105.

Title: 1000 Demons
Rating: PG
Pairing/Character/s: Slight, questionably there at all KomamuraxTousen
Word Count: 518
Warning/s: Spoilers for the Soul Society Arc
Summary: Do you become the thing you’re supposed to destroy?
Dedication: Colleen- cuz I haven’t dedicated anything to you yet and you were an awesome Kaname.
A/N: So I wrote this purely on the realization that in all previous 104 drabbles, I hadn’t written Tousen into any of them. That also applies to Yuzu and Karin actually, which is kind of sad considering I wrote one with Chizuru in it. --;;. But I’m sure I’ll rectify the situation eventually, especially if my current goal is trying to make it as close to 200 as possible before I completely run out of ideas. ;; And yes, I referenced Saiyuki for this one. Leave me alone.

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“There’s an old legend I heard about recently. It’s kind of silly, but I think when I heard it, it sounded like something important right then and there,” Tousen Kaname admits quietly, sitting next to Komamura Sajin one chill evening as they’re sitting together at the top of a hill looking down at a grave.

Komamura grunts noncommittally in response, but Kaname knows him well enough, has known him long enough, to understand that it simply means the larger shinigami is listening.

So he goes on.

“It says that if you kill a thousand demons, you become one yourself.”

Komamura snorts and turns in Kaname’s direction. “You’re right, it is kind of silly.”

There’s a small smile on the blind man’s face when he hears Komamura’s response.

“What if it’s true?” he presses, and Komamura can’t really help but smile back because one of his great joys in his life is to be able to sit with Tousen like this and talk about all manner of strange and trivial things.

“Then I think we’re demons,” he replies without really thinking.

And then Tousen sighs softly and puts his hand on Komamura’s shoulder, and his touch is the only one Sajin does not flinch away from because Tousen’s hands only seek with the intent to understand rather than judge. “Do you think there’s a better way?” the ninth division captain asks after a moment, fingers bunching slightly against the fox man’s sleeve.

“I think that our work is important and that it must be carried to the same ends, regardless of how.”

“Even at the risk of your own life? Of the people around you?”

“Always.”

Tousen smiles gently and releases Komamura’s captain’s coat, letting his hand float back down to his side. “I see. That’s what I thought you’d say.”

After a moment he stands and raises his head towards the starry sky. Komamura remains sitting and simply watches him. He hears him say, “Demons killing demons, huh?” to himself in such a sad way that the fox almost wants to assure his friend that they aren’t demons at all and it was foolish of him to say so as lightly as he did. Except he doesn’t say anything because he’s not sure whether that would be a lie or not.

“Ne…Sajin…”

“Hmm?”

“If I could find a better way… what should I do?”

The answer seems obvious. “Use it, of course.”

Kaname turns then, and Komamura can see the ghost of a smile that is really a world of sadness on his friend’s face. “All right then.”

They don’t ever talk about it again after that day, and after Tousen’s gone, Komamura wonders if Kaname left because he fell for the seduction of one man’s pretty lies or if he really found his better way after all.

All he knows for certain is that he misses his friend.

And it might make him an even larger demon in Kaname’s eyes, but Komamura knows that he would do anything necessary, no matter how despicable, to bring him back.

Then, then they can search for a better way together.

END