark on Mephiles as well--both too overpowered by instincts to know what just occurred between the two of them.
Mephiles eventually withdrew from the other, exhausted. He didn't have enough energy left to kill Silver, not now. But the rabbit the hanyou had killed would allow him to. He groggily stumbled off of the other and began eating the fresh kill.
The uke had groaned in discomfort when Mephiles had exited his body, the hanyou having gone unconscious afterwards from all the wounds he now bore.
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It took about ten minutes for Mephiles to regain his energy and to regain his senses. Eyes no longer red, he glanced over at the unconscious uke, noticing a mark on his collar bone and one on his own that made his blood boil. That stupid hanyou had marked him!
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Sometime later, Silver came to, slowly blinking open his amber eyes. He frowned in confusion from where he lay on the forest floor. How....how did he get down here? He then began to slowly sit up, biting back a scream when everything hurt.
What the hell happened to him? He frowned even further when he noticed all the bruises and wounds all over him.
....Had he gotten into a fight?
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In the meantime, Mephiles had left already, having assumed the hanyou dead. He wasn't breathing when he'd checked. He had gone home and did not plan on going outside until he was fully cleansed of that, and until he figured a way to get that mark off his neck.
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Once he was sorely on his feet, Silver took in his surroundings and slowly the memories came back, despite how badly he tried to deny it.
Mephiles had ambushed him.
And they'd....mated.
Totally and completely disgusted with himself, the silver male limped over to his sword and picked it up before putting on what was left of his tattered clothing, glad that the bastard of a lord was gone. He didn't want to deal with him or what's happened between them.
Slowly, and wincing most of the time, the hanyou limped off to find a nice hot spring where he hoped to cleanse all essence of Mephiles off of him.
Only once he had cleaned off and started to feel better, he had a similar reaction to finding the same mark as Mephiles.
Frowning deeply and near growling, the half breed male looked off in the direction of Meph's palace home, glaring for all he's got.
He then abruptly turned and went off to find shelter like he had been doing in the beginning. And he had to hurry, the sun was setting.
He'd have to deal with Mephiles another day......
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Mephiles was cleaning himself and trying to hide the mark as best he could. He couldn't let anyone see it.
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Silver had meanwhile; found a cave to stay in for the night. So, he went about getting firewood and a few fish from the nearby stream for his dinner.
He was doing his best to keep Mephiles from his mind.
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And so, with that thought in mind, the ebony furred Demon Lord set off to find the bane of his existence.
Mephiles thought about it for a while longer as he headed out. What if Silver had a mark? It could be traced back to him. He'd have to scratch the mark off.
He went back to where he had encountered Silver. But his body wasn't there. He was still alive, so it may take a while to track him down.
Mentally cursing up a storm, the highly upset male went off in search of his prey, the ebony male getting more and more mad the longer he hadn't found him.
After about an hour or two of searching, eventually found him, hiding in a cave. Typical of his kind. By now he'd be resting and he'd have an opportunity to kill him.
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Silver's ear twitched from where he slept, easily picking up noise from outside and disturbing the uke's rest.
With a groan, the already tired male simply turned over in his sleep at the back of the cave, his hand wrapped around his sword as he slept, the weapon being his only means of security.
From the entrance, the demon could easily see him in the pitch black. He stalked quietly, sword at ready, if needed. Then nearly a hair away, he pounced, again, catching the scum off guard.
Silver awoke with a startled scream, having been snatched away from his slumber, only to find himself pinned beneath Mephiles once again.
They SERIOUSLY had to stop meeting like this!!!
"Get off of me, Mephiles!!" Silver hissed angrily as he managed to get the other to step back a few feet with a swing of his sword.
Silver was quickly on his feet, trying to put distance between them in the dark, enclosed area.
Mephiles grinned at him. "Don't worry; I'm only here to burn that little mark I left on you."
"And do you honestly think that I'll just stand by a willingly have you put your filthy hands on me again?" Silver growled as he took on a fighting stance, "I'd rather die first..."
"I could arrange that." He growled, drawing his own blade. "You're too weak to defend yourself."
"Either way, I'm not going down without a fight!!" Silver shouted, sword at the ready.
"So be it." He murmured, lunging at the hanyou with incomprehensible speed, his sword drawn and aimed at Silver's neck.
Silver was quick to dodge, slashing his own sword out at him in defense.
The uke cried out from the force his blade took from Meph's hit, his arms trembling as he held on with all his might--his simple sword groaning in protest under such a strain.
Mephiles countered the slash by forcing it downwards with his own weapon. He wanted to shatter the hanyou's blade.
He pressed down harder, that blade would soon shatter and Silver wouldn't have a chance.
Silver's angered eyes slowly widened when he heard and saw a small crack in his blade.
He yelped when his sword suddenly shattered around him and before he could respond, he screamed at the top of his lungs in pain from where he'd been shoved to the cave floor--weakly looking to see Mephiles' blade deeply embedded in one side of his shoulder and protruding out the other end--the blade and his entire arm now soaked in his blood.
Mephiles grinned wickedly, twisting the blade inside him.
Silver shrieked in pure agony, gripping at the sword with his only good arm, trying to get it out and avoid it going any deeper to do even more damage.
Mephiles smirked at his hopeless attempt. But he pulled the blade out. The bite was no longer there. It was hidden with the wound he had just inflicted.
"There." He purred sadistically. "No more bite mark."
"Y-You f***ing bastard," Silver growled weakly, his vision blurring as he continued to lose more and more blood.
"It doesn't look like you'll get very far tonight. You'll bleed out before you can be saved." He growled, spitting on the hanyou's face, "Wretched filth."
Silver growled weakly at him, now too weak to stand.
"If I ever catch you in my lands again, I won't hesitate to kill you," Mephiles warned. "The world is better off without filth such as yourself tainting the earth."
Silver watched him leave. "F*** you," he growled. He tried to get up once he was gone, needing to wrap his wound so he had less of a chance of dying.
Once he was on his unsteady feet, he had to lean against the wall for support when he got a little lightheaded from blood loss. When he regained his bearings, he had to rip a strip of fabric from his already worn kimono to not only wrap around his shoulder to stop the bleeding, but to also make a sling to hold his now useless arm in.
He had a hard time getting all that done with nothing but one arm, but he eventually managed. He then exited the cave and saw that, despite the stormy looking sky, it was getting late.
Damn that Mephiles!! Now he needed to find a new place for shelter because predators would be drawn to the cave by the thick scent of his blood. He also had to get going before the storm hit.
He grabbed his fish he had caught before and hurried away. He would hopefully find a dry place to sleep before it started pouring.
He travelled for about twenty minutes. He could suddenly smell smoke from a welcoming fire. Maybe an inn, there was an abundance of mortal smell. He didn't have much coin, so they might let him sleep in the barn for cheap.
And so, he cautiously approached the dwelling area, hoping that someone was kind enough to take pity on him and help him out, and if not, then at least direct him to the nearest healer.
As he entered, there were alarmed looks in his direction. He must've looked worst then he thought. He approached the front counter, laying most of his money on the counter. "Please...I-I need help."
The innkeeper looked warily at him when he staggered into their establishment, but thankfully, the man's wife took pity on him.
"Just leave what you have on the counter and come with me," she said, quickly rushing over to him, her eyes filled with concern, "you need medical attention right away."
Silver looked at her gratefully. He followed her, barely able to keep up.
He was then led to a vacant room where she told him to stay and rest while she went to find a healer.
Silver passed out after a while, he was too tired and weak to keep up any longer.
When he awoke again, it was to the painful throbbing of his shoulder as his poorly makeshift bandage was carefully removed, the strip of fabric drenched in blood.
He then focused his blurry vision on the figure above him, who turned out to be an elderly healer.
The innkeeper's wife wasn't too far away.
Silver looked away as the old women properly cleaned and stitched up his wound. It hurt a lot but it was easier if he wasn't looking.
Once the woman had done all that she could, Silver was told that he was to rest at least three more days before he even remotely do anything productive.
And when Silver voiced his concern about affording his room and board, the friendly wife from before just told him not to worry about it. She was even kind enough to give him some clothing that no longer fit her husband and a well cooked meal that she would put aside each night just for him when she was making dinner for her family.
She could tell when a person was at their lowest and Silver needed all the help he could get.
Silver was beyond grateful, he hadn't seen such hospitality in a long time. He would pay this woman back for her kindness somehow.
The woman left and he rested again, praying he wouldn't ever see that demon again. He'd ruined his life.
And so, over the course of his three day resting period, Silver made a slow but progressive recovery.
However, a new problem decided to rear its ugly head. It would seem that every day this week so far, he'd been having horrible fits of nausea--he was often found bringing back up complete meals from the night before. Alas, if would seem that even though he'd been blessed to enjoy a full course meal for once in his miserable life, in the end, he was still unable to enjoy it.
He just wondered what could possibly be wrong with him this time.
The inn lady quickly noticed this and brought the elderly healer back.
From where he lay in bed feeling absolutely miserable by now, Silver silently watched as the healer began mixing together various herbs and potions to a concoction she was brewing, the elderly woman silently chanting something under her breath as she did so.
Once finished, she placed the large bowl on the nightstand beside the bed, the bowl having some white foggy substance in it. She then gave the uke a cup of potion to drink, which he near gagged on from the awful taste.
After waiting 5 minutes, she then gave him a small blade and told him to prick his finger and place a drop of his blood into the bowl's contents.
Once he sliced open his finger, Silver applied a drop of his blood to the mixture and they all waited for the answer, which came in the form of the foggy white substance turning green.
The healer, having the answer she needed, then told Silver what his ailment was.
"It would appear that you, young one, are pregnant," she stated.
Silver felt numb, he fell against the bed and stared at the ceiling. Mephiles continued to torture him. He wasn't well enough to carry a child. He had no home, no mate. The worst part was, the baby had more demon blood then he did. It would sap away his energy and he wouldn't be able to go on the way he was without a demon to take energy from.
But there was one thing for sure; he had to leave these lands before Mephiles found out.
Father or not, he was not getting his hands on this pup(s) if he had anything to say about it.
"Could either of you tell me which way Emerald City is?" he then asked them. He'd overheard villagers speak of this place on more than one occasion in various villages. Apparently, it was a well-fortified city where heritage was not a problem. Demons, hanyous, and mortals alike were all able to live there free of discrimination. Everyone was treated equally.
That was his new destination, especially since he now had more than himself to worry about. He would give his pup(s) the life he never had.
It was another day before he was fit to travel. The old healer gave him herbs for his nausea while the inn lady, gave him food and a canteen full of fresh water. To her husband's dismay, she also supplied him with the coin he had given to them and even a bit more. He had also been given an old chopping blade. They were going to sell it as scrap metal, but it would give him some protection.
Silver swore that if they were to ever meet again, he would repay them for all their kindness and then some.
It was then that the woman had pointed him in the right direction of Emerald City. The city of dreams was in the Northern parts of Japan...on the other side of a mountain range. They all wished him the best of luck and safe traveling.
And so, Silver set out for his new destination. He just hoped he made it in time before winter hit. The weather was already cooling as the last few days of summer were upon them.
It would even take a healthy full blooded demon near 3 to 4 months to get to the North while walking at his pace. He just hoped he made it in time.....
