UNPEPPER

Minamino Shuuichi, age 20, has his life together. He goes to school in the city, forsaking the ease of student living quarters for the ability to return home each day to care for his family. His younger brother is still in high school, and Shuuichi helps him study. He makes dinner most nights, cleans the house on his days off from class, and tends to a beautiful garden in the backyard. He loves his mother a great deal, but never leaves the rest of his family feeling unwanted for it. They play cards on weekends, and most times, Shuuichi lets someone else win.

 The most remarkable thing about him is his decision to pursue an education in alternative and traditional medicine, which isn’t very unusual at all if you know he’s a millennia-old demon and frequent user of plant magic, more popularly known as Youko Kurama. And apparently he’s possessing the human body belonging to Shuuichi, but the nature of that accusation seems, at this point, a little dubious.

 Kageyama Shigeo, age 19, knows spirits and demons perhaps better than any other living human. His skill at exorcising such creatures from the mortal realm is unparalleled, but he’d much rather just talk things out. Really. Even with a demon who, according to his client, is actively endangering the lives of humans around it with the false pretense of being one of them. He –or, it– could break free from its vessel any moment, then start ripping out people’s entrails and imprisoning souls inside forest labyrinths or overly complex word games. Being a Master of Deception, it’s effortless for the beast to feign all things from politeness to love… or so Shigeo has been told.

 That isn’t stopping him from deciding for himself whether this exorcism request and the money behind it are well-intended. He times his knock at the door in the evening, after the fox demon has had time to clean up after dinner, but before he’d normally hole up in his room for the night, reading or studying before bed. Shigeo has watched him for quite some time and knows his schedule.

 …Which is something Kurama knows. The presence of a powerful human esper in his vicinity isn’t exactly subtle, and he’s been waiting for the reason behind it to present itself, one way or another. He opens the door, interested to finally see his guest, and he doesn’t have to pretend at surprise. The psychic is taller between the two of them, but he stands on the raised heels of sleek black boots. He’s in all black, in fact, managing to look somehow professional and eccentric at the same time. His skin is pale enough to reflect the porch light, but his hair and eyes are darker than his clothing. He’s not a sweaty man in a poorly-fitted suit, nor is he trying at the look of some kind of religious leader.

 Kurama gathers himself shortly and affects an appropriately mild smile. “Good evening. Is there something I can help you with, sir?”

 Shigeo is caught off-guard as well. Watching at a distance could never have granted this much to him. Of course he knows what his target looks like, but nothing could prepare him for the Youko’s delicate features – alert green eyes, slender hands, and the smell of dish soap with something earthier. On top of that, Kurama is small. Shigeo doesn’t often deal with people face-to-face on his assignments, and when he does, they’re never this disarming.

 Out of habit, he opens with the same thing he says to most of his targets: “I’m Kageyama Shigeo. Do you know why I’m here?” …And immediately regrets it. That’s… way too weird a thing to say to someone who’s just opened their front door to you.

 Kurama just takes it in stride, his smile inching wider with amusement. “No, actually. But I have some guesses.” Someone calls from within the house, and he turns to answer without hesitation. “A classmate of mine, mother! I’ll just be a moment. …I don’t suppose you’d mind discussing our business together on a walk?”

 Shigeo blinks once, but manages to reply. “Oh. Ah… sure.”

 “Thank you. I’ll be right back.”

 The sun has set, but the weather outside is still pleasant. Kurama leads them down his street in a light jacket, cell phone in one pocket and thumbs hooked in both. “I apologize for the wait.”

 “That’s alright.”

 “My family might have worried if I’d told them a powerful esper wanted a word with their demon son.”

 “Oh–” Surprise sets onto Shigeo’s face only with the words properly separated from the soft, pleasant tone. “…They know?”

 Kurama chuckles, and for some reason he can’t place, that makes Shigeo’s face flush a little. “Well, don’t your parents know what you do for a living?”

 Shigeo just stares, uncomprehending.

 “Ah, I’m sorry. That was a joke, I’m afraid. I see it wasn’t very funny. My point is that I couldn’t very well hide it from them. The world being as full of strange things as it is, they ought to know if one is living under their roof.”

 “Oh. I see.” And if that’s true, it blatantly contradicts what Shigeo has been told. Already, this request is very different from any other he’s taken. True cases of possession are generally not much like this.

 “Yes. Now if it isn’t too much trouble, I’d like to know why you’re here, Kageyama-san.” From someone else, that might come across awfully passive-aggressive, but Kurama keeps his tone carefully measured and distant.

 It’s still an awkward thing to have to answer. Shigeo bows his head, turning his face away so his expression won’t give away how odd he feels saying this to someone who’s seemingly… a normal person. “I was hired to exorcise you.”

 “Exorcise me?” It’s Kurama’s turn to look abruptly confused. He stops walking, raising his hand to cover a grin that still reaches his eyes. Is this a joke? “I’m… heh, I’m not sure that would be possible, to be honest.” But he’s been watching me for a while. If it’s a legitimate request, then who in the world would ask for it? …Likely just a regular person who happened to be sensitive enough to youki to feel mine, and then to find a genuine psychic. Kurama seriously doubts it’s anywhere near as grand an affair as Spirit Detective adventures.

 But it could be. And while Kurama considers it, Shigeo’s cheeks begin to redden again. The demon can’t see it, but the nervousness in the air is palpable to him. He can smell sweat and can’t resist slipping just a thread of his aura out to test the space between them. Upon reaching Shigeo’s, the sheer magnitude of the power there makes Kurama’s eyes widen visibly. Alright, there’s that as reassurance. “If it were possible, I have no doubt that you’d be more than capable, Kageyama-san.”

 Shigeo feels his hair prickle at the intrusion. It doesn’t seem dangerous, and it distracts him from the embarrassment over telling someone you’ve just met that you’ve been sent to banish them from this plane of existence. Sure, he follows the formula with evil spirits and other demonic presences, and even sometimes human ghosts, but to say it to a person? It’s just ridiculous.                                                             

And he’s very sure Kurama is a person. There’s nothing about him that feels attached to his body artificially. The energy that glides over Shigeo’s is like an errant plant root through the gaps between concrete tiles. It doesn’t force itself; it doesn’t read as hostile. When he returns the favor, Kurama pulls back in surprise, lips parted and expression slightly wary.

 “I didn’t know you could feel me,” he explains, replacing his mask-like smile in an instant. “You’re incredibly powerful and incredibly sensitive.” He breaks into a gentle laugh, at which Shigeo finds himself smiling, too. “That, or I’m simply not accustomed to the abilities of human psychics. A poor judgement on my part -- I ought to have known my youki would stick out like a thorn to you, hm?”

 Youki. Shigeo had been almost too flattered to notice it. He has the distinct sense that Kurama’s compliments are not only sincere, but well-informed. “Oh. Um. Just a little,” he answers, reluctant to downplay his companion’s abilities, not that he’s witnessed very many of them.

 “You’re far too kind.” Kurama chuckles. He angles his feet toward the road again, and a half-step later they’re back to walking together.

 They seem to be over the exorcism issue, but Shigeo’s heart still feels a little fluttery. “You’re… not possessing this body, are you?”

 “No.”

 “But you do have a demon’s energy.”

 “Yes. And a demon’s soul. Yet I was born into this body, the same as you were.” As pointedly as he says it, the esper doesn’t seem to react. Does he not know? Or am I wrong? Well, it was only a hunch in the first place. Who knows; maybe once anything gets powerful enough, it begins to feel demonic. As much as Kurama would love to poke around a little more into Kageyama-san’s energy signature, the man can feel it, and that’s hardly polite.

 So he focuses on what he can sense without being detected: mostly Kageyama’s scent, the feel of his aura itself and its enclosed natural barrier, and the way he carries himself. To most people, the very real and very capable psychic likely has an air about him that proves as much. His gaze is both intense and unfocused, exactly what one might expect from someone used to looking beyond the realm of the material. He looks somber in that strange, all-black outfit of his, but he’s sweating and his heart is beating a little too fast for him to truly be as calm as he appears. And is he really so serious, or does he just not pick up on humor very easily?

 There’s a great deal more to him than he’s showing. What a fascinating person. Kurama is content to walk the length of the block with him in this comfortable silence, at the very least, but after another several meters, the esper speaks again: “I won’t exorcise you.”

 Kurama restrains himself from laughing, even though Kageyama probably could manage at least something like an exorcism. And it’d probably hurt quite a bit. “Oh? But weren’t you hired to do it?”

 “You’re not evil and you’re not causing trouble.”

 “Hmm. Well, I should hope not. But I do appreciate you letting me know.”

 “Th-that’s. Ah, it’s no problem.”

 It’s sort of charming, the way humor seems to go completely over Kageyama’s head. Kurama can feel his nerves act up again, and watches with amusement as he curls his hands around the ends of his sleeves in each palm. The movements of his fingers suggest he might be trying to quell another bout of sweating. Kurama leaves him to it, concluding the last third of their walk on an interesting idea: a shy man with a kind heart and a positively monstrous amount of power.

 Everything seems to move too slowly and then to be over far too quickly. Shigeo is left dwelling on the awkward things he’s said, walking in silence beside Kurama until they’ve reached the Minamino household. He’s not sure whether any of the silence was good or bad, or… or whether he should even be concerned about that in the first place, since they might -- most likely -- never talk again, seeing as Shigeo has completed his job.

 “...more important matters to get to.” He only hears the end of Kurama’s sentence. Another strike… “But if you have a bit of time, I’ll be happy to make you something to drink before you go.” Shigeo blinks at him, wide-eyed. “Oh, something like tea, I mean! Not alcohol.”

 Had he looked like he wanted to come in for a drink? A drink drink? “No,” he replies quickly, “um, no thank you. I shouldn’t keep you busy any longer.”

 Kurama’s smile turns a little hollow, like he’s… disappointed. It must be Shigeo’s imagination. He’d come here to end Kurama’s mortal existence. He’s not going to do that now, but there’s no way Kurama would want anything more to do with him after meeting under circumstances like these. “I see,” he says, lowering his brilliantly green gaze. Under the porch light, it’s clear his eyelashes are the same red as his hair. “In that case, would you mind giving me one of your cards? I’d like to have someone responsible to call if I run into any trouble, myself.”

 Kageyama nearly drops his card box and does drop his wallet while fumbling for it. But Kurama waits patiently until a simple black business card is offered to him in shaking fingers. Touching the esper with a trick like this would be tacky, so Kurama doesn’t. He thanks Kageyama and bids him farewell and safe travels, and then he’s left on his own again. He makes tea for just one and retreats to his room for the night, leaving the card on his desk. It’s plain black with white writing, nearly as cryptic as its owner. One side has a phone number. The other reads:

Kageyama Shigeo

Spirits & Such Consultation Office

 The name is a bit silly, and Kurama finds himself curious about even that. He’d so quickly dismissed the situation that’d brought about their meeting, too. Whoever requested an exorcism, of all things, surely had something of a loose grasp on the nature of Kurama’s mortal incarnation. And yet the same someone did sense him. Or, they knew I was here already. Interesting.

 He laughs at himself, settling onto his bed. “Perhaps I do miss some parts of Spirit Detective work after all.”

notes: weeEEEEEew i finally did it! i finally wrote a fucking kuramob! my beautiful, precious crackpair ;v;

part 2 is like 1/3 finished. thank you so much to everyone who’s read my work and supported me so far, particularly @sasybanana , @senpai-no-lie for editing, and @linesporadic for coming up w this fucking AU, then outlining the whole damn plot for me, then drawing me fucking adorable fanart. this has truly been and will continue to be an extremely collaborative effort.