Away from hell, war and chaos the life of earth goes on, as it always did. Not caring about the storms, wars and problems of humans. The world has seen alot and will see more, but for now it enjoys a brief peace.
Far from the eyes of many, up high in Tohoku Mountains of Norther Japan nests a small yet livable temple that has seen many years from the old days of Sengoku Period, through the calm of the Edo Period and now modern days.
A cobbled path leads towards the temple, it moves under a grand Torii gate with unreadable carvings that are barely noticable, weathered by time ,slightly overtaken by nature but still tended to. The cobbled road ends at a gate entrance to the temple, through the grounds, sounds of creaking woods can be heard as they echo through the tranquil land.
In the courtyard of the Temple a young tall male is currently training, the sweat on his body making his raven black hair stick to his face, one of his eyes is crimson red while the other is grey as that of a blind eye, his black kimono and hakama adjusted in a way that allows him ease of movement. His body appears to be average shaped though finely chiseled due to his training, he appears to be striking rocks and wooden dummies, leaving cracks as he does. Not far from him stands a much older looking man in a blue kimono, and a grey hakama his black hair is shorter and he has a nice trimmed full beard, though both are slightly greying, but a few strands of black hair remain, the look on his face is serious and stern as he's observing the boy. The training slowly blending in with the sound of wind chimes and cicadas.
"Enough Kaito, the morning training is finished, go clean up and let's meet at breakfast"
The older man says and walks into the temple, walking past a girl that looks about the age of Kaito, although she is a stark contrast to him.
Her hair is blonde and eyes blue, she has a much more cheerful expression on her face. As opposed to the more grim look of Kaito. She's dressed in a white yukata. She's leaning against the entrance door to the temple, her arms crossed, a slight smirk appears on her face as she looks at Kaito.
Kaito takes notice of it and looks at her as he lets out a heavy sigh, adjusting his Kimono to more comfort now.
"Don't give me that grin Yui, I know you find it amusing that you talked your way out of a training by cooking an extra difficult breakfast again?"
Kaito says and walks past her while shaking his head to shake the sweat off of his hair, also letting a slight smile slip past as he walks further into the temple. Yui follows with a grin, the cold wooden floor creaking under the footsteps of the two.
"Hey it's not my fault that you two guys like the more expensive food and I'm such a nice girl that I actually cook it for you two!"
She lets out a snicker.
Kaito gets to the bathroom and starts washing his face up with cold water to cool off the heat, while also loosening up his Kimono to also wash off the sweat from his body.
"Yea, keep in mind that dad might change his heart one day and crave some simple food and you'll be back to training with me…just as you used to when we were younger. I don't wanna be the one being to be watched by dad's glare all the time anymore. And you could really use training to become a bit stronger yourself."
Kaito said, letting the sentence rest on Yui's mind. Most demons are born as monstrosities, grotesque creations, carrying a horrifying and messed up visage. But certain demons are born as more than that, some can choose their forms and are born more powerful.
Kaito and Yui were not like most demons, raised among humans due to their mother's beliefs, she always thought that there was a way for demons and humans to live in harmony and share the world, for not all is black and white and not all demons are evil.
Kaito grabbed a towel off the towel heating rack and dried himself off, taking a deep breath and then letting it out. Yui would cross her arms and turned heel to leave with a soft scoff. But before she left she said,
"Stop obsessing so much about your demonic form and strength, dad did say he didn't show his full potential until he was forty himself. I know you worry about keeping us safe but you should realise that your power does not make you, truly you. Because you are already you and I sure hope my dear twin brother does not change much. "
With that Yui left, leaving Kaito in the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his neck as he watched Yui leave. He'd look down and stare at his reflection in the water that had formed in the sink, seeing the scars on his body and face that had formed through the training he puts himself through. In his head it was all for the good of the family, if he'd unlock his full potential maybe he could protect the family better instead of leaving it all to his father. But the words that Yui said, had resonated in his mind, they were true..ever since their mother passed away while protecting a demon child from the DHC, Kaito felt like he needed to be stronger for the family, so that he won't lose anyone again.
He'd sling the kimono back up again and drained the sink with a rapid and almost angry movement as if not wanting to look at his own reflection any longer, after that he walked to the small dining room where the smell of homemade Miso Soup and grilled fish already filled the room, it's a favorite morning food for Kaito and their father, so Yui always goes through the trouble of making it from the scratch, she may not be doing hard training like Kaito does but she pushes herself in a different way, she always wants to make sure that both Kaito and their father are happy, satisfied and well rested, just like their mother used to.
As Kaito arrived he'd see his dad sitting at the table just as Yui was serving the food on the table, without hesitation Kaito took a seat and as soon as Yui was finished serving the food, they dug right into it. The family was quiet during the breakfast, as it usually is. The food that Yui does is always so good that nobody even wants to speak, they prefer to just continue eating until their bowls are finished.
After they are finished, their father is the one to stand up first and brush his hands into his hakama, a big smile forms on his face as he nods towards Yui.
"As per usual Yui, the meal was wonderful and you've outdone yourself. Now I shall go take my leave and tend to the grounds, Kaito you rest for today, it will be your turn to take care of the grounds tomorrow but if Yui will ask for any help in the kitchen do help her instead, Yui you in the meantime do the dishes and rest also after you're done."
As he starts to leave he gives a slight pat on Yui's and Kaito's shoulder, as if to praise them. The sound of his footsteps slowly fading into the background as he leaves.
Yui turned to Kaito and grin brightly.
"See Kaito? Even dad thinks you should have a break, shows exactly how much he cares about us…even tells you to help me if I'll need it. He may be as cold as ice sometimes but through the cracks he always pulls through and cares for us."
Yui would happily spring up from the floor and start cleaning up, while Kaito remained seated and just dozed off staring at Yui do the dishes.
"Yea, dad always has a way to show kindness while placing an ice block in your hands and telling you to hold it…I just wish he didn't have to do everything by himself and asked me to help him for once, he may have lived for 600 years but that does not mean he should pull all the weight by himself."
Kaito said with a sigh as he placed his face onto the table and closed his eyes.
Yui while picking up a bowl from in front of Kaito would chuckle a little as she looked down at him.
"Pot meet kettle, you two are as stubborn as they come, each of you trying to pull all the weight and all the while trying to outdo what is expected of you, if I could I'd tell dad to take a break too, but not like he'll listen to anyone, not even mom could get through that thick skull of his so I definitely won't, but I guess that's what you get with 600 years of life and nobody around to crack that thick skull while still young and learning, luckily unlike dad you have me around so I can get through your thick skull and maybe ensure that your kids won't meet the same fate of stubborness such as you did."
She says and taps Kaito gently on the top of the head with a spoon, trying to cheer him up a little with her jokes.
Kaito would rub the top of his head as he looked up at her, clearly unamused by her antics.
"Did you just seriously tap my head with a dirty spoon that was in a soup and my mouth not long ago?!"
Kaito could not help but crack a bit of a smile as Yui shrugged trying to act as if she doesn't know what he meant. She always had a way to cheer up Kaito, ever since they were kids the two were a yin and yang in a sense, she was always cheerful and energetic, trying to ensure fun over anything, while Kaito was always more down to earth, so serious and active, trying to prove himself to others. The two of them only really ever had each other, due to not being able to go to school due to their demonic heritage they never got to meet many of their peers outside of the internet or occasional meetings in a park or visitors at the temple's shrine.
Kaito would soon stand up, walk over to Yui and give a quick pat on the head before walking away.
"Good luck with work, you know where to find me if you need a hand."
He said calmly to her as he turned the corner to go to his bedroom. His body now being a bit more slumped as if getting getting relieved of the tenseness.
Yui with a slight smile nodded to what he said before disappearing around the corner, happy that she improved Kaito's mood..if only a little.
Kaito's room was a little messy, some clothes thrown over a chair, his bed not set and such. But other than that it had its charm, some historical decoration in the form of Samurai weapons on the wall, a suit of Armor that his father had in his past that was passed down to his son. And the more modern stuff in the form of electronics, a computer sitting on a table in the corner of the room, and some flowers that Yui had insisted on decorating Kaito's room with, so on a kotatsu in middle of the room lays a small bonsai tree that is surprisingly well tended to.
Kaito sat down at the table and turned on his computer, he often spent free time this way when he was told to rest, watching some anime or playing games, there was after all not much else to do besides spending time this way. For now he'd just scrolls through the news on what's going on in the world, on the webpage he'd see an article that had caught his eye...an article that would definitely cause some chaos. An article that reads "A dangerous demon had escaped a DHC facility in Northern Japan, advise caution and notify any sightings of a white haired female appearing demon to the authorities, stay inside and don't venture into the woods".
Kaito stared at it for a while, his breath hitching for a second but then he shook his head and scrolled past it to look at something else instead.