Title: Stuck in Midnight
Fandom: Seraph of the End
Content Notes: Could be seen as shippy or gen either way.
Summary: Even though they have a contract, Yoichi's demon continues to torment him with nightmares. It'll take a good shove to make Yoichi learn how to assert himself, and who better than a hard ass like Kimizuki to deliver?
Word Count: 1252
Characters: Kimizuki/Yoichi, Shinoa, Yuuichiro

Kimizuki's eyes flutter open to the roar of flames and incessant chirping of crickets. He lays there for a moment and glances around the campsite, subconsciously making sure all comrades are accounted for.

Group leader Shinoa is out on watch duty, and he spots her small form just atop the ruined skyscraper beside their camp. Next is Yuu, the idiot, sprawled out near the fire and snoring with his big mouth wide open. Typical, thinks Kimizuki with a grunt, the kid's as graceful asleep as he is awake.

Then there's the meekest member of their ragtag band, Yoichi. He's curled in a ball with his fists close to his face, shivering and mumbling something under his breath. Curious, Kimizuki rises from his spot on the ground for a closer look. Yoichi's eyes are squeezed shut and he clenches his fists suddenly, a tear falling from his eyes.

What is he dreaming about?

Kimizuki moves a little closer, too close for comfort almost, and bends down to listen to the kid's incoherent mumbling. (It's not like him to fret or worry over someone, but something seems off here.) For a moment, Yoichi is still and silent, and then his thrashing suddenly becomes violent. He's still asleep, but he's rolling around on the ground and shouting something in a language unknown to Kimizuki.

"Saotome! Wake up!" he yells and holds the boy firmly down by the shoulders. "Saotome!"

Black smoke swirls around the younger boy, indicating the work of his powerful – albeit hateful – demon partner. Yoichi's strangled cries wake Yuu and bring Shinoa racing down the skyscraper to the campsite.

Yuu scrambles over to Kimizuki's side and rasps, "What's wrong with him?!"

"Keep holding him down," instructs Shinoa, placing a hand over Kimizuki's shoulder. "He's strong enough, so he'll break the demon's hold eventually. Just wait."

The smoke curls over Kimizuki's arms and around his neck, and he swear he tastes copper when it passes through his nose. The smell is so rank that he almost throws up right there, death and decay accenting its pungency. But there's no way in Hell that he'll disobey an order or abandon his comrade now. Not when there's a demon working against him.

"Don't look so upset," whispers something inside the smoke, sweeping through Kimizuki's mind. "I'm just playing with him."

Then it's like the clock stops at midnight. It comes to a shuddering, screeching halt and Kimizuki is left in the void alone with Yoichi. A sinking sense of helplessness grips Kimizuki's heart and pulls hard, the same as with Yoichi. It yanks him closer and closer to the proverbial edge of Yoichi's nightmare until he feels a different power surge within him, that of his own demon.

"LET HIM GO!"

Tick. Tick. Tock.

Kimizuki looks up and sees a clock on the wall, both hands paused at twelve. The room around him is dimly lit, and from the looks of it, it's a child's room. The black smoke blankets it like a thick fog.

"What are you doing here?" demands a stern voice.

Spinning on his heel, Kimizuki draws his short swords on instinct and comes face-to-face with Yoichi's demon, disguised as a young human girl. She looks a lot like his comrade, and he assumes this is what Yoichi's fallen sister looked like at the time of her death.

"He has a contract with you," he rebukes, "and I believe antics like these are a breach of said contract." The left sword is pointed towards the girl and he sneers, "Let him go."

The demon rears her head back and laughs, her whole body shaking with the effect. "I'm impressed you had the willpower and stamina to enter my illusion! More so than this weakling, anyway." She looks down at the bed and then back at Kimizuki. "Want to fight? If you damage me, then you'll damage him."

Shit, Kimizuki curses internally. His resolve can't waver, not now, not in the demon's lair. He grips his weapons tighter and draws strength from his own demon within. "Saotome is stronger than you credit him for. It's different from any physical or mental strength."

"Tch. You're starting to bore me."

Something sharp whizzes through the air and slices through Kimizuki's sleeve, leaving him unharmed. Another invisible arrow separates a strand of hair from the top of his head and he still refuses to budge.

His eyes narrow. "You'd do well not to underestimate your Master, demon." He parries the next arrow off the flat of his blade and it bounces into the clock instead, disengaging the illusion. The hands begin to move and the scenery fades to black one furniture piece at a time.

"K-Kimizuki-kun?"

Yoichi staggers to his feet with a dazed, fearful expression. The nightmarish scene is gone, and the only thing standing between him and reality is his impertinent demon.

"Do what you have to. Stop her," says Kimizuki with more severity, moving to stand behind Yoichi. "She is under contract with you, so you control her."

It's all true, Yoichi knows that, but he can't bring himself to attack the demon.

"My sister, she – "

"Is dead," finishes the pink-haired teen. "This is not your sister."

"I've had the same dream for weeks now…" Yoichi lowers his head out of shame for having his demon run rampant with his mind for so long, even after the contract was formed. He stops down and retrieves a piece of glass from the floor, the only remains of the clock. "Nee-chan is dead, but I just can't forget her."

The demon snickers, "See? Weak."

Kimizuki grips Yoichi by the wrist and smiles slightly down at him. "Time to lay her memory to rest, then."

"What are you – Wait. Stop," stammers the demon as its Master draws nearer with the glass shard in hand. She backs into a corner and whips her head around too late; Yoichi lunges and drives the glass straight through her chest. "You…It can't…I consumed…"

Yoichi smiles up at her. "Stop disgracing her memory," he whispers into her ear and yanks the glass out suddenly. Black smoke sprays forth from the wound and fills the atmosphere to bursting. It's so dark that neither boy can see their comrade anymore.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

Familiar surroundings slow blur into a clearer view around the boys, and they realize that they're back at the campsite. Shinoa sighs and steps back with a smile, and Yuu flops onto his bottom with a worried huff.

"K-Kimizuki-kun…What did you mean by that? I'm not strong, I – "

"Strength of heart," cuts in the taller teen with a cough to mask his voice. "T-That's what I meant, Saotome."

Yoichi grins from ear to ear and sits up to wrap his arms around Kimizuki, squeezing his middle tightly. His eyes are blurry with the threat of tears, but he's already told himself that he won't cry over such things.

"Aww," coos Shinoa with a hand to her lips.

Yuu smirks and joins in, "You two need a moment or something? We could always – Uwaa!" He ducks just in time to dodge a rock thrown in his direction.

"Bastard," growls Kimizuki with his teeth bared. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

Both Shinoa and Yoichi laugh when Kimizuki scrambles to his feet to chase Yuu around the camp. They exchange glances and wordlessly confirm what happened inside of Yoichi's nightmare, knowing he's all right now. And that's enough for them.

It'll always be enough so long as they're all together.