Reality's Painful(A 1x1 with Hospes)

[Chewy Rabbits]

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
-Albert Einstein

People often say not to let your imagination run away with you, but would they tell Albert Einstein that? One wouldn't think so, after all who would warn the person who might have been the smartest man alive? Not too many people most likely. Imagination can be a gift in some occasions. It can provide comfort for someone who might be lacking it in reality, it could also act as an escape if you will from the harsh realities of real life. But even imagination can only do so much. Reality strikes hard and when you least expect it. Which is where our story brings us today to a quiet little family in the midst of Tokyo

"Mom! Dad! Come quick! Hurry!" A child's voice rang out through the hallway as a much older man in a blue bathrobe groaned. This had to be the fifth time this week that he heard that call. Glancing over to his wife who was sleeping soundly beside him, the man put on his slippers and shuffled out of his room, making sure to quietly close the door behind him so as not to disturb his wife from her sleep. Making his way down to the room across the hall from his/his wife's, he opened the door and glanced around.

"Nemo? What is it this time?"

As the older man addressed his son, a tuft of black hair slowly poked up from under his covers. Pushing the blanket back, a frightened expression appeared on Nemo's face as he glanced up at his father. The man he could always depend on to help him if he needed it!

"Dad? I think their's something in my closet."

"...Nemo. We've talked about this. How many nights are you gonna keep me and your mother up for this?" His father asked, almost scolding his son. He supposed he couldn't blame Nemo for having an overactive imagination. At ten years old, he supposed that was ordinary for a child. But it was becoming quite a problem as it seemed to be happening every other night. Making his way over to the closet, Nemo's father began to pull it open as Nemo gripped onto his covers.

Once the door was finally pulled back, what did both of them see? A monster of gigantic proportions ready to gobble Nemo up or some kind of eldritich being that just so happened to take up residence in a ten year old boy's closet?

Nope. Nothing was in there except for Nemo's clothes hung up on hangers and board games that didn't really see much use due to a lack of people to play it with. Closing the closet, Nemo's father sighed as he sat down on the foot of the bed and looked over at his son.

"Nemo? I understand that at your age, this is probably all well and good. But you know how early your mother and I need to get up for work right? You know how much sleep we need, don't you son?"

"I...I know dad but-"

"Nemo!"

Nemo winced at the strong tone his father suddenly took with him. He knew how busy his mother and father were with work and how stressed out it made them. He didn't wish to cause them any more trouble. But it was natural to call your parents when you weren't sure about something right? Noticing the hurt expression on his son's face, Nemo's father sighed as he leaned over and began to rustle his son's hair.

"I'm not mad at you, son. I just want you to be sure that there aren't any monsters. I know you may think there are but I've shown you time and time again that the only thing you have to worry about coming from your closet? Is dust bunnies!" He'd say before tickling Nemo's stomach causing the child to break out in a fit of laughter.

"Goodnight Nemo. Get some shut eye, okay?"

"Alright dad, I love you!"

"I love you too, son." With that, Nemo's father gave his son one more encouraging pat on the head before pulling the blanket back over him. Making his way over to Nemo's bedroom door, he'd open up the door and waved to his son before shutting his door. Waving back, Nemo waited until the door was closed and he could no longer hear his father's footsteps to toss off his covers and tip-toe over to his window.

He knew fully well that no monsters lived in his closet, there was no room in there! Where would they sleep and where would they use the restroom? The same went for under his bed! What if there was an earthquake and the bed collapsed? Then his friend would be stuck! But just in case his dad or mom ever got suspicious, he had to keep insisting there were things hiding in those places! Because if they were so sure that there were no things as monsters, whether they be hiding in closets or under beds? They'd never suspect to one to simply come waltzing in through the window.

Walking up to the window next to his bed, Nemo pressed up the locks so he could push the window open. Letting a shiver out as the cold wind blew past him, Nemo smiled as he glanced out. The night sky always looked so pretty!

"C'mon, where are they...? They're supposed to be here!" Nemo complained as he continued to glance around outside the window. All that there seemed to be however were grey clouds and a black sky. Just who was Nemo waiting for?

@Hospes​

 

[Midnight Maiden]

Silent flaps of wings unlike those of any other animal's danced through the cool and crisp air that came with nights such as these. The silent movements were near undetectable to humans. A perk of being a creature akin to the boy, himself, he supposed. You see, creatures of the night such as himself were more or less invisible when it came down to it. Humans didn't believe in demons. The ones that did? Well, their own people labelled them as insane. Their views? Ludicrous. That much was simple fact. So even if one was to see him, should they tell anyone? They would merely be scolded, reprimanded. Perhaps even locked away and considered to have lost their minds. But Asura felt no pity for them, for it was their own race that had condemned them to this fate.

Damn them all to Hell, should this be the way they live.

It was with that sentiment that the young man boisterously trekked towards a favorite little hang-out of his- a certain normal house, in a normal neighborhood, with totally normal inhabitants. So why, you might be wondering, would a demon care to go to such a place? Simple: There was a time that the place wasn't like this. The house was empty, with him often using it as his own little pad on the nights he didn't spend camped out wherever he so chose or hanging around with his fellow kin. That all changed one day, though, when he came in and found himself met by the gaze of a young boy. Since then, he came for a different reason entirely, finding amusement in encouraging the antics of the child and even contributing his own.

After all, children were much more manageable than their older counterparts. They still possessed their sense of innocence, lacked any conviction of the fact that people aren't as wondrous as they may seem. Much like a cantaloupe or melon that might look fresher than any other, but, without closer inspection, is not known to be the most rotten of them all. The world was a cold one, and nothing would change that.

But as he arrived at his destination, flying up and resting his arms on the sill with a lopsided grin on his face, Asura dismissed the thought and rested his chin on one arm, throwing a wink and a wave at Nemo before popping right up. Having before heard the boy's query, he greeted.

"Well, well, well. Don't fret, Nem- the cavalry is here!" Asura greeted, grinning as he all but invited himself into little Nemo's room. Long legs casually swung over the sill and there was no hesitation made as he stretched out with a satisfying crack or two. As he climbed through the window and passed the boy, one hand moved to ruffle the child's hair with a small chuckle echoing through the room. "Didja miss me?" the young-looking man inquired with a wide, toothy grin, silvery eyes closing in accompaniment of the smile.

@Chewy Rabbits​

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

"Well, well, well. Don't fret, Nem- the cavalry is here!" Asura greeted, grinning as he all but invited himself into little Nemo's room. Long legs casually swung over the sill and there was no hesitation made as he stretched out with a satisfying crack or two. As he climbed through the window and passed the boy, one hand moved to ruffle the child's hair with a small chuckle echoing through the room. "Didja miss me?" the young-looking man inquired with a wide, toothy grin, silvery eyes closing in accompaniment of the smile.

"D! I knew, I just knew you'd come!"

Nemo exclaimed as he was practically jumping up and down in excitement! Obviously, D wasn't actually this individual's name but rather the catch all moniker Nemo used for all the demons. Since as far as Nemo knew, 'D' was one person and all the different demons that kept meeting him? They were all just different forms! Granted, the demons never bothered to clairfy this little fact since it didn't really change anything. What would the difference have been if Nemo knew he was meeting a different guy every night and making up new stories with a new person?

So the facade continued and Nemo couldn't have cared less for where 'D' came from or how they got here! He was his best friend and that's all that really mattered. Gently grasping D/Asura's hand, Nemo sought to lead him over to his bed. Upon arriving there, Nemo rushed towards the bed and climbed aboard as he continued to hop up and down.

"Of course I missed you, silly! I had to wait until my parents went to bed before I could open the window which took forever! But now, you're here, they're asleep and we can have fun! We could do all kinds of things, we could watch cartoons or play board games or even tell more stories about The Kid! I'm just happy you're here, D!"

@Hospes

​

 

[Midnight Maiden]

And there it was- the enthusiasm and excitement that few of his species shared. It was another thing that made children so much more tolerable, in the eyes of Asura. They found joy in the most simple and trivial of things, whereas their grown counterparts seldom found joy in anything. Let alone little things like a routine visit from a 'friend', of sorts. Even if that friend wasn't exactly who you thought it was. But hey, that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things... Probably. With that in mind, the demon let out a chuckle and provided a response. "Of course I came, kiddo. Have a little faith in your pal," he remarked, tossing a little wink at the young child.

No resistance came when Nemo grabbed the demon's hand. In fact, despite the fact that he wouldn't be caught dead doing such a thing in front of his own friends, Asura even gave the child's hand a light squeeze as he was gently led along. Upon arrival at the bed, though, it appeared he was forgotten in favor of the bed, on which Nemo cheerfully climbed onto and began to hop around on. It was an amusing sight for sure, one that most wouldn't exactly think a demon would find refreshing. But here he was, watching the boy's form fly up and down and repeat.

"Yeah?" he asked rhetorically as Nemo explained what all had gone down before he had arrived. "Well it's a good thing I came when I did, then, huh?" he mused, despite knowing that it wouldn't have mattered. Whether or not the window were open, demons always had their ways of getting into places. Especially Asura. When the fairly rebellious and mischievous demon set his mind to something, it always got done. Always.

In any case...

A hand casually brushed a stray bang out of his eye while he contemplated his words. Not that much thought was needed. He already knew what the kid enjoyed the most, and he wasn't about to hold out on that. "All of those are pretty appealing, but I gotta say, talking about The Kid is always a blast. Wanna remind me just where we left off?"​

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

A hand casually brushed a stray bang out of his eye while he contemplated his words. Not that much thought was needed. He already knew what the kid enjoyed the most, and he wasn't about to hold out on that. "All of those are pretty appealing, but I gotta say, talking about The Kid is always a blast. Wanna remind me just where we left off?"

"You just read my mind, D! That's what I was going for too!"

Throwing his blanket over himself, Nemo poked his head out from under it as he grinned. "It was one of the best scenes in the entire story! Bandits had just taken over a small village and The Kid who just so happened to be drifting by decided to stop and lend a hand. Of course this is all just a part of his clever ruse! He wants to lure the bandits into thinking that he's the kind of guy who'll turn the other cheek if they bribe him! So they send out a messenger to offer him gold coins! But then The Kid is too quick! He draws his sword and strikes!"

Drawing his toy cutlass out from under his bed, Nemo focuses and soon a glow of purple energy appears around the blade. No doubt thanks to Nemo's intensive training with his other best friend Yukin, a Chinese woman who had wandered into town a few months ago and had saved Nemo numerous times.

In an attempt to show his worth he requested to train under her. Teaching him how to harness his energy or Qi, Nemo managed to form a layer of it around his toy sword. Even if he wasn't a skilled swordsman, this would leave villians with a cut to remember him by!

"The Kid cuts down the messenger, shocking the bandits into realizing that this man is no fool! He may wear a tophat, dress fancy and even have a cane! But he'll kick their butts from here to the next county! But they know that if they don't stand their ground, it's likely the villagers will revolt! So now we come to a stand-off between The Kid and the bandits!"

@Hospes​