A Demon's Way w/ クローバー (Clover)

[azuneko]

Hiroki pouts as he looked at him. "Sounds good. Lead the way of that's where you want to go next. I'm following you as I know nothing of such places. I prefer my own meals and such. You make me envious as you've had so McIntyre interaction with others."

[クローバー (Clover)]

"All right. Follow me. It's not that far." Masaki said, going into the nearby forest grove. There was a carved-out path of a winding road in the woods, and the sound demon followed it until a fork in the road came. He took the right path, which went deeper into the woods. As the path got darker, Masaki's headphones glowed a little more brightly so they could be found more easily. A little while later, they came to a clearing with a log cabin in it. On top of the porch there was a sign with "The Green Wiccan" carved into it.

"This is it. The place that kept my childhood from being lonely and depressing. The Green Wiccan. I know a lot of the employees, so if they see you're with me, they will treat you well too." Masaki said.

[azuneko]

Hiroki follows Masaki silently. His eyes glanced around as he saw a few flowers that he hadn't seen before. He was always interested in seeing new types of flowers. They intrigued him to the core. Once entering the clearing, his eyes darted around. "Interesting little place. Shall we go inside?" he asked walking beside Masaki now.

[クローバー (Clover)]

Masaki went in. The maitre d' recognized him immediately. She was an octopus demon with four tentacle arms and four tentacle legs, wearing a mask that continually fed water into her system through a tank of water on her back.

"Masa-chan!" she squealed, squeezing the sound demon in her tentacle arms. "I haven't seen you in so long! How are you?"

"I-I'm fine, Nami-chan... Your hugs still squeeze the life out of me..." Masaki gasped as the octopus girl let him go. "A-anyway, I have a friend with me today. This is Hiroki Kaname."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Nami." Nami said.

[azuneko]

Hiroki walked in behind Masaki. He was surprised to see such an aquatic demon on land. He gave a gentle smiled as he was introduced. "Hello miss. Its a pleasure to meet an acquaintance of Masaki's." he said before looking around the place. It seemed to have tons of demonic costumers.

[クローバー (Clover)]

"She loves meeting new people. She came from the sea, so the people she could meet were very limited." Masaki said. "The owner here gave her money to afford the equipment she wears now, so she's working here to repay him. Though her debt's already been paid for in full, she's stayed since she loves it here so much."

"Do you want the usual table?" she asked.

"Yes please." Masaki said.

"Good! Follow me, please!" the octopus girl said, walking towards the back and up some stairs.

Masaki motioned for Hiroki to follow her and left.

[azuneko]

Hiroki listened but wasn't all too intrigued. He wanted to learn more about Masaki and not one of his friends. He continued to take in the surrounding area before they were going to be seated. He follows close behind Masaki as this was an unfamiliar place to him. Hiroki wasn't worried sure this was a good idea anymore.

[クローバー (Clover)]

The octopus girl led them to the second level of the restaurant, putting two menus down at a table on a balcony that overlooked the front of the restaurant. Masaki sat down and looked out from the view they had. The trees seemed a little shorter from this height, and he could see the sun peeking in through the holes in the leaves.

"I used to come here a lot when I was little so I could talk to other demons and learn more about them." Masaki said. "They were all good friends, but most of them were slain by demon hunters."

[azuneko]

"Demon hunter..? I never encountered such a being before. What are they like?" he asked curious to know. Hiroki never had come face to face with a demon hunter. It wasn't as if he hadn't heard rumors of them existing though. His mind was interested in learning something new. Hiroki had no idea what he would hear from Masaki.

[クローバー (Clover)]

"Demon hunters are mostly male humans who go out, find demons, and kill them for money." Masaki said. "I've never seen one before, but the demons who frequent here know about their existence. Some of them are known to do cruel things to the demons they capture. Some even rape their victims before killing them."

He looked incredibly uneasy.

"Hiroki... If one of those demon hunters came, I'd try to do whatever it takes to help you. Would you do the same for me?" he asked.

[azuneko]

The last part of Masaki's sentence made him cringe. 'So those were demon hunters...' he thinks before glanced at the other. "Don't worry your pretty little head. I won't let such cruel men harm you. You have nothing to fear Masaki." he said with a smile. He looked at the menus on the table. "Should we order something?"

[クローバー (Clover)]

"Yeah. Let's order something." Masaki said, picking up his menu and reading it. "I like their vegetable dishes a lot. They pick them freshly in the back of the property every day."

He took a moment to look around, worried about the presence of demon hunters. He sighed in relief when he sensed none.

"It's a good thing that demon hunters are now considered lunatics in most humans' eyes. A lot of modern demon hunters have ridiculous methods. They dress up strangely and say weird things thinking we'll understand, but we actually don't." Masaki said. "Traditional methods of demon hunting have died away completely for moral reasons. Humans nowadays consider these methods inhumane, and all lands have banned traditional practices of demon hunting."

As he was speaking, a wind demon with flowing green hair and a thin, lithe build flew to their table, blowing the prince's hair in his face.

"Sorry to keep you two waiting!" he said, wiping the sweat off of his face before realizing whose table he was waiting. "Heeey, I know you! You're that little dude with the headphones from several years ago! Sweet! Didn't think I'd see you back here, man! How's life treating you? Who's your friend?"

"Ahaha... Nice to see you again after all these years, Eric." Masaki smiled in the waiter's direction. "I'm doing well. This is Hiroki."

"Nice to meet you, man." Eric said. "When you're ready to order, fire away!"

[azuneko]

Hiroki looked at him. "I see.... I suppose I have met my fair share of hunters without ever really noticing. Its both impressive and scary." he mutters as he looked at the menu. "They should disband all hunters. Demons aren't as wild and dangerous as they use to be. Well not all of them." he said looking at the person who approached them. Hiroki smiled at the male surprised it seemed all the demon here were so kind and jovial. It was a nice change from the demons he had encountered over the years.

[クローバー (Clover)]

"Couldn't agree more." Eric said. "Being all fierce and bloodthirsty is stupid. It makes it harder for humans to accept us as equals, y'know what I'm saying?"

"Anyway, I think I'm ready to order. I'll have the house salad, some grilled chicken, and lotus tea." Masaki said.

Eric took out his notepad and wrote down the order. He then turned to Hiroki.

"Thought of what you want to order yet?" he asked.

[azuneko]

"I'll just have what he's having. Hiroki said closing the menu. He really wasn't focused on picking something to eat. His interests lay with finding out more about Masaki. He stares at the other with such a deep intent. It was as if he was expecting him to read his mind. After a minute he looked away and out at the scenery. Plain old trees don't excite him. Though if it was a flower field he might have given it a second glance

[クローバー (Clover)]

"Great! Be back in a flash!" Eric said, flying away.

Masaki looked around before going back to looking at Hiroki. He blushed a little.

"Well... Do you like it here?" he asked.

[azuneko]

"This place is fine but not my pace. I prefer somewhere that I can smell or see a flower. I am not complaining since this is a place well known to you. I'm learning about you and that makes me happy. So I am not bothered in the least." Hiroki said glancing down. His mind on something else.

[クローバー (Clover)]

Masaki frowned a little. He sensed that that wasn't the only thing that was on his mind.

"You look like you're thinking about something else. Please, tell me what it is." Masaki said.

[azuneko]

"Please don't worry about it. I am just thinking." he said with a sigh. Something felt off in the air. He wonders if its just himself being overly cautious or if it was something else.

[クローバー (Clover)]

"Okay." Masaki said. "But I want you to know that if you need to talk to someone, you can always talk to me."

Their food arrived in good time. Eric came back with their food.

"Here you are! Enjoy!" he said before flying off.

"All right! Let's eat!" Masaki said, going for the salad first.

[azuneko]

"Its nothing you could help with Masaki. It happened a long time ago and I took care of it afterwards. I only remembered it because you mentioned what demon hunters were capable of. I guess its nice to know who they were or once was." he mutters as the food arrived. Hiroki glanced at the food before slowly beginning to take a bite.

[クローバー (Clover)]

Masaki ate happily. He hadn't had their food in a while, and the memories were flooding back into him as he took each bite.

"This food is just as delicious as I remember!" he said. A small part of him felt uncomfortable at how Hiroki seemed uneasy, but he decided to overlook it until the time was right.

[azuneko]

Hiroki ate but it wasn't as good as he expected. He rarely ate anything unless he cooked it himself. His gaze upon Masaki with a faint smile. "I'm falling for a cutie. Do you believe me?" he asked with a wink.

[クローバー (Clover)]

Masaki blushed. He answered Hiroki with a nod.

"Y-yeah..." he said. "I think I'm falling for you too..."

The sunset was upon them, as flecks of bright orange light shone through the holes created by the leaves of the trees. From their position, the two boys sitting atop the roof could see where the sunset was coming from more easily.

[azuneko]

Hiroki wanted to test something. He could easily change the subject if things had gotten too awkward. He leans over the table towards Masaki. "Hey..." he mutters softly before lightly pecking the other's lips with his own. Sitting back in his seat, Hiroki began eating again. "I couldn't pass up the chance with you blushing so cutely." he admits wondering what would be Masaki's reaction to it.