Heeyyy 👋 I would like to request a Asuma x reader where maybe reader has doubts about his loyalty to the Kagemori clan since he's helping out his uncle. Btw I'm so glad there's someone writing for dotsr!!!
TRUST DOESN'T COME EASY
Reblogs and Comments are greatly appreciated!!
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Fandom(s): Daemons of the Shadow Realm/Yomi no Tsugai
Pairing(s): Kagemori Asuma x Reader
Word Count: 2.2k
Genre(s)/Tag(s): Gender Neutral!Reader, Kind of a Power Imbalance?, Mentions of Drugs and Alcohol
Notes: So I was recovering from wisdom teeth surgery and also getting sick (yes, I'm 26 and just now getting my wisdom teeth out), so I wasn't able to write much :(
I also didn't get into some of the scenes with later characters that I wanted to. But I'm happy with how this turned out!
Decades of backstabbing, betrayals, getting mixed up with the wrong people—you hadn't had an easy start to life that was for sure.
At least… until you met Asuma.
He found you when you were on the brink of death.
You couldn't remember quite what happened. Something about alcohol and drugs not mixing well, and your 'buddies' had fled when you started foaming at the mouth. So you were stranded, dying, and alone.
You hated being alone, hence why you surrounded yourself with anyone who would give you the time of day.
Hah.
Look where that got you.
Just as you were going to close your eyes and succumb to your fate, you heard something.
Footsteps.
It was an inordinate hour; no one should've been at the park, and you were lying underneath a badly flickering street lamp. Your vision was hazy at best and fading in and out as whatever you had taken dug its slimy claws into your beating heart and failing lungs.
But you were still able to see the face of the man who found you.
He was dressed traditionally, in a white haori and black kimono. His blond hair shone in the flickering lamplight like the stars, and his black eyes sparkled with interest. His hands were tucked in his kimono sleeves as he looked at you with a sense of pity.
You hated that look…
But there wasn't much you could do about it now, could you? It wasn't like you could speak. But a trickling sense of fear took hold as you looked vaguely behind him and spotted two massive figures.
One stood in the flickering, dying lamplight. She was tall and beautiful, seemingly made of butterflies. The other stood slightly behind in the shadows of the trees. All you could see was the glow of red eyes and the glint of horns reaching curved toward the night sky.
But… Before you could say anything, you closed your eyes, and everything went dark.
You opened your eyes to bright lights, a beeping heart monitor, and confusion as to what happened.
Weren't you supposed to be dead?
Turning your head, you saw no one, not even a nurse. But turning your head toward the window, you saw a butterfly and a moth side by side on the windowsill. The white butterfly alighted on your finger, and you twitched slightly. The little legs tickled, and for the life of you, you couldn't figure out why you were here.
"Ah, so you're awake then?" Came a smooth yet unfamiliar voice. You looked back toward the door and spotted the man.
So you hadn't been hallucinating…
"Why am I not dead?" You asked, your voice raspy from disuse. The man took that as his invitation to approach and sat in the chair by your hospital bed.
"Because I saved you. You really did a number on your body, though. It'll be hard to get back to full strength." He said, and you frowned,
"But I was dying. I should've been dead by the time you got me to any hospital." You said, and he shrugged mysteriously.
"I have my ways."
The nurse came in then and checked your vitals. When he saw you were awake, he rushed for the doctor despite your requests to just be discharged and left alone. The doctor came in, and you were fussed over and poked and prodded to make sure everything was working as it should be given your circumstances.
All the while, the mysterious man never left your side.
It wasn't until you two were alone that you spoke again.
"Why are you even here?" You asked, and when he said nothing but arched an eyebrow, you elaborated. "You could've just dropped me off and gone on your merry way. Why stay?"
"I suppose I wanted to make sure you were alright. That was quite the scare you gave us there." He hummed, and you quietly filed away the "us" he used for later. Your scowl deepened,
"Well, I'm fine. So you can leave." You snapped, and he chuckled at that.
"So you don't want to hear what I have to say?" He asked kindly, and you recoiled as if struck in the face.
"What do you mean?" You demanded, and the man thought for a moment before answering.
"I want to offer you a job of sorts. After all, it's not often someone can see my Daemons." He said, and it was then that you noticed the woman from before. She was standing in the sunlight of the hospital room window and seemed to watch you, though her eyes were covered by her hair.
Oddly enough, you don't feel any fear from watching her. Not anymore, at least.
The man watches your lack of reaction with the same interest he had when he found you.
"I don't even know your name." You say in a half-assed attempt to get him to leave you alone. Because who knew what his intentions were with you? However, the man simply smiles and offers a bow of his head,
"My name is Asuma."
And thus began your new life.
Life with Asuma wasn't an easy one at first. He more or less forced you into rehab, and you were more or less forced to get clean. That was the longest and most brutal ninety days of your life.
And the day you got out was the day you got your Daemons.
"So… What am I doing again?" You ask as Asuma leads you through the Kagemori Manor toward the courtyard where Gonzo lay in preparation for… something. Asuma hadn't exactly told you what you'd be doing. He'd just winked and said, "It's a surprise."
You hated surprises. They never ended well in your opinion.
"Be patient, my dear, all will be revealed in time," Asuma said mysteriously, and you grumbled something under your breath before shutting up and following the man. You kept your head down, not bothering to make eye contact with anyone as you despised the pity they looked at you with.
It made you feel weak. Useless. Like you were a good-for-nothing. Like you were still the scum of the earth that you still felt you were.
But… Some part of you liked how he called you "my dear".
"Ah! There you are, child!" Kagemori Gonzo exclaimed as you made it to the courtyard.
Kagemori Gonzo was a kind(ish) man. His kindness was warming and made you feel accepted, but you knew it was conditional. The second you stepped out of line, you would be cast aside.
So why he was doing… whatever he was doing was beyond you.
"Uh… Yeah…" You said rather awkwardly and averted your gaze before he could look into your eyes for too long. But you still saw him smile kindly and extend a hand,
"Are you ready to receive your Daemons?" At this, you spun to stare at Asuma with wide eyes.
"What the fu—"
"Now, now dear, you needn't curse. I suppose I should've explained this in more detail. But I arranged with Father to give you a set of Daemons. If you are going to be working with me, you'll need them. That is… If you'd like them." Asuma said, and you stood there stupidly, mouth agape, eyes wide.
You weren't used to this—people caring about you.
People being kind.
People giving a shit.
People actually being decent fucking human beings.
"Are you alright, child? You're crying." Gonzo asks as he approaches you, and you realize abruptly that your cheeks are wet. You wipe them hurriedly and nod,
"I'm fine. What Daemons would I be getting?" You say and change the subject before they can fret over you anymore. Gonzo takes it in stride, but you can tell Asuma is going to ask you about it later.
But that's pushed to the back of your mind as Gonzo takes a pair of relics from his kimono sleeves and offers them to you.
They're worn, and you can't quite make out any details, but they're covered in rust and mold and smell of rot and power. You shudder as the power washes over you and you feel like bugs are crawling beneath your skin. As if worms have taken hold of your spinal cord and slither up and down.
Up and down.
Up and down.
Your knees tremble slightly as Gonzo instructs you on how to become the master of these Daemons. A slight sting of pain, and your blood sizzles and sinks into the relics. There's a poof of smoke, and the relics change into the Daemons' physical form.
One is tall and hulking, seemingly made of stone and covered in moss and mold and rot. You can't discern any eyes or facial features on this being, but it's slightly hunched despite being well over seven feet tall.
In contrast, the other is small and thin. It's made of what looks to be metal and rusted at the joints in deep reddish-brown. Like the other Daemon, it also doesn't have a face; instead, it looks almost like a walking piece of metal with similarly made joints and limbs.
They both stand motionless, not moving, not breathing, not doing anything until you move. You shift your weight, and the small metal Daemon seemingly comes alive. Its voice is oddly melodic, with a tinny yet musical quality to it.
"Are you our new master?" It asks, and you can only manage a nod. The voice is neither distinctly male nor female, so you can't tell whether this Daemon is male, female, non-binary, or something else entirely.
The little metal Daemon hops up and down, clapping its little metal appendages together in glee,
"Oh, how fun! It has been forever since we had a master! We were starting to think we had been forgotten!" It chirped, and the other Daemon still hasn't said anything.
Does it not speak?
"So, what do you think?" Gonzo asks, and you jump, enamored by the sight of Daemons that are now yours.
"Uh…" You swallow, "Thank you? I really can't thank you enough for this opportunity." You mumble out, and Gonzo takes that as his cue to leave.
Effectively leaving you alone with Asuma.
Before he can open his mouth to say anything. Perhaps to ask why you had cried earlier, you interrupt.
"Was there anything else you needed, Asuma?" You say quickly, and he looks at you for a brief moment before relenting.
"No. Nothing at all."
Things change once you have your own Daemons.
You ended up naming the massive Daemon "Rot" for the rot that littered his stone form, along with the mold and moss.
The other Daemon is named "Rust". It's rather obvious why you named both of them what you did. You never had been the most creative with names.
"Aptly named", Asuma had said.
But that didn't explain why you were here.
You knew exactly where you were. Shingo Cargo wasn't a small business by any means. You had dealt in drugs and alcohol with some people employed by them before.
That led you to where you were now. Clean and sober for the better part of a year, and working with the man who saved your life. You trusted him for fuck's sake, and that didn't come easy. But that doesn't mean you trusted everyone else around you.
"Asuma? Why are we here?" You hiss to the man, but he pays you no mind other than a sharp look that says "behave".
You wilt and keep your mouth shut.
At least… Until you see Shingo Hayato and his cronies.
And it's like you're transported back to the night Asuma found you. Lungs seizing, drool and foam running down your mouth and chin, appendages not obeying your whims or commands.
You felt so… Helpless…
It's all you can do to keep your composure while Asuma greets his uncle and they chat 'business'. It's like you're listening through a waterfall, what with your heart roaring and thundering in your ears.
It's not until you are back home that you manage a single question.
"Why?" You croak, and he looks at you oh so tenderly that you could cry.
"All will be revealed in due time." He says kindly, and Rust and Rot shift as they sense your growing unease. He reaches for you but pauses when you take a step back.
"You know trust doesn't come easy to me! And to partner with that man?! His thugs are the ones who almost got me killed when you found me!" You burst out, and he just keeps looking at you with that infuriatingly tender look on his face.
Asuma takes a step forward again, and you almost make to step away, but he reaches forward and grasps your hands in his. His palms are soft and without calluses or blemishes. But he grips with a surprising strength for someone who doesn't fight.
"I promise you," He starts, and you feel your heart start to race, "I will not let any harm come to you. You are incredibly important to me. You do not owe my uncle anything. But know that you will be safe. You don't have to worry." He says, and you can't help but believe him.
