Hiro had given up. He tried everything. None of the inventions he had built or formulas he concocted bore any fruit for all his labor. The science he loved and cherished so dearly left him with dead end after dead end. It couldnāt bring back his big brother.
So after eight days of sobbing and Baymax saving Hiro from suicide two times, Hiro decided to try one last thing.
It all started with a stupid ad he saw on a sketchy web site. It read: Demonology For Beginners! How To Make Your Dreams Come True!
However, when he clicked on the link it just took him to a white page with a āsite not foundā message.
He sighed in frustration, but the possibilities were already bouncing around in his mind. So he began researching. Even getting into contact with a few experts and practitioners. Until finally after weeks of gathering information, he found himself here. Painting a rather large summoning circle on his bedroom floor with white paint. Aunt Cass would kill him if she ever found out he did this to her floor.
One of the friends he had made warned him that when making a deal with a demon there can be a catch. Demons like to play tricks and pranks with foolish humans. But Hiro was an intelligent person and from what heās learned so long as heās specific heāll get his brother back.
Hiro would be lying if he said he wasnāt nervous. He was terrified. What if it didnāt work? What if the demon flat out said no? What if-
No, now wasnāt the time for that.
Hiro lit the six black candles he bought and placed them in the center of the outside circles.
Hiro grabbed the sharp kitchen knife and dug it along the palm of his hand. Blood almost instantly started pouring out of the wound and Hiro tried not to make any sound of pain as to not activate Baymax. He quickly moved around the large circle to spread his blood around the edges and letting it drip around the candles. When he was done he wrapped his hand in a disinfectant cloth.
āMagnum daemonem Domine da mihi volo te voco. Audite quaeso ut mihi vocationem auxilium, et super me misericordia.ā (Great demon lord, I summon you to my side to grant my wish. Please hear my call for help and take pity upon me.)
Hiro followed the instructions and repeated the mantra a total of six times.
Hiro knew that this probably wouldnāt work, but that didnāt make it hurt any less. Hiro fell to his knees and buried his face in his hand as he began sobbing.
āWhy are you crying, boy?ā
Hiro jumped away from the direction of the menacing and terrifying voice. Looking up Hiro saw the towering figure above him. It was very human-like in shape, but it was far from mistakable. Its huge lean figure, long, pointed horns, and not mention its black shadow-like body gave away what it truly was. A demon.
It tilted its head and its eyes made of white light seemed to narrow in amusement at Hiroās panting form on the ground.
Every part of Hiroās brain was telling him to get up and run from the creature, but he fought those urges down.
āI canāt believe it worked,ā Hiro spoke more to himself than anything else.
āYes, indeed. Now that we are past the amazement of my existence, you will answer my question, yes?ā Hiro stared mesmerized by the way the being mouth appeared and disappeared from its face and, just like its eyes, it was made of pure light.
āWhat?ā Hiro asked a bit foolishly.
The demon sighed. āWhy were you crying upon my arrival, boy? Most donāt start crying until they see me, and you didnāt even seem to notice I was here.ā The creature waved its hand around as if to prove a point.
āOh. Itās becauseā¦ I thought it didnāt work.ā Hiro sat up and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
āI see. And would it have been so bad if it hadnāt?ā The demon questioned seemingly intrigued by the human childās reactions.
āYes,ā Hiro replied without hesitation.
āOh? And why is that?ā The entity moved closer to Hiro and from this distance, he could make out more details. The black layer that seemed shadow like at first now revealed to be skin that Hiro could see faint glowing veins beneath. The demon also didnāt seem to have any perceivable gender.
āBecause then that would mean Iād never get to see my big brother again.ā Hiroās gaze dropped to the floor in sorrow before snapping back up when the demon spoke once more.
āIs that why youāve brought me here? Is he missing?ā The demon sat down in front of Hiro in a bit of a lazy fashion just on the edge of the circle it was summoned with.
There was a moment of silence where the demon just seemed to stare at Hiro.
āCan you bring him back?ā
āReally!? Thatās ama-ā
āIām an Archdemon, not a god. My power is great but limited,ā The demon waved its hand again and an unnatural light filled the room before disappearing just as fast as it came.
Hiro sat and contemplated this new information for a minute.
āBut it would still be Tadashi, right?ā
āCorrect. Itās still his soul. Just corrupted.ā
āItās just another word for becoming a demon. The only thing that may be different about him is he may become less moral. But only a little.ā The demon pinched its thumb and index finger together with only a bit of space in between them as if to show how little the difference will be. āYouād barely even notice. Most of the time they just become a little more selfish with what they want. Possessive. Carnal. Thatās all.ā
āOhā¦ I guess thatās not so bad.ā
āOf course itās not. Now, why do you want him back so desperately? Be specific.ā
āBecause heās my brother!ā The demonās eyes narrowed at Hiroās raise in tone and lack of a proper answer. āI-Iām sorry. I mean because I love him more than anyone and heās always been there for me. Heās the only reason I ever tried to be better and now that heās goneā¦ I barely find the energy to get out of bed.ā
āHmā¦ Iām sensing a little more than familial love.ā Hiro felt heat rise to his face and the tips of his ears and opened his mouth to deny the accusation, but he was cut off. āAnd donāt lie to me, boy. Iāll know. And if you do Iāll kill you and take your soul so youāll never see your precious brother again. You see I despise liars.ā
āI-Iā¦ Yes. Youāre right.ā
āNow, was that so hard? And how sweet.ā The demon grinned inhumanly wide and with how close they are Hiro could make out just how sharp each of its teeth, more like fangs, were. They could easily slice through flesh and, if he had to guess, maybe bone and metal. āHow long have you known? I donāt get out much, so do forgive my intrusiveness, but I am so curious.ā
āI th-think I may have always had a crush on him. As a kid, everyone said I had a brother complex because I didnāt want Tadashi to go anywhere if I wasnāt there and didnāt want to let him hang out with anyone but me. I just thought that since he was my brother that meant he was mine. And for the most part, Tadashi just let it happen. Doing whatever I wanted and letting me get away with anything. Then a couple years ago love was explained to me for the first time and I realized that thatās what I felt for Tadashi. But by then I also knew it wasnāt acceptable to feel that way for your brother. So I didnāt tell anyoneā¦ And then he went to college. He started spending less time with me and more with his projects and new friends. So I did what any kid my age not getting enough attention does and started something illegal to get his focus back on me.ā
āWow, kid.ā The demon seemed almost astonished with just how honest Hiro was.
āSorry. Youāre just the first person Iāve ever talked to about this.ā Hiro scratched the back of his neck again and looked down.
āā¦ And youāre the first human thatās called me a person.ā The demon brushed its claws through Hiroās hair without thinking before quickly retracting its hand to its side.
āThatās kinda sad.ā
The demon chuckled in response and had Hiro heard that sound in any other situation he probably would have pissed himself. Hiro laughed and the two sat in silence for another moment.
āSoā¦ Is this the part where you eat my soul or whatever?ā Hiro looked up at the demon through his long bangs.
āNo. I donāt think I will. It pleased me to speak with you, child. I hope to do so again. So how about this instead. I give you your big brother, Tadashi, back, and should I ever need a favor you will help me without question or condition.ā
āYes! I mean wait. Whatās the catch?ā
āLike whatās the downside?ā
āHm. I suppose it would be that you will have to supply your brother with your energy as he will now be bound to you. But thatās it.ā The demon leaned forward with its clawed right hand outstretched. āDo we have a deal?ā
āAbsolutely!ā Hiro clasped both hands around the demonās and shook it harshly.
The demonās grin stretched up past its eyes and almost to its horns. āThis might tickle a bit.ā
Before Hiro could even question what the demon meant he felt searing hot pain shooting through his body from where he was connected to the other. It was easily the worst physical pain Hiro had ever felt. And then it was like every memory Hiro ever had of Tadashi was playing through his mind.
Hiroās memories played until he saw the explosion from Tadashiās death and it was like the end of a camera real. He was able to see his room and the demon again.
āAh. There you are. Iāve located his soul. Luckily, heās still in limbo awaiting assignment. Thatās easy enough to pull him from,ā Hiro heard the creatureās voice inside his head. āNow for the tricky part. Letās create your demon form.ā
Hiro noticed out of the corner of his eye a dim light and glanced over to spot another circle slowly materializing in red fire-like light. This one was different from the one Hiro had drawn. It seemed more complex.
āAh!ā Hiro hissed in pain. It felt like someone was slicing into his wrist with a fine blade. He looked down and saw that the same symbol was being carved into his skin by seemingly nothing. Hiro reached to cover his right wrist as though to protect it but the demon in front of him grabbed Hiroās left wrist and held tight to his right hand.
āDonāt.ā Then everything around them began to shake and the demon started to laugh at the events unfolding.
Hiro felt genuine terror at the moment as a few tears slid down his face. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the new circle finally finished materializing on both the floor and Hiroās wrist.
Hiro looked over in time to see a column of fire burst from the circle to the ceiling and for a moment Hiro was worried an inferno would break out. 'Am I going to die in a fire too?ā But Hiro was surprised to find that when the blaze receded there were no marks.
Movement caught Hiroās eyes immediately. He looked down to the sight of a steaming, heavily breathing form. It had long horns protruding from its forehead, and short black hair in the same style Tadashi always had it. Hiro looked to meet its eyes to see if it really was Tadashi, but the creature seemed dazed. Hiro stepped close to get a better look and the demon let him go to do so.
āHeāll be out of it for a minute or so while he gets accustomed to being alive again.ā
He seemed taller and broader, more muscular. The horns were red and flaked in black obsidian. The whites of his eyes were now red and the usual soft brown was now a striking golden yellow. They seemed sharper in a dangerous way. The lower half of his face was covered by what looked like the bottom half of a red Japanese Oni mask.
Looking lower, Hiro noticed his muscles were definitely more defined. Hiro wanted to reach out and feel them but was stopped by what looked like fire blazing beneath his skin. There were patches of red and black around his shoulders and his hands led down to black long claws that twitched every now and again.
Hiroās eyes moved back to his torso where he saw the red and black patches around his sides flowing down to his hips and- 'hoLY FUCK HEāS NAKED!ā
Hiro whipped his head away and felt the heat return to his face making the demon by his side snicker as though it could hear his thoughts. But the damage was already done and Hiro just kept thinking, 'That is really big,ā like a damn idiot. 'Thereās no way Tadashi was that big before, right?ā
āDonāt be shy. Thereās more to see.ā The demon he summoned purred out. Eventually, Hiro turned his head back to further inspect Tadashiās new form just avoiding that area, which was kinda difficult considering Tadashiās hips were almost Hiroās shoulder height.
A fluid motion caught Hiroās attention behind Tadashi and he saw that it was a long swishing red tail ending in black with a dull point. Hiro then saw that the nails on Tadashiās toes were now black and more claw-like as well.
āWell, what do you think? Some of my best work if I do say so myself.ā The demon remarked a bit smugly.
āHeās-ā Just as Hiro was about to share his thoughts Tadashi seemingly jolted to life and looked around in a disoriented manner. He made eye contact with the being that was closest to his eye level first.
āWha-ā Tadashi tried to get out but when he heard how different and muffled his voice was he freaked out and reached for his face. He instantly felt the hard lines of the Oni mask covering his mouth and began trying to pull it off.
āCalm down. Itās just a battle mask. All demons have one. Relax and it will come off,ā The taller demon, that Tadashi somehow knew to be his maker, spoke as it began circling Tadashi to get a good look at its creation. āYou can summon it at will. Youāll figure it out.ā
Tadashi took a few calming breaths and the mask slipped off with ease. Tadashi let it fall and he followed the motion, but the mask dissipated before it hit the floor. Tadashi then looked over himself to take in his new features. He was a little freaked out, but, in a way, it feltā¦ natural.
Tadashi then noticed the figure in front of him and looked up to see that it was Hiro. His Hiro. Heās not sure why, but when he made direct eye contact he got this intense feeling as though he had found something he was missing.
The feeling was so strong that he felt tears welling up and soon spilling over. Hiro suddenly looked very concerned and it was like he could feel that concern himself.
āDonāt be alarmed. A demonās tears are normally either red like blood or black like tar depending on the reason.ā The shadow-like demon brought the back of its claw up and swiped at Tadashiās cheek and pulled back to show Tadashi the reason for Hiroās alarm. What he saw was, in fact, a red, almost blood-like, liquid.
āI-Is this real?ā Tadashi asked reaching out for Hiro to cup the side of Hiroās face gently with his new clawed hand. Hiro leaned into the contact and latched his hands onto Tadashiās wrist and forearm when the contact didnāt burn him like Hiro thought it would.
āI was just about the ask the same thing.ā Hiro closed his eyes and nuzzled into Tadashiās palm. Tadashi felt a sense of peace wash over him and moved to fully embrace Hiro as the blissful sensations coursed through his being.
āYour emotions and intense thoughts will be connected to each other now. Itās apart of the pact. Boy, you are now responsible for his well being. Keep in mind that he can only receive energy from you and so if you refuse or forget to feed him he will die. Though I doubt it will get to that point between the two of you. If thereās ever a time you feel he needs discipline just apply pressure to the seal with thoughts of harm. The same can be said of the opposite. Iāll be off now.ā The lanky demon slowly walked back to the summoning circle with a smirk.
The brothers were too busy embracing each other to worry about the retreating demon who left as quietly as it came.
āHiro Hamada, what was all that noise and shaking!ā Aunt Cassās voice called from the other side of the locked door.
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