“I want to see Kou.” Chris said in a solid tone.

Lou’s eyes hardened. “Chris, why do you-”

“I want to see Kou.” Chris repeated a bit stronger.

Lou’s eyes searched Chris’ face for clues. What he saw was a boy determined to do whatever it took to get what he wanted, no matter what the cost. Seeing that there was nothing that could dissuade him, Lou stepped aside and allowed Chris to enter the house. “Are you okay?” Lou asked, concern for Chris’ welfare.

“I..I think so.” Chris pressed a hand over his chest where the bandages laid underneath his shirt. “He didn’t cut me too deep, so it wasn’t anything serious.”

“Have you told anyone?” Lou blurted out, anxious to know the answer. To his relief, Chris shook his head. “Thank God.” He breathed out. “I was half afraid an army would storm the house to arrest a demon.”

“Is..is that what Kou is?” Chris asked.

Lou looked at Chris. Chris saw immediately that the humorous glint in those eyes were gone, replaced by a mournful tired expression. “Yes.” He said finally. “Kou is a demon.”

Chris had expected that response, but still the words hit him hard. “Then, are you…?”

Lou shook his head. “No, I’m not a demon. I adopted Kou when he was a young child, but I am as human as you are.”

“I see.” Chris took his eyes off of Lou, unable to bear looking into those eyes any longer. “Can I see Kou?”

Lou gave a deep sigh. “I guess you could. I’m not entirely sure what will happen if you’d step in there right now, but I think he’s himself for now.”

“I understand.” Chris nods, then headed towards Kou’s room. When he entered it, he was shocked to see the mess the room was in. The books Kou had loved dearly were ruined, most beyond repair. In one corner the monster sat with his back towards him, sobbing. It’s white hair cascaded down it’s broad back, reaching the center. From underneath the hair, Chris could make out two black markings, similar to tattoos, but somewhat faded. Maybe that’s the reason Kou never takes off his shirt. Chris thought to himself as he approached the creature. When he got close, the creature’s head shot up, it’s gasp of surprise clearly audible.

“Chris?” It’s powerful voice rumbled. Chris was in awe of how deep and powerful that voice was. Before, Kou’s voice was powerful enough as it is, but now it was at least three times stronger.

“How did you know it was me?” Chris asked, standing several feet away from the demon.

“I…I could smell you.” The monster said in a horrified voice. “I could smell your blood approaching, coming closer to me.” The monster began shaking more, as if fighting some sort of internal struggle. Still, it refused to turn around and look at Chris, as if it was terrified of facing him. “Please…go away from me. I don’t want to hurt you again.”

“Kou, it’s okay.” Chris said, stepping forward. “I’m okay, really. I don’t know how this happened, or why, but everything’s going to be alright.”

“No, it won’t!” The monster tried to move farther into the corner, but there was no room. “I’ve tasted blood, Chris! Your blood! Now I want to…to…oh God, I’m a monster!”

“Kou, shut up!” Chris snapped. He was now a foot and a half away from the demon’s back. “I don’t care what you are, but to me you’re just as much a human being as I am! So what if you got muscles? Big deal, the world is full of people who spend their lives building it up. So what if you’re tall? People grow short or tall, and that’s it! So what if your hair is white? Everyone grows white hair eventually anyways. And to be honest, I think those horns look kinda cool on you.”

The demon’s shaking had lessened, and it’s sobs grew quieter.

“You say you want my blood, right?” Chris said, slowly approaching the monster. He only had a foot left to go. “Well, I’m here right now, standing right behind you, yet you’ve haven’t gone and attacked me yet. Do you know what that tells me?” 10 inches left. “It tells me that you’re stronger then your urges, that you can fight your cravings.” 8 inches. “To be honest, we’re a lot alike. We try to pull ourselves from other people, but in truth we don’t want to be alone.” 5 inches. “You’re not alone, Kou. You never were. You have your Dad and me here to help you.” 3 inches. “I don’t care if you’re a demon. I don’t even care if you happen to be part fairy or something. All I care about is the oversized fifteen year old who opened up to me.” One inch. “So please, don’t shut me out Kou. I’m your friend, and friends stick together.”

The monster turned it’s head around. Gone were the red eyes that had struck fear into Chris. Instead, the familiar dark eyes shone with tears of both grief and happiness looked back into him. “Chris…” Kou said, his voice cracking.

Lou sighed from the doorway. “I guess I better unpack.”

Chris looked back, confused. “Unpack?”

Lou smiled. “It looks like we won’t have to move away after all. In fact, I doubt I could budge either one of you from each other, and even if I did, you’d probably run off and find each other the next day.” •