anakiddwrites

Kaoru cries during a confession for the very first time.

♪ … Love is a rebellious bird,

That none can tame… ♪

The early morning brought back the inevitable sunshine once again, leaving behind the heavy rain that flogged the village through the night. Now, only the smell of wet grass and soil, along with few tiny pools fading in the corners of the streets, remained as timid leftovers of a powerful storm. Soon, a clean sky with no clouds would bless the village like a comforting reward after the toughest week the residents had survived in ages.

And even though the morning returned after the storm as always, the melody inside the closed church was not the familiar tune of the local priest, having its own magical beauty and cadence.

♪ … And it is quite in vain that one calls it,

If it suits it to refuse… ♪

And it could not have been Priest Kaoru at all when he was still bedridden, tucked under a heavy blanket with a towel placed on his forehead.

“… kids… don’t… eat too fast…”

He sighed deeply in his sleep, his heavy eyelids slightly fluttering open with some effort.

♪ … Nothing to be done, threat or plea… ♪

“Don’t… waste… jam… ugh…” Kaoru grunted, slowly rolling to the side and frowning harder as the song invaded his dream and mixed up with the scenes spinning inside his brain… until consciousness returned to him abruptly like the shock of a punch in the gut.

“KIDS?!”

Kaoru found himself sitting on the bed with blown pupils, sweat drenching his forehead and pasting his messy hair to his nape. He needed a moment to reorient himself after being pulled from his blurred dream with no warning or preparation. However, he noticed the unfamiliar song had not stopped, reaffirming its existence in the human plane.

♪ … The one talks well,

the other is silent… ♪

“What in the name of…” Kaoru rubbed his eyes, pushing himself to come back to reality. Staring at the towel fallen to his lap, he felt the weight of the pain from the last week on his shoulders again, haunted by the memories of the poor twins he was unable to save. But the sadness and the guilt entrenched in his heart were overshadowed by a sudden goosebump across his cold skin when another face came to his mind.

“… demon…?” A frown folded between his eyebrows, reflecting his struggle to parse the disconnected flashes of recent memories and sensations striking his brain all at once.

The relief of fresh water soothing his burning throat, warm blankets sheltering his trembling body, soft towels wiping his sweaty skin… but also a sharp pain pulling at his heartstrings, the heavy weight of regret and fear, the taste of bile in his mouth, a burden impossible to carry crushing his soul to pieces… and through it all, a pair of eyes watching over him.

Bright golden and blue, like the ocean and the sand connecting at the beach, but not ones of a guardian angel.

“This... song… ah...?” Kaoru looked up, hugging himself and clinging to the real world in hopes of pushing the disorientating darkness away from his soul. Thankfully, the sensation of the cross around his neck was a safe anchor and he touched it timidly to make sure it was real, like a hesitant child reaching for his mom’s hand. His shoulders instantly relaxed at the confirmation, and he focused on the cold iron against his fingers to ground his heart.

♪ … And it's the other that I prefer,

He said nothing, but he pleases me... ~ ♪

“This song is... kinda… hm. Mundane.” He cleared his throat, ignoring his slightly blushing cheeks when he was finally able to pay attention to the lyrics and the languid tone of the singer.

A tone he would recognize with no fail even in a choir of a thousand voices.

“Mika Kagehira.”

Kaoru rolled the name on his tongue in a whisper, the frown growing sharper between his eyebrows and heartbeats racing under the bandages wrapped around his chest.

The demon’s presence had not been a dream or a feverish hallucination. He was back in Kaoru’s life as casually as he had disappeared more than once before.

“But for how long again...”

Kaoru spit the words with more annoyance than he would like to admit, biting his lip and forcing his weak body to get up. No matter what, the answer would be found by chasing the source of that vulgar song echoing in the walls of his church.

“I’ll make him shut up in any case, for the Holy Spirit’s sake.”

The priest dragged himself through the hallways, following the song in slow yet determined steps, one hand leaning on the cold stone wall for support and the other gripping at the cross around his neck. The familiar item was a necessary support to prepare himself to meet the demon and his tricky devices once again after a while.

After what felt like a lifetime, to be honest.

♪ … Love is a rebellious bird...

That none can tame… ♪

However, the first thought that came to Kaoru’s mind once he arrived at the kitchen’s door was just…

Messy.

The wooden table was covered in raw flour, as if a whole bag had been recklessly dumped there and then dragged across the floor, making a white trail to the sink that was full of fruit crusts and seeds. Honey smeared the counter, along with smashed grapes, strawberry stems and banana slips scattered everywhere, creating a mixed smell with the usual wooden scent of the kitchen and turning the air almost uncomfortably sweet to breathe. Somehow, not even the walls and shelves had escaped the baptism of fruit, egg and flour staining its surfaces.

Kaoru rested his back against the door in utter shock before the chaotic sight, unsure if he was just having a weird fever dream after all.

♪ … He said nothing, but he pleases me... ~ ♪

At least there were no signs of broken glasses or plates, but any further observation was interrupted when Kaoru looked at the corner and was graced with a full view of someone bending in front of the oven, head down and butt up in all glory. Even if covered by a puffy long skirt, the scandalous view made his eyes go wide and cheeks flare up, but at least the reaction brought back some life to his features.

And of course the source of the song would be found right there.

“… taramramram…! ♪”

Kaoru had to admit the state of the kitchen tampered the tension of meeting the slender figure of the demon Kagehira Mika. Now there he was, standing up and turning to him with those unmistakeable two toned eyes, dressed just like the peasant maiden from his jumbled memories.

Along with a black skirt long enough to hide his shoes, he was wearing a masculine plain white shirt with loose strings that showed part of his bare chest. Its long and puffy sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, making it easier for him to move around. His oversized oven gloves, the white fabric improvising a bandana to keep his hair back and the stains all over his clothes also offered an explanation for the tornado that seemed to have hit the kitchen.

They stared at each other in heavy silence for a solid minute, until Kaoru managed to organize his thoughts a little and say anything.

“… you… can you... sing… like that?”

In fact, Kaoru had listened the demon’s version of his own song back in the night of their unfinished… fight. Or meeting. Or else. In any case, the tune and cadence were quite different from the melody that woke him up today. Truth to be told, the singing from that night looked pale in comparison now, like a cheap imitation of a genuine piece despite the effort and decent voice.

“…..” Mika blinked, looking surprised with the question but recovering his fanged smile and bright eyes in a moment. “Nice ta see yer up, kind Priest.”

Kaoru did not know if the tenderness from Mika was calculated or not, but his face bloomed a deep red in response regardless.

“Singin’ one of our songs is different from tryin’ gospel stuff.” Mika explained, shrugging lightly and dragging a chair close to the priest since Kaoru was standing in awkward silence. “Did ya like it?”

The unmistakable playful mood also brought back some of Kaoru’s ability to communicate, clinging to the peculiar familiarity he came to relate to Mika’s eyes and gestures.

“… a demon’s song, then? Oh my, I’m really rusty if you can just sing it freely here…” Kaoru sighed, but his casual tone did not match the serious words. He allowed himself to sit on the chair, aware of his current frail health, and looked at Mika again with no defiance in his expression. “It explains some things, though.”

It was already impressive that Mika had been able to sing Kaoru’s song with no damage to his demon body, but the priest let that detail to be read in between the lines separating them both.

“I can pretty much assure yer ain’t any rusty, kind Priest.” Mika offered a large smile with no intentions of hiding his pride while leaning against the sink and resting his hands on his hips. “Anyways. How ya feelin’?”

The quiet tension that followed was a response in itself, so Mika did not press for words. But, before the demon second guessed himself about making a bad timed question, the priest allowed a deep loud sigh to escape his lungs.

“This.” Kaoru placed a hand over his own chest, staring at his bare feet instead of looking at Mika. “Why did you do this?”

It was Mika’s turn to avoid the question, instinctively crossing his arms.

He turned his attention to the oven again with a pout, crouching in front of it and scratching his hair. The memory of the priest bawling his guts out last night was still too vivid in his mind to his liking, embarrassing him deeply and rubbing his own frustrations in his face.

“Sorry.” Mika blurted out suddenly. “I did understand everythin’ wrong. I admit it.”

“… what now…” Kaoru raised eyebrows, tilting his head. His heart was exhausted and he was well aware his body and mind were still too weak to pick a fight, so he decided to just tag along with the talk for now. “What do you mean?”

“I was hella dumb. Heh... guess it’s time fer my confession, right…” He sighed, turning to Kaoru with a blatant apologetic smile. “We dun need the box fer it, do we?”

Kaoru stared at Mika with a frown for a minute, still unsure of the intentions behind his deeds or the reasons for his sudden return. It was extremely frustrating to feel the demon was always leading every conversation they had, not to mention Kaoru had not been able to understand his patterns and logic at all so far.

Dealing with demons should be simple enough in theory, but Mika Kagehira was a mystery deeper than the most complex scriptures for him.

“… God is always listening. Go ahead.”

He ultimately replied in a serious but pacifist tone, holding the cross around his neck and resting his back against the chair. Perhaps letting the demon talk would give him some clues about all of those questions troubling his heart.

And the smile that Mika opened in response already felt like a surprising reward, reflecting a sweet gratitude that Kaoru never had dreamed of witnessing in his features.

“Thank ya kindly ~” Mika casually sat on the floor with legs open, resting his arm on a knee. The priest resisted the urge of pointing out how improper it was to sit like that wearing a skirt, but… it was irrelevant for the confession, something Kaoru would always take seriously no matter who he would be listening to. So he chose to ignore that detail, at least for now.

“Like I said… I was hella dumb.” Mika made an effort to keep looking into Kaoru’s eyes, even if some bitterness seeped in his smile. “I… I thought yer had set me up that night.”

“Indeed, you said something along these lines before leaving… with no further explanation.” Kaoru nodded, doing his best to not show all of his frustration regarding the last time he had seen the demon, in the night before the Bishop’s arrival.

“Yeah… I guess I did…” Mika scratched his hair, huffing softly and slightly bouncing back and forth. “Anyway, goin’ straight to the point, I felt the Bishop’s presence in the distance… and it hit me like a bite to my neck.”

“Y-you..?!” Kaoru stuttered in surprise, tensing up a little upon the direct mention of his father. But at the same time, a lot of things clicked for him at once, lifting up a huge fog of confusion that had been tormenting him since that night.

“Yeah… I bet yer can understand now, right? I thought yer knew… he was comin’… and I thought he was comin’ fer me…” Mika sighed, reminded of the pain and frustration he also felt in the occasion. “I thought… yer had turned our… rendezvouz, shoulda’ I say? Into a trap… to get in the good graces of the Church’s higher ups… leadin’ me up jus’ta sell my head like a huntin’ prize.”

Kaoru nodded slowly, clutching the cross in his hand. No doubt that would have been a reasonable course of action for a priest in his position… one more ambitious than he would ever be, eager to grab a better position in the tight hierarchy made of exchanged favors and intrincated conspiracies of that sacred house of cards.

“I was so angry, yanno?!” Mika continued, looking more comfortable to ramble now. “I was sure yer was different fer real after watchin’ ya for so long... so I felt so stupid for missin’ the point so bad… for bein’ played by yet another sly man of faith with a cute face. Well, kinda my weak point, yanno...”

Kaoru did not comment on that, making an effort to ignore his flustered cheeks in reponse to that casually shameless banter. A confession might involve such topics sometimes, so he told himself he would let it slide because of the context. Besides, Mika was looking earnest and serious like never before, so probably he was not trying to tease him on purpose.

He was just doing it naturally.

“I jumped ta conclusions and fled like a coward.” Mika sighed deeply, disgust taking over his two toned eyes and hand clutching the fabric of his skirt. “I shoulda… I shoulda have observed more carefully… so I’d see… the truth. So… yer woulda not be all alone dealing with… all that crap.”

Kaoru was not sure if it was intentional, but undeniably there was a genuine, quiet rage behind that confession, perhaps a rage beyond his grasp. The usual carefree demon was nowhere to be seen when there was a flame burning behind his eyes, fangs ready to bare at any moment and a stern tone dropping his voice to a lower note.

But instead of clarifying his doubts, more confusion emerged in the priest’s heart.

“… and then what?” Kaoru asked abruptly with a cold but genuinely curious tone. “If you knew the truth, what difference would it make..?”

Mika tilted his head and twisted his nose, as if Kaoru had started talking gibberish.

“I just said that… weren’t ya listenin’?” Mika leaned forward a bit, staring at Kaoru as if trying to show his honest resolve. “Then ya wouldn’t be alone.”

Kaoru did his best to control a sudden urge to laugh, but a small smirk still made its way to his lips.

“Priest…?” Mika looked confused and almost wary, noticing the slight but uncomfortable shift in the priest’s expression.

“And what… what do you think you could have done?”

Kaoru did not have idea of the impact his sudden empty eyes and monotone words had on Mika’s heart, hitting the demon like a slap to the face. He did not even realize the change in his own aura, after all.

“The Bishop’s word is final. His orders are absolute. There is nothing you could have done. You would just die by his hands if you showed up. Therefore, you did make the best decision.”

“CUT THE CRAP!” Mika stood up suddenly, claws out and growling at Kaoru, but getting no reaction from him. “Who do ya think I am?! Who do ya think that guy is?! He ain’t no angel, no archangel or anythin’! And def he ain’t no god!”

Kaoru looked up to him calmly, remaining in silence for a minute… just to open the saddest smile Mika Kagehira had memory to have witnessed in his life, evaporating his anger in a blink.

“However, in a way, he is.” Kaoru replied with the serenity of a docile sheep resigned with an absolute fate. “I understand your behavior now, though… except for one thing. I don’t know why you are so angry now. Your assumptions were reasonable and you didn’t lose anything from this. So, why?”

“W-why?” Mika repeated in disbelief, huffing and shaking his head. He paced around the room to manage the storm growing within him, rubbing his own face before standing in front of Kaoru again.

“Ain’t it obvious, kind Priest?”

Oh, how he hated that empty look pasted to Kaoru’s face. It did not suit him. It was not a proper expression for the singing priest of the hill that had comforted his endless boredom like no one in a long, long time in the human world.

But that would be a confession for another day. For now…

Mika closed the distance between them, kneeling in front of Kaoru and reaching a hand to touch his chest with no hesitation. The priest did not even try to stop him, unresponsive as if a part of his soul had been suffocated by the shadow of the Bishop again.

But his heart was still beating, a confirmation that brought back a small fanged smile to Mika’s face and a spark to his contemplative eyes.

“That also answers yer other question, by the way. Why did I do this?” He slightly pressed his palm against Kaoru’s chest, reminding him of the bandages under his clothes. “Yer didn’t do anythin’ behind my back. Yer the same as usual. Even now… so… yanno… damn, that was between us, kind Priest. Of course I’m angry. It’s very simple.”

“… demon?” Kaoru could not take his eyes off Mika or move away from his touch, feeling his heart racing under his hand and his mind mesmerized with his intense gaze.

“I’m angry ‘cause he hurt ya. That filthy bastard. No matter what ya say… he has no right.”

The words echoed in the messy kitchen and died in the silence with no answer, except for the pounding heart of the priest against Mika’s palm.

During his long years dedicating himself to the scriptures and the clergy, Kaoru learned and studied thoroughly the way of demons. He was taught extensively about how they deceive and lie with velvet words that say everything a weak heart yearns to listen and make their way to corrupt a careless soul with shameless hypocrisy. Their greed knows no bounds nor limits and there is no line they would not cross in order to feast in the ruin of a human being.

He should know better and never believe anything that rolls from the filthy tongue of a hell’s creature, no matter how sweet and tempting it may sound.

However, perhaps he was just weak.

“… priest…?”

Or perhaps the endless loneliness that had been eating him up for so long had dug a hole deeper in his soul than he ever anticipated. In any case, all the merit should go to the demon in front of him for at least one thing.

It was the very first time he cried during a confession. Precisely in the one time they had no box separating priest and sinner.

“...h-hm?”

Large tears were rolling down his cheeks beyond his control, and he just realized it when he looked down to see the big round spots on his knees, noticing his blurred sight too. One of his hands were still clutching the cross around his neck and the other was gripping the fabric of the pajama, reflecting the stiffness of his body.

But before he had a chance to process his own reaction, Mika’s hand let go of his chest to reach up his cheek, wiping his tears gently with no teasing in sight.

And Kaoru did not find it in himself to refuse the comfort, accepting his own weakness for now and leaning his cheek against his hand. At least for once, after a long, long time, he felt he was allowed to do so without any punishment. Even the stinging pain in his tired body seemed to subdue a little bit, giving his muscles a taste of respite.

Perhaps there was actual witchcraft in Mika’s gestures, but Kaoru had no wish to confront him or question the ways of the demon.

Not when there was such a huge, dazzling, unbelievable relief taking over his heart, specially in comparison with the overwhelming tension from the last week. He was sure he was going to float away from the chair, but the warm hand on his cheek was keeping him in place.

Should a demon’s hand be soft like that?

They do not teach about this in the Church headquarters.

“… ne, kind priest..”

Mika slowly leaned dangerously close to Kaoru without resistence from his side, hovering a fanged smile over his lips and sharing his warm breath for a few moments... just to reach up and whisper in his ear.

“Yer wrong ’bout one thin’ though. There was somethin’ I coulda do.”

In addition to the sudden riddle, the return of his playful tone also called Kaoru’s attention and he blinked twice, clearing his throat as if waking up from a foggy state of mind after a long time.

“… d-demon? What did you do?”

Mika stood up triumphantly, wearing a proud smile and sparing Kaoru a quick wink before reaching his skirt’s pockets. But the items he held in his hands brought back a cloud to Kaoru’s eyes.

The red ribbon and the pocket knife he was so happy to gift the twins and were brutally taken from them.

“… nice of you, I’ll give you that…” Kaoru sighed heavily, feeling the bile in his mouth but genuinely appreciating that Mika had recovered the items from the mud and cleaned it up.

“Hold it and yer gonna know just how nice it is.”

Mika’s expression was too bright to not raise any suspicions from Kaoru, but he chose to bite the bullet and accept the belongings despite his guard going a little bit up. Still, now with a mind more clear than earlier, it was a conscious choice.

And as soon as the items touched his hands, his mind was flooded with recent memories telling a history in rich detail.

Memories that did not belong to him.

A lavish carriage charged across the road at high speed, pulled by two strong black horses under the merciless whip of the driver. He did not care about the intense shaking inflicted on the passengers, two poor souls trembling in fear like little birds.

The terrified twins held each other amidst the rough bumps of the vehicle, Madeleine buried in Little John’s lap and exhausted of sobbing. The boy tried his best to stay strong despite his trembling hands and wide eyes full of doubt and fear. His only anchor against the unforgiving world seemed to be holding his sister in his hands.

Suddenly, a curse word echoed in the air and the carriage halted, almost throwing the kids to the floor. Startled, they looked up like deers in the headlight, Madeleine rubbing her red swollen eyes and clinging to a mortifying pale Little John.

A huge log was blocking the road, forcing the driver to hop down to roll it off the way. And he was too busy cursing his luck to pay any attention to the kidnapped children, or to the door of the carriage opening by itself slowly like the fall of a feather, without a single sound.

Pretty much like magic.

The scene changed in the flash of a lightning to a black cottage in a deep forest, whimsical and creepy in the same proportion. Despite the unknown season, naked trees of distorted branches surrounded the house and grey clouds filled the skies, giving a sense of unchanging eternity to the atmosphere.

A known slender hand of long nails knocked gracefully at the cottage’s door, which opened in less than a minute.

“Mikarin ~”

An extremely pale young man of short black hair offered his guest a large fanged smile with a cheerful tone that matched his crimson bright eyes. The hands of the visitor gently guided the twins to him, patting their heads and reassuring their tiny curious and confused figures. At least they looked considerably less scared than before.

The owner of the cottage winked and waved before the scene changed again in a spinning blur.

The same carriage returned, crossing the road under the rough whip of the uncaring carman.

Inside the vehicle, a pair of ginger twins was sitting quietly and unbothered by the turbulences, holding hands with cold expressions and empty doll eyes that gained human light in a blink, followed by unsettling smiles coming to their faces in perfect sync.

“…… ah…”

The thump of the pocket knife falling to the wooden floor brought Kaoru back to reality in a second.

He was unable to speak, the tears in his eyes blurring the shape of Mika in front of him. His hands were shaking uncontrolably and for a second he thought he would throw up, but he took a deep sharp breath and forced himself to hold it together while processing that extraordinary vision and its implications... if those events were real, that is. But deep down, Kaoru knew it was a legit memory, recognizing the kids he watched over for so long in the town.

“.. hah...”

Naturally like the sunrise rising in the morning, a trembling smile and a relieved laughter started blooming in his heart, spreading a bright wave of joy across the cold walls of the Church and washing over the sorrow still looming in the air from that endless week.

“Ha… haha… hahahahaahahhahahahaaahaha!!!!!! ~ ♪”

And little did Kaoru know his sweet laugh was also pulling at Mika’s heartstrings like a fresh blessing, making him unable to take his eyes off him.

Kaoru covered his face with both hands to laugh even harder and freely, his face turning fully red amidst tears of joy dribbling from his eyes. Mika did not comment or interrupted, occupying himself with picking up the kids’ belongings and crossing his arms behind his back, watching Kaoru laugh as long as he wanted – or needed – with pure fondness in his two toned eyes.

It was like he was back at that hill for the very first time, hearing the blond young man singing to his mom, surrounded by beautiful camellias and smiling like the Sun itself.

“Ah… ah... ufff…” Kaoru rubbed his eyes with a deep sigh, catching his breath and feeling the tension on his shoulders finally starting to wear down. “I should… condemn such an obvious work of witchcraft, but…”

His gaze met Mika’s in a silent agreement.

“Are you sure?” Kaoru whispered, his smile dying for a moment. “The Bishop won’t find out…”

“Not my dollmaker work.” Mika winked, chest puffed in pride. “He can take out all his hatred on them until he’s sated. They gonna come back ta me after the temporary bodies are gone.”

“… terrifying…” Kaoru sounded rather impressed instead of accusative. “And that demon…”

“Ritsu-kun gonna take good care of them, I assure ya.” Mika nodded, quite confident. “We can arrange fer ya ta meet them… when everythin’ is truly safe.”

“Truly safe…?” Mika’s serious tone flared up all of Kaoru’s alarms at once.

“When that guy is done and forget ‘bout the poor kids.” A touch of malice came to Mika’s smile. “Dun’ worry, he not gonna notice he’s playin’ with dolls.”

Kaoru’s expression became somber just thinking about the cruelty his father had in store for the twins. He knew way too well there would not be mercy to spare for anyone, children or not.

“… a-and what’s the catch…” Kaoru forced himself to inquire in a dragged voice, clenching his fists in a defensive shift. “Why would you grant me a favor like this? Did I make a pact with you in my feverish agony?

“I’m not this kinda demon, Priest.” Mika chuckled, sounding more amused than offended. “Why, you ask… well, I thought a good deed could’a be enough fer me ta skip the penitence fer my confession ~ I think prayin’ is real borin’, yanno?”

Mika winked, offering the usual carefree tone characteristic of their banters and making Kaoru feel instantly more reassured. The priest knew he was already inclined to accept the deal and the peculiar familiarity returning to the conversation just pushed him further in this direction.

Whether he was being manipulated, selling his soul or anything else… if that would be the price for the twins’ safety, he would pay without a second thought.

Perhaps his father was right. Once a disgrace, always a disgrace.

Therefore, with the fresh pain still pulsing on his back, Kaoru reaffirmed his decision of accepting a demon’s miracle against everything he was raised to believe and protect. It would not be his first transgession anyway, and at least it would not be for selfish reasons this time.

“Very well.” Kaoru puffed his chest and looked up to Mika with renewed life in his eyes. “When the moment comes, you shall take me to them.”

“My pleasure, kind Priest.” Mika grinned widely in response, doing a large measure to his knees and standing up again in a fast move, landing even closer to Kaoru’s face. “So, about the penitence… shall we continue..?”

“U-uh… a-about… that… hm…. ” Kaoru did not have any room left to lean back in the chair, finding himself scanning too many details of Mika’s smile and feeling his warm breath on his skin. But an unpleasant smell suddenly invaded his nostrils before he could organize his scrambled thoughts.

“… something’s burning.”

“Eh?” Mika blinked, confused for a moment with Kaoru’s blunt words, but soon enough his expression changed and his cheeks turned red in embarrassment. “… I forgot the pie.”

“Pie?” Kaoru raised eyebrows, watching Mika hop back to the oven like a startled cat and opening it to let a massive cloud of black smoke escape out to the kitchen. “Oh my God! So your plan was to choke me all along..?”

“Very funny, Priest!” Mika whined in response to Kaoru’s obvious joking tone, bringing out the charked leftovers of what should have been a pie. “I... I tried ta bake it fer ya with my own hands... after thousands of years… and now it’s goneeeeeee...”

“You… f-for me…?” Kaoru approached the mess still smiling, but taken by surprise with that casual detail. “… a f-fruit pie for me?”

“… you love those, dontcha? Yer so weak yet, so I thought havin’ some fave food coulda be more encouragin’ ta eat… guess I was just stupid… yer can laugh… damn it….”

Mika looked genuinely dejected with the incident, his pouty figure holding the carcass of the pie making it impossible to Kaoru even think of laughing. The priest chose to rest his hand on Mika’s shoulder, offering a friendly single pat.

Mika froze in quiet surprise, looking at Kaoru’s hand as if it was a wonder of nature.

“I won’t laugh. It seems you put a lot of effort on it. Regardless of the side effects…” Kaoru spared a look to the messy kitchen, eye twitching slightly before smiling at Mika again. “Anyway! We can clean up after preparing another pie.”

“A… another?!”

“Of course. We still have ingredients, I assume?” Kaoru nodded, visibly more lively and patting Mika’s shoulder again before casually walking to the shelves. “Plenty of flour and fruit, good, good ~ Ah, care if I lead the process, though?”

He turned to Mika with the calmest smile ever, almost making the demon start to believe in miracles too… not to mention the lingering warmth on his shoulder dispelling the frustration over the pie like magic, giving Mika pleasant goosebumps that he did not want to think too hard about.

In any case, it was like time finally started flowing again since that unfortunate night.

“Heh… yer the expert, I guess, kind Priest… I’m gonna follow yer orders to the beat ~” Mika opened a fanged smile again, standing on the sink next to Kaoru. “Hmhm, and ‘bout the mess… Can I clean it up with magic a little? ~ Can I? ~”

“… we’ll see about that. For now, let’s focus on the pie, hm? I’m starting to actually feel hungry.”

“Fair enough ~ ♪” Mika hummed, holding a knife and ready to follow Kaoru’s guidance. “Mind if I sing a bit ta make work more fun? ~ ♪”

“Oh well… if it won’t mess with your concentration, I don’t really mind.”

“Heh ~ ♪ Dun’ worry, I’m a master of multitaskin’ ~”

♪ … Love is a rebellious bird,

That none can tame… ♪

Kaoru had to admit he was starting to appreciate the mundane song… but he did not plan to confess it anytime soon.