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"What are you afraid of, Haruaki...?" Douman asked, opening a can of beer. He had gone to his room to rest and found Ranmaru in his home, shamelessly drinking. Without thinking much, he grabbed his bangs, which Ranmaru now kept down.

"You know, Haruaki is scary... I don't like him," Ranmaru suddenly spat out.

It was strange. Clearly, the one who couldn’t handle alcohol was him, not Ranmaru.

What the hell happened to this crow...?

"And why does he scare you?"

Douman couldn’t help it. He was curious. Ranmaru wasn’t the type to talk about his feelings; sometimes it irritated him not knowing what he felt or thought.

Ranmaru had his head resting on the kotetsu...

"Because... why not? Haruaki is the reincarnation of Seimei."

He gripped the bottle tightly and dropped it to the floor. Then he lifted his head and looked at another unopened bottle. He picked it up, opened it, and continued speaking.

"Today he summoned me to help carry the marshmallows... all those that look like marshmallows," he said, referring to the small round-shaped youkai.

"When he took my hand to thank me, I felt... disgusted.

Haruaki is innocent, unlike Seimei, that sly fox. You know gods can see the insides of humans..."

He opened the can of beer and took a long sip. His Adam’s apple moved with every gulp.

"Well, you used to be a god. I guess you still have that habit..."

"Eh, yeah... I hated it. When I looked at Haruaki, I felt like through him, that bastard Seimei was watching me and mocking me. I need a break..."

He lifted his bangs.

"Haruaki is not Seimei," Douman said firmly.

Ranmaru blinked and looked at him.

"You've grown so much, Acchan... You're right. Seimei isn’t Haruaki, and Haruaki isn’t Seimei..."

Ranmaru complimented him, and without missing a beat, Douman took the beer from his hand.

"And who the hell told you to take things that aren’t yours?"

He slapped him with his free hand.

🎭🐦‍🔥

"Why the hell does Seimei’s reincarnation have to be so...? Ugh, I can’t even hate him," Douman mumbled, frustrated. "Don’t you think so, Suzaku?"

Ranmaru sighed, gently patting Douman’s back.

"There, there, I think you get drunk too quickly, Acchan... And..."

He smiled playfully as he stole a cigarette.

"Thanks for worrying about me. You’re still so stubborn about Seimei... I am too... but in a different way."

Ranmaru stood up and stepped out onto the balcony, not before covering Douman with a blanket.

"I’m sure you can see everything that’s going on, Seimei... Damn you..." he exhaled the smoke slowly. "Even dead, you’re a nuisance. You love watching from a distance, but you never get involved... You use your reincarnation, your descendant... and us."

He fell silent for a few seconds. Then he muttered, with a clumsy smile that was rarely genuine:

"You know what, Seimei...? Maybe I’ve become more human than I thought.....not thanks to you, my master, but thanks to Acchan.I know I'm not human, I'm just a youkai now, but I'm so glad to be a youkai with  douman, that I was a god being with you."

And sometimes I want to punch Haruaki, and sometimes... I want to protect him from everything.

Maybe the only thing I hate about Haruaki is that he has the same face as you... but he’s so different in how he acts."

He glanced back inside, where Douman had fallen half-asleep.

"Even though I wish Acchan were only mine... I also want him to be free," Ranmaru whispered, almost sadly.

"Ashiya Douman isn’t mine, or yours, Seimei. Unlike you, who left him with all the burden... I’ll be his support."

He looked up at the starry sky.

"This time... I’ll be here, like I’ve always been. And I won’t let you hurt him again, even if it means standing against you or..."

"Pff... Suzaku," a laugh interrupted Ranmaru. He turned and saw Douman, sleeping and laughing in his dreams.

"I hope this moment lasts forever, you and me... just the two of us."

Ranmaru goes back inside and walks over to where douman is, opens the blanket and gets inside.

"So acchan, dreaming about me, wow maybe something indecent."

douman moved..

"I'm just joking.." says Ranmaru.Well, hoping that Douman isn't awake or else he'll kick him out of the futon. . "he's still asleep.." he sighs he feels of douman's arms hugging him... Trying to snuggle up and get warm.

"Acchan, and you say you're not a child." Ranmaru thought with tenderness reciprocating the hug

"Tomorrow I will be thrown out, because acchan you are so tsundere.." jokes Ranmaru while stroking douman's hair away from his face 

That's why he needs to protect him, Douman is someone important to Ranmaru. He also has no doubt that he is important to Douman.

It is selfish and that Douman deserves the whole world and Ranmaru would get it for him. 

(This is embarrassing), thought Douman. Although he wasn't that drunk this time, it was strange… the alcohol hadn’t affected him. (Stupid crow, who told you to drink so much beer? Just you…!) This time, the alcohol wasn’t on his side.

The two of them slept curled up together, feeling the other's heartbeat racing — they could even hear it.