KHR Hell because fuck

[warmskies]

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[kokuyoyo]

As I said before: you would get a swelled head and that's the last thing anyone needs, let alone myself.

[Although it seems like even this sort of picture isn't enough to puncture that ego in any manner... Chikusa supposes it can't be helped. Leaning back against the counter, he blows over his tea.]

I hope you don't plan on taking the whole sketchbook. I still have pages to fill, and I don't want to waste money on a new one until I'm finished.

[possedere]

If you really had an issue with it, would you have let me back in so easily? Everyone should be allowed and forgiven for their flaws. Isn't that right, priest?

[Mukuro shot him an amused look, taking a careful sip of his tea, pushing the sketchbook back a bit just in case he managed to spill any.

He snorted slightly at the priest's stinginess, waving a hand airily.]

The one sketch will do for now. Though I thought priests were supposed to be generous. Should I pay for the sketch?

[kokuyoyo]

I'm being plenty generous allowing you into my house despite... everything else.

[Being a demon. Wanting him to betray his vows. So many other things.]

[Still... That is making him think, and his response is a bit distant.]

You don't have to pay for it. I already said you could keep it.

[If he's in a human body with human weaknesses... Chikusa can't help but wonder about things. Does that mean he has what little advantages a human body possesses? Rubbing his fingers against warm ceramic, Chikusa finally gives voice to his thoughts.]

On forgiveness... Can you do good deeds without it distressing you now?

[possedere]

Generous or lonely?

[It was said idly enough as Mukuro flipped through a few more pages, settling on a sketch of an owl, admiring it with keen interest for a few extra moments before flipping the page.

He glanced back up at the question, frowning slightly, resting his elbows on the table.]

Why do you ask, Chikusa Kakimoto?

[While good deeds weren't as abhorrent to him so that it effected him physically now, he still didn't like the idea of them, which was cause enough not to perform them. However, if the priest was looking to rekindle their contract, well. He might be interested.]

[kokuyoyo]

[...That again... Chikusa's fingers curl tighter around his mug. He remembers this method. It could have nearly cut him off from one of the few things in his life that truly matter, left him drifting in the wind and feeling isolated. Or, not feeling, but... realizing.]

[But it's different now. He tells himself that firmly.]

It's not like that anymore.

[Things are changing.]

[It feels better to move onto a different topic, and he shifts. That seemed to get rid of the demon's good mood, so he wonders if this kind of possession isn't enough even now.]

Curiosity. Nothing more or less.

[possedere]

Really? Is that why you're free and alone on a Saturday priest?

[It wasn't as sharp or pointed a question as it had been in the past, instead it was more curious than anything. His gaze stayed strictly on the sketchbook though, unsure of how he should feel about this development. For one thing, if the priest was actually starting to form bonds with others around him, it would be more difficult for him to become attached to Mukuro. But impeding those bond formations would drive a wedge between them as well. He'd just have to be confident in his ability to charm nearly anyone.

While Mukuro despised giving up any information about himself or about his abilities, especially to a priest who already excelled at exorcising demons, there was a large part of him who wanted the priest to understand what he had to do in order to get a vessel.]

Everything is dulled in this body, but not enough to where it still doesn't irritate me to do good deeds. I'm still what I am, after all.

[kokuyoyo]

....If I made plans with anyone or for anywhere, I know you'd merely crash them because you do as you please.

[Also- and perhaps he should be a bit embarrassed about this- but he'd been hoping to nap the day away. It's not something a priest should really do, wasting the day by being lazy. Still, so long as no one found out, well... He could get away with it just this once.]

[His own personal life isn't important. Instead, he focuses on the demon as he talks more, fascinated. He is what he is... Chikusa supposes that's true. A body is merely a vessel for the soul. It can't change the nature of a being that's existed for hundreds of years, entrenched in its ways. So... What benefit is there to a demon to do such a thing?]

[For a brief second, Chikusa can't look at him any longer and his gaze flicks away. He knows. He's asked the question enough.]

...If you succeeded in getting what you wanted from me... What then?

[possedere]

If they seemed interesting enough.

[No, no the priest was one hundred percent accurate. Mukuro wasn't sure whether he should be pleased or annoyed that Chikusa Kakimoto already knew him well enough to determine that, but instead settled on going for being pleased by it. It meant the priest was paying attention, if nothing else.

That familiar question, asked over and over again, would have worn on him if it didn't mean that the priest still wasn't trying to make sense of this and hadn't decided to shut him out for good yet. It didn't make it any less irritating having to repeat himself.

He leaned forward with a sharp grin, head tilted to the side.]

We'll defile each other and sin until our mortal bodies wither away. Then spend an eternity in hell.

[Okay but was that the actual truth or just sarcasm? Probably a shocking amount of the former.]

Perhaps I should be asking what you want from me. What you truly want, and not just the answer you think is moral and right.

[kokuyoyo]

[Well. Points for what he suspects is honesty, and Chikusa is fairly certain that's what the demon's words are. From day 1, he's proven that the truths he's most comfortable with are the awful ones. What's more awful than eternity in hell?]

[To produce creatures like demons... To drag those who've sinned... Perhaps the scriptures aren't perfect in their knowledge of that place, but with all the evidence around it, Chikusa knows well enough that he doesn't want to be in such a place. His faith only has a little to do with it.]

[No amount of earthly pleasures could warrant going there.]

[He's not surprised at the answer, his frown directed into his tea, but he stiffens as the question is turned on himself.]

...And why does it matter what I want?

[possedere]

It's always mattered what you've wanted, Chikusa Kakimoto.

[It was said easily enough, as if the inner turmoil the priest was feeling and experiencing at the moment was merely a temporary thing and would pass soon enough. Mukuro took another long sip of his tea, gaze still on the sketchbook as he flipped another page, halfway through it.]

There's no point in taking you by force. If it were merely that, I could have done so ages ago and without having to be mortal to do so.

[kokuyoyo]

[Maybe that sort of thing would have been easier to deal with, a thought Chikusa locks away in his head tightly while he sips at his tea. All of this feels like something that's being dragged out longer and longer.]

And if what I want is something you can't give me?

[possedere]

Let me guess, entry into Heaven?

[It was said with no small amount of mocking, Mukuro finally glancing up, mismatched gaze sharp and assessing.]

Though how will I know if you aren't open with me, priest?

[kokuyoyo]

No.

[Short and clipped. With that said, he starts to move back into the living room. His answer is said coolly over his shoulder.]

I want someone I know will keep me.

[And so far, there's only one person that hasn't yet betrayed him on this front. It's certainly not the demon.]

[possedere]

[That answer was so shockingly simple it made Mukuro laugh, his shoulders shaking with mirth. He downed the last of his tea, leaving the sketch and the sketchbook on the table as he followed the priest into the living room.

He settled down lazily on the couch, one arm over the back of the seat, resting his cheek against it almost demurely.]

What makes you think I won't?

[kokuyoyo]

[He had a feeling that would be the reaction- thus his chilliness. Lingering by the door out to the balcony, he casts an annoyed glance over Mukuro. So he's playing coy...]

...Have you ever gone after a human like you've been chasing after me before?

[possedere]

[Was the priest still wanting confirmation that he was unique and cherished and adored? Certainly, Mukuro had gone after humans before, but few had resisted him as much as the priest had. When he had taken a human guise in the past, it had mostly been for fun or out of boredom.

He gave a small sigh, burying his face slightly into the couch.]

Most haven't been as challenging as you have been, Chikusa Kakimoto. Does it please you to know you alone have been chosen like this?

[kokuyoyo]

[If it wasn't Mukuro, Chikusa guesses he'd feel guilty about his frustration... But it's Mukuro, so no such thing. Instead, he crosses one arm over his chest and continues to sip from his mug.]

What happened to them?

[Because 'most' still implies a presence of ones that came before him.]

[possedere]

Their wishes were different than yours.

[Which wasn't really an answer, and would probably hurt him in the long run, but what else could he say? They had been short sighted, for the most part, and had traded their mortal lives for an eternity. Some of them he still saw from time to time, but it wasn't as if Mukuro had grown particularly close to them. No, death had changed them, twisted them. It was a glorious thing, but one that had rendered their contracts practically moot.

Mukuro turned to rest his gaze more fully on the priest's, mouth quirking slightly with what he hoped was self-depreciation.]

As you can imagine, an eternity is a long time to spend with someone, especially if they're like me.

[kokuyoyo]

...And that's why I say you can't give me what I want.

[It's not said as a condemnation, but a simple matter of fact. Chikusa looks back outside, sighing. He's not surprised by that answer, either the fates of those who came before him or what Mukuro's kind can stand for so long. He expected it.]

When I say "keep"... I mean it. If you were a human making human promises, things like until death do us part, I'd grant you that much, at least. But you're not human, despite the body you're using... and I have no interest in being tossed aside to be replaced by whatever shiny new mortal catches your attention next.

[possedere]

My, my, are you that attached to me already Chikusa Kakimoto?

[Mukuro sat up, expression politely interested as he surveyed the priest's face.]

Know this, priest: I have never become mortal for another before. I can promise you this: for as long as you will have me, I will be there for you. Is that enough for you?

[Because he was sure the priest would tire of him first, or, like most other mortals, once he was introduced to sin he would climb to even greater heights. Perhaps with multiple partners. For all humanity's fears about the appetites of demons, one need look no further than a corrupted human to know true depravity.]

[kokuyoyo]

[...It could be a lie. He knows it could be. At the same time, he knows demons, and he knows that the difficulties Mukuro speaks of when it comes to possession and good deeds aren't falsehoods. Finding a suitable body to consensually possess, one that isn't falling apart at the seams like human bodies do under forced possession, putting together a home for his mortal body and tracking him down...]

[There's weight to his words, now, and Chikusa doesn't know what to do with it all. He swallows, gaze centered on but not seeing the world outside his apartment.]

...I've dedicated all my life to God since I was young. I can't throw it all away just like that...

[Even if it's possibly the most tempting thing he's ever heard out of the demon's mouth.]

[possedere]

Let me tell you a secret, priest.

[Mukuro stood, slowly and smoothly, as if any sudden movement might cause the priest to start and run. He came to join him by the doorway, keeping a respectable distance between them, but his lashes were lowered, his mouth curved up in a soft smirk.]

Your god is dead and couldn't care less about how you live your life or what you do. There's no need to ask permission or forgiveness from an entity that doesn't exist.

[kokuyoyo]

[Perhaps the comparison, too apt to that of a skittish animal, is well founded. Mukuro stands, and Chikusa's gaze is tentative as it flicks up to him from beneath his bangs. Maybe there's even a desire to hear something that will convince him, that will set in stone that he can truly get what he's never been able to have before.]

[In the end, of course, it's the same thing as always, and his expression turns cold again as he shifts until his back is to the demon.]

That, again?

[possedere]

[Ah, of course he couldn't expect such words to be of comfort to a priest who was actually devote. Mukuro sighed softly as he turned away heading back towards the kitchen.]

What else would you like to hear from me priest, priest? My words are still lies, no matter what, aren't they?

[He headed towards the table to rinse out his cup, then gently pocketed the sketch he had been given so it hopefully wouldn't crease.]

It's getting late. I'll leave you to your busy plans.

[kokuyoyo]

[What else indeed... After a few seconds of keeping to himself, he turns around again to stare back at the demo.]

...They're not always lies. That's the part which makes this difficult.

[If they were all lies, then simple, he could comfortably stay devoted to God and live his life as he's always done. If they were truths, then.... who knows what, then. But this? This only leaves him awkwardly placed between two very different paths.]

[He doesn't want such uncertainty.]

...Do you plan on forcing a visit again some time soon?