As Things Should Be

-13- Family

After Tamayo's visit, they moved - quickly. They bounced place to place leaving no trail and avoiding all signs of demons. Even though Tamayo's visit was a fortunate turn of events, no one was willing to risk a visitor of a different intention.

As they moved, Doma did eat. Akaza too. They had to. Strength was a necessity and so they swallowed their hunger and forced themselves to gorge on less than pleasant meals.

Animals and demons became their main food sources - though even demons could make Doma want to be sick. They were too much like humans - too sentient, they could make him want to claw his throat and stomach out with how the guilt burned into his mind. But he needed strength so he swallowed his bile and tried to tell himself it was for the best. He'd take a few bites and string the demons in the sun so that they could harm no other humans. Still, sometimes the screams of demons echoed with the voices of human victims' long dead and Doma would stumble away, his old meals clawing up his throat.

Kotoha knew what Doma was doing, she must - but she was not afraid. Guilt sometimes crept up on her as she thought of demons who may have been like her love, but it was quickly dispelled when she saw Doma and his true soft smile. This was her family, no matter what. Inosuke and his wildness, Mirakuru and her sweet demeanor, Doma and his unexpected gentle nature, even Akaza and his liveliness had grown on her. 

She knew of other demons, she knew the caliber of monsters that shared a species with her family. They weren't much different from the worst of her own kind and when she reminded herself of that, she could sleep easier at night. Perhaps it was selfish... perhaps it was evil, but when she awoke to find Doma sitting vigilantly by her, his breath thick with iron but his eyes bright and strong from his last meal, she felt safe.

Whatever it took to keep her family safe.

Still, there were always challenges, and Kotoha wished she had been more prepared when the first shipment of blood came. She wished she had been more observant of Doma and prepared... for his sake.

The blood arrived on a cat, strangely enough, though Kotoha supposed strange was the new way of things. The cat with a tag around its collar arrived with a meow that made Akaza leap to his feet in surprise and almost obliterate the poor thing.

"Easy, easy - it's Tamayo's," Doma soothed as the cat hissed and spat at Akaza's fist that had been moments away from crushing it.

"Fucking - invisible - what the hell!" Akaza spat back as he retracted his punch and stomped away.

"WOW!" Inosuke and Mirakuru cried in wonder as they raced towards the cat, falling to their knees before the thing whose hackles were still lowering.

"It can turn invisible!" Inosuke grinned. "That's so cool!"

"It's so cute!" Mirakuru giggled as she offered a hand for the cat to sniff. The cat gave it a suspicious sniff but then perked up and rubbed against her knuckles.

"He likes you!" Inosuke grinned as he gently shoved Miku.

"Of course he does!" Mirakuru smiled. "I'm the best!"

"Hell ye - WAIT A SECOND, I'M THE BEST - " Inosuke caught himself before his core beliefs could contradict each other.

The cat meowed again and moved from Miku's hand to Doma's leg, brushing against him and offering the box it carried. Kotoha watched Doma's eyes sharpen as he reached down and unclasped the lock on the rectangular wooden box strapped to the calico's back. Kotoha leaned over his shoulder and saw a rather large plastic bag squished within filled with a red substance.

You didn't have to be a genius to guess what it was.

"Tamayo's blood delivery." Akaza's words supplied the title.