She Makes My Earth Quake

Listen, it's your heart.

--Amaimon POV--

I haven't seen her ever since lunch hour. It's one in the morning. I heard a yawn escape from brother in front of the screen he was starting to get tired... And that is rare. I didn't think he actually slept. A lot of demons have sleeping problems, either we sleep too much or not at all. Suddenly the room went black and I heard his foot steps coming closer and the cage doors rattled, "Amaimon, are you still awake?"
"I'm awake." I answered as my eyes adjusted quickly to the dark now seeing his outline at my door his slender finger worked the locking mechanism on the door and he held out his hand.
"If your willing to be a good boy I'll let you out and sleep with me tonight."
"Together?" I placed my tiny paws on one of his outstretched fingers.
"Mhm. Come on." He let me climb in his hand and brought me out from the cage, which I have to admit wasn't so bad and a collectable of the late 90s show and manga 'Hamtaro' with pictures of the characters as stickers on the colored plastic. Somehow even though punishment is thought to be more physical on the body and pain inducing brother never lifted his hand to me. It almost made me cry... At first I thought these humans changed him and he no longer believes in exacting revenge with brutal beatings and year long sentences of suffering. But what he did came to me slowly and took me a while to catch on.

He took me away from her. I had planed to see Lannie after school, even though we spend all day together already I was going to help her finish her homework and maybe talk to her more, or watch a movie. I wanted to see her off to bed even though I might have gotten a scolding for violation of curfew, that would have been okay. But this... Reduced to my smaller form of nothing but a hamster locked in a cage being taken away from her earlier than expected, while she's being fed lies by that dimwit half brother and hunted by those prowling pack of other males in the classes!

It was then that I realized this what much worse than any physical pain and it hurt just as much but was harder to nurse than skin that's been split open. Yet I should have expected something as intricate as locking someone away to let them be alone with their thoughts to come from big brother... He is after all an intricate person. Not many would pin him with such a title until they've spent half of their 1,000 years with him. I was completely defeated, and I did it to myself... But why? Again I had left to think, why was this human causing me so much strife. Why did I want to see her so bad and feel like dying when she was away and demolishing an entire continent with the thought of her being with someone else? Was there...something wrong with me??? I never got the answer to those question alone but they stayed heavy in my mind. Finally brother had set me on the bed snapping his fingered and I was able to stretch out on the bed and felt his warmth next to me as he took his place in bed.

There was a silence that I never heard before, the noise of his mansion durning the night while we weren't distracted by our video games and anime or engrossed in manga and singing karaoke to theme songs. It was still in the room yet the city was alive outside and in all my thoughts I wonder if those humans still up and about are they with who they want to be with? To what extent will they go for someone who makes them have an undeniable attraction to them? Or do they not feel that way at all? Suddenly I heard brothers breath slightly deepen, it made my ears perk and I turned gently to see him amongst the body pillows covered in anime characters and plush toys.

"Anuie are you sleeping?" I asked softly.
"Hmm?" His hum was the only answer.
I waited a moment wanting to ask some questions that had came to me while I had sat there alone during the day but how to word them took me a while. "Have you ever met someone that lingered in your mind before?"
"Eh.." He grunted.
"Like you can't think of anything else but them or you get angry when someone else tries to talk to them?"
I heard him laugh but he said nothing else... Could it be he knows what I'm speaking of but won't tell me anything about it? But why?! I took my finger and poked at his nose, "Aaaanuie!"
"Stooop Amaimoooon!~" he grabbed my wrist yanking me closer and suddenly had me restrained against him with his heavy arms squeezing around me tightly.
"But whyy? Why won't you tell me anything?" My forehead rest on his chest.
"Just be careful... Please." He whispered at my ear and tucked his head back on the pillow.
I let out a heavy sigh and made him cough, "Your breath stinks. Ack turn around." So I turned and shifted now he held my back against him under the blankets and we were in silence again.
"Brother, tell me abo-" his hand covered my mouth and he gave a sigh pressing my head against him more.
"Shh..."
Within the strike of a new hour he was asleep because I had complied and actually stayed silent. I listened on through the darkness. A clock on the wall gave a 'tick tock' as it counted each second go by. It was driving me insane, I couldn't sleep. Brother's torture never ceased even when he freed me from the cage. My thoughts swam around questions and no answers. And there was another sound a thumping noise but it wasn't coming from outside, it thudded in my ears and I had that same ache in my chest as if being kicked by a horse. I started to panic and my hand pressed against my chest only to feel brother was already holding it as he kept me next to him. Some how that made me feel better and my breath slowed as I listened again, the noise of the clock had come back as the thudding in my ears calmed down and suddenly I had gotten the idea of what this could be! ...My heart? But why, or more importantly how, who? More questions and no answers. ...does brother have one? He's been on Assiah for thousands of years now has he been conscious of his heart that was set to cold black stone from Gehenna? I pressed my ear closer to him hearing his light snores, carefully listening and as if it was going to the same rhythm of the clock counting each second a sound came from his chest as well 'thump. thump.'

Finally some clarity. I wasn't sick, there wasn't something wrong with me, I wasn't going to die and drown back to Gehenna. It was just my heart... Even though I still don't understand how this has happened, but somehow the thick black stone has crumbled to thin ashes to blow away with each warming thud it gave. And once I had realized this, all my over worries about wondering how Lannie was doing, could easily be answered! I didn't have to sneak out, I couldn't with out waking brother from his sleep which would be over in another twenty minutes to compleat his full hour of rest. Silently through telepathy I contacted Maximus Lannie's familiar.

"I heard of the trouble you caused the other day. And I sense the shift and change in your powers." He answered.
I figured all my kin would sense the obvious change, "How is Lannie?"
"She is asleep."
"What did she do the rest of the time I was gone?"
"I don't know I'm not present with her during school hours. But she had been at the library and told me about a deal she made with a boy."
...a deal..with a boy?
"The earth quivers at your sudden anger Earth King, this boy is only human. No contract has been made I would never allow it. But he offered to help find more about her parents, if she allowed him to take her out."
"Does... D-does she like him?"
"No. Or so she tells me. I for one do not want any male to her in any way, perhaps you and I can set a deal of our own. If you invite yourself alone on the day this boy is to take her out, I will allow you to come inside the next time you come and visit."
"...Deal..." But my temper already rose the shelves on brother's walls began to shake.