Genshin Tales (one shots, short stories & comic strips)

The Devil's Blood Moon Pt.2 (Itto♡Gorou)

1½ days till the infamous blood moon,
"I've... Never seen him so sad and scared, Gorou." Kuki explained the situation to the best of her knowledge; worried for her friend. "And when he attacked... His eyes were blacked out and glowing red. Now that I think of it, his horns and tattoos were glowing red too."
"I see. Should we send word to the Traveler for help?" The Shiba ponders.
"No. We don't need strength. We need to talk to him. Believe it or not, you two have a unique bond that the rest of us don't. You're the only one that could talk him into calming down and tell us what's going on." The gang deputy clarified.
Gorou's cheeks began to heat up. "Really? M-Me and... Itto?"
Kuki sighed. "You've made quite the impact on the Boss, General."
"I..." His tail started to wag, "...I see."
Miss Shinobu crossed her arms and drifted into thought. "What is happening to Itto? Why now?"
She was talking to herself, but Gorou felt like he may have heard something similar before. "It... Couldn't be. Could it?" His own pondering attracted the attention of his temporary teammate. "While researching the devil's blood moon, I found a myth about something called an Oni's lunar trail. Under the devil's blood moon, an oni will lay waste to everything in their path. But it was only one brief mention in a folklore book."
"Key word, folklore. Itto would never hurt a fly." Kuki defended.
"I know. It's most likely just a scary children's story. We'll get to the bottom of this. We have to." Gorou attempted to hype them up as they continued searching for their friend.

Meanwhile,
The discouraged oni, after searching a whole day for a secluded spot, had just finished tieing himself up in a cave. He had rinsed under a waterfall earlier but still reeked of blood from the enemies that crossed his path.
Their screams echoed as he stopped treasure hoarders before smoke-bombing their escape. Yet, the oni only had bits of visual recollection; what it looked like to tear through a human's flesh, made him nauseous.
Thoughts were flooding his mind. What if the chains aren't strong enough to hold him? What if he makes his way to the city? What if the next person's blood on his claws ends up being his friends? What if... He kills Gorou?
"No! Gorou is safe on another Island. It's Kuki, granny oni and the gang that are in danger. And then the children... Oh, please let the chains hold." Itto talked to himself.
A growl came from his stomach. A clear sign he missed lunch. "Dang it. Did I bring a snack pack?" He looked around; noticing a small sack to the left and pulled it close with his foot and grabbed a meat and mushroom skewer. "Oh, sweet! This meat should keep any... Cravings in check." He dug into the sweet juicy meat and mushrooms.
Even while he stuffed his face, his thoughts were with Gorou. He couldn't stop imagining him as one of those treasure hoarders, looking at him in terror while taking his final breath. "I dare not let that happen to you, Gorou. I'd kill myself before I spill a single drop of your blood." He talked to himself.
With his belly full, he found any agitation and paranoia easier to control. He sat in silence; clearing his mind through meditation as best he could, though his mind would wander off and on.

All of a sudden, his sense of smell increased and that's when he caught a whiff of familiar, yet stronger scents.
"Hey look. A cave!"
"Could he be here?"
Itto recognized the scent and voices. "No. Not now. Why'd you come back?" He muttered under his breath then thought, "maybe if I stay quiet, they'll pass by."
The voices entered the cave and saw the oni chained to a big rock and spear. "Itto!" They exclaimed in unison.
"Gorou... Kuki... What are you doing here? You need to leave. Get as far away from me as you can!" Itto pleaded. Unable to look them in the eyes.
"We're not leaving you, Boss. Not untill you tell us what's going on." Kuki stood her ground as gorou kneeled infront of the oni.
"Please, Itto. What's wrong? We'll help in any way we can. But you have to tell us." The doggy general held his hand for a second before Itto pulled it away as the furry started to surface again.
His eyes went black and his throat began to growl, lashing out towards Gorou. Stumbling back, Gorou was glad the chains were there to stop him.
"Itto! Wake up!" shinobu shouted.
The oni breathed heavily a few times before closing his eyes. When he opened them again, they were normal and full of fear. "Gorou... Did I... Did I hurt you? No no no no no..." Tears streemed down Arataki cheeks as if some one just gave him a plate of beans.
"No, you didn't hurt me, Itto. It's ok. I'm ok. Look at me." The shiba urged him to make eye contact and he calmed down enough.

"This is why I told you guys to leave. Gorou... Kuki... The devil's blood moon does a terrible thing to oni's like me. It's gonna take control of me and... I... Grhh... I'm trying everything in my power to make sure I don't hurt any innocent people. But... It's too strong! Just by being touched by someone... I... Grhh... I... Grghhh... Get away!" Without warning, his eyes reverted to black and red, his tattoos glowed, his claws and horns grew longer and he let out an earthquaking roar. Breaking the chains and charging at them.
Gorou held him off, taking in Itto's new features and beastly fangs snearing and snapping at him.
Kuki took out a peice or paper and slapped it onto Itto's forehead with a flash of purifying light.
The oni was instantly put to sleep, but his new look didn't subside. Gorou simply laid him down, concerned about Itto.
Shinobu crossed her arms. "So... Mind telling me what you know of this 'oni's lunar trail'?"
"..." Gorou was at a loss. He didn't think it was real! How does he help the man he cares about the most? "I... Let's go to... Y...Yae Miko. If anyone might be able to help, it's her. I just hope she doesn't focus on me."
Kuki nods as Itto wakes up.
"What happened?" He sat up and saw the broken chain. "No..."
"It's ok, Boss. I put a seal on you. It should hold for now as long as you don't touch it." Kuki says.
"Ugh... Is that why I feel nauseous?"
"I guess." The girl shrugged.
Gorou looking into the oni's eyes. "Doesn't look like the seal has any effect on the physical changes."
"Physical changes?" Itto repeated and inspected his horns, fangs and claws. "Ah, great. I look more like a freak now."
"I don't think you look like a freak. Infact, it looks kinda... cool." The general complimented, failing to not blush.
"C-cool?" Itto blushed too.
The dog nodded and delicately took Itto's hands. No violent reaction from Itto.
"Just so you know the seal is only temporary. We need a better solution before the blood moon." Says kuki.
"We were going to head to Yae's shrine to ask if she know's anything to help protect you from the devil's blood moon. Please, Itto. Come with us and don't push us away."
"Gorou..." He shifted his hands to cup the small shiba's hands and sighs. "Ok. I trust you. I'll tell you what granny oni has told me. But if I loose control, I want you to take me down with your arrows. Promise?"
The general hesitated, "I promise... It won't come to that. I'll make sure of it."
Itto wrapped his arms around the doggy general, memorizing his scent and Gorou did the same.
It was clear to Kuki, Itto's feelings are very much reciprocated and wondered how long she was going to have to deal with this pinning before one of them finally confesses.

To be continued...