#juzushi

The girl he was referring to of course was Mamushi Hojo, Juzo's childhood friend. The demon eater had tricked Mamushi into stealing the eye of the Impure King, insisting that he was revealing corruption within the order that was instigated by the High Priest, Tatsuma Suguro; then, when he had made his use of her, he just cast her aside, bleeding and weak and devastated. Juzo's hands curled into fists as the image of her flashed in his mind, blood running from her now-useless eye and tears streaming from the other. He had delivered the weak girl back to the branch himself while Tatsuma had faced Todo alone, and nearly ended up dead for it. Mamushi had begged forgiveness. She had also begged the exorcists to save the High Priest whom, just a few hours before, she had believed a vile traitor. Juzo hadn't been able to linger to comfort the distraught girl, as he had been called to battle along with the rest of his family and the visiting team of exorcists.

Now that the battle was over, the first thing on his mind was to see Mamushi.

The further he walked into the complex, the fewer people there were running about; by the time he arrived at Mamushi's bedroom, he was the only one in sight. He knocked lightly and announced himself before sliding open the panel door, and was shocked to see that she had crawled out of bed to stagger over to the door. She grabbed onto his clothes, her remaining eye wide with fear.

“Tatsuma-?” she gasped, and he could feel her trembling. She's so afraid.

“The Head Priest is fine. He's getting treatment now,” he reassured her gently, smiling softly as he held her lightly under her elbows to support the weak girl. Her eye widened further, and then she sank to her knees, bawling miserably with relief. Her fingers curled into the thick fabric of his exorcist uniform as she sobbed, with enough force to make him stop slightly, but he didn't mind. He couldn't imagine the emotional pain she had been suffering, just waiting, waiting to see if her actions had led to the death of the Head Priest that she had falsely accused. He kneeled down in front of her, one hand rising to caress her white hair while the other slid around her back to gently pull her into a hug. Rather than yelling at him and calling him a monkey like she normally would, she buried her face into his shoulder, still crying miserably. “Look at you. Such a mess,” he tutted quietly as he leaned his head against hers, holding her gently. If I ever see Todo again, I’ll kill him.

After about ten minutes, Mamushi's miserable wailing settled into quiet sniffles. When she finally pulled back, both her eyes were puffy and red- one from her crying, and the other from the strain of absorbing the Eye of the Impure King. Juzo gently wiped her lingering tears away with his thumb, which she allowed him to do without contest. She's awfully passive right now, he thought wryly.

“What happened to Todo?” she asked quietly, resting her hands in her lap as she gazed at him with guilt clear in her face- the round, cute face that so often distorted into a haughty sneer or an angry scowl. I hate seeing her this way more than I hate seeing her angry at me, he thought sadly as he sighed and looked away. It was his turn to look guilty.

“We had to let him go. With the Impure King around, we just didn't have the strength to fight him. My guess is, he's miles away from here,” he murmured. Back to whoever he works for. It was clear that Todo was acting under orders, but whose orders were they? Juzo had a feeling they would find out soon enough. Mamushi hung her head, her quivering bottom lip indicative of the fact she was once again going to dissolve in bitter tears. Mamushi had never really cried, even when they were young children, and seeing her in such an emotional state unsettled him- and angered him. Todo has no idea what he's done to her, and he doesn't care, either. “Mamushi. This isn't your fault,” he told her, and as he went to place a hand on her cheek, she turned away.

“The Head Priest could have died because of me. If I hadn't been so stupid, none of this would have happened!” she insisted sharply, her slim fingers digging into the fabric of her kimono as she trembled in shame and anger. Juzo could only watch sadly. Regardless of the fact that she had been misled, Mamushi had still acted against the Head Priest and the True Cross Order. After a minute, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Father says that they’re going to revoke my exorcist status, and I may receive more punishment than that… They also say that my eye will never heal,” she murmured and lifted a hand to her closed eye. It was still smeared with a little of her blood. “I’m a disgrace, and an ugly disgrace at that.”

“Shut up,” he growled immediately, and she looked up at him in mild shock at the anger in his voice. Juzo clenched his teeth as the rage bubbled up inside of him. Who was he angry at? Mamushi, for placing all the blame on herself? Todo, for forcing her into this miserable situation and forcing her to bear all the consequences? Himself, because he couldn't do anything to comfort her and just seemed to be making the situation worse? Probably all three. He took a deep breath to cool his temper, then looked at her firmly. “Sure, you're a disgrace, but I think you’re a beautiful disgrace,” he smiled gently down at her. A faint blush appeared across Mamushi's cheeks, and she edged away from him warily.

“Wh-What are you playing at? You monkey!” she spluttered. There it is, he thought with a small chuckle. Mamushi didn't take well to him finding her reaction amusing, and she lashed out at him, slapping him in the side of the head. It happened to be right where his wound was, and he gritted his teeth and winced as sharp pain blossomed across the side of his skull. When she noticed his pained reaction, she retracted her hand, then gingerly reached out to caress the side of his head where she had struck him. Her slim fingers slipped into his short brown hair, and Juzo kept to himself how damn good it felt. “You're hurt…”

“Eh, it’s just a scratch,” he shrugged, but truth be told, now his head was pulsing with a dull, throbbing pain. Mamushi sat up on her knees in front of him, so that they were now at the same height, and her snake-like eyes stared hard at the gash in the side of his head. “Don't look at me like that,” he sighed, and she flushed again as he placed his hands on her hips. She went rigid beneath his touch, but did not move to retreat; she glanced at him guardedly, but to him, it looked like she was waiting for what he was going to do next. He just held her steady, looking at her with a small smirk on the edges of his mouth.

“… You should go see a doctor, you monkey,” she muttered after a moment, cocking her head to the side as she began rhythmically running her fingers through his hair, creating grooves in the thick brunette strands.

“I’ll go when things settle down a bit. There are plenty of other people who are in more need than me,” he responded levelly. “Speaking of which, you are in no shape to be up and around, Mamushi. You need rest,” he pointed out with a raised eyebrow. She pursed her lips and her almost feral eyes flickered down to meet his, filled with displeasure, but something else, too- something hiding in those golden depths.

“I’ve been ‘resting' for hours,” she retorted with a twitch of her mouth. The silence settled between them, with the only sound being Juzo's hair shifting slightly under the girl's continuous caresses. “… If you hadn't come for me, Juzo, I don’t know what would have happened,” she whispered all of a sudden. Her expression had grown guilt-ridden again, and sad, more sad than he had ever seen her. He smiled sweetly at her, and was mildly pleased with himself as that blush appeared on her cheeks once more.

“Mamushi, I will always come for you when you’re in trouble,” he promised. A little squeak came out of her as she blushed red, and he smiled wider. For someone who puts up such a front, she really is just a cute girl! He thought with a snicker. When he met her eyes again, he could see the apprehension in her golden irises, but excitement, too. He reached up to put a hand on her cheek once more, and this time, she did not turn away, but just gazed down at him with that excited-scared expression. “Always,” he repeated gently.

“You make big promises, you monkey,” she sniffed. He could feel her trembling again, but it wasn't like before; it was an almost imperceptible quiver that he could only perceive by the brush of his hand across her soft cheek. She gasped as Juzo suddenly pulled her close so that their bodies were touching, and her face were a mere inches away from his own; she grabbed onto his shoulders by instinct, while Juzo now had his other hand placed firmly in the small of her back.

“What do you say we stop playing games, Mamushi?” he purred softly, under his breath, so she could only hear. He saw her swallow nervously, her one, beautiful golden eye wide as it gazed shakily into his own playful, calm ones.

“What game?” One of her hands slid around his neck to curl into the ends of his hair, twisting it around her index finger as she frowned at him, as if she were innocent of the implications. She doesn’t want to admit it out loud.

“The game you're playing,” he answered nonchalantly. She just continued to gaze levelly at him, her cheeks puffed out mildly in defiance, stubbornly resisting the obvious. “If you aren't gonna say it, I’m gonna leave,” he threatened with a smirk, and the firm façade evaporated for a brief moment. Her mouth dropped open in mild shock, but she closed it immediately to clench her teeth in a slight growl. Her gaze slid to the corners of her eyes, unable to meet his alluring gaze as she forced out the words.

“Stay with me,” she mumbled. Juzo cupped a hand to his ear, tilting his head with a grin.

“What was that? I can't hear you.”

“I said stay with me, you deaf monkey!” she snapped, louder, and then she clapped a hand over her mouth as she glanced at the open sliding door, mortified. Juzo was still sitting in the threshold of it, and he chuckled loudly as he relished her cute reaction. “You're cruel,” she frowned at him once she dropped her hand from her mouth, which had reformed that angry little pout that she wore so well. Juzo gently cupped her chin, still smirking.

“Can you blame me? You're so cute when you’re embarrassed,” he teased. As she went to her angry again, he quickly closed the distance between them, covering her mouth with his own. She went as rigid as stone, but after a moment Juzo felt her melt into him, her small hand sliding from his shoulder to his chest while the other continued to curl into his thick hair. Juzo had loved Mamushi for a long time, and he told her that without words as he kissed her passionately but softly for several minutes. When he pulled back, she actually brought her face closer to him again, an almost begging expression on her face. Once she realized what she was doing, she pulled back, pink and pouty.

“Stop teasing me,” she whined as he disentangled himself from her and stood up, putting a hand on the sliding door. She looked up at him with a sad, fearful expression, probably assuming that he was making to leave.

“I don't tease,” he shot back as he pulled the door closed, and she didn't even have time to ask before he had leaned down and kissed her again, running his hand over her beautiful white hair.

I’ll protect you from now on, Mamushi. I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again… I promise.