Undume awoke in a sweat, her heart racing and her hands tightly holding the wet sheets. "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!" she yelled as her hands suddenly reached for the holes in her back. A warm liquid bled from the sources of pain, and she panted to near unconsciousness before the door to her room was thrust open and the lights, unwelcomingly, were turned on. "Ahh…" she panted, staring at the figure that entered while her eyes waited for clarity.
"Are you alright?" Rassyu said, running towards her. "Shit, your bed is soaked!" He stared at her sheets as he placed a hand under her knees and one behind her. He lifted her up carefully and placed her on a chair next to the table. "There’s blood everywhere," he said with concern. "I’ll clean you up, and get you some herbs to help the pain subside."
"Why am I bleeding?!" Undume nearly shouted, the pain overcoming her senses. "Make- make it leave…" She clenched to his shirt tightly before falling unconscious. Her body was not used to the pain that her wings had lovingly given her.
"H-hey! Wake up! Stay with me!" Rassyu said, gently shaking her. He picked her up again and ran her to the bathroom in the other room. He turned on the faucet to the bathtub and sat her inside as the water filled up. "Hang on, Undume. Hang on."
Undume had been in the demon world, Crosse, for three hours and already the shock of becoming part demon was hitting her body like a car hitting a wall. Rassyu knew this would happen, but had hoped it would be less severe. Undume had been given a room (twice the size of her apartment) next to his. He was her sire, and that meant he would have to train her, watch over her, and take care of her. He didn’t mind it so much. Becoming her sire gave him a connection to her not even the best poet could describe. It wasn’t love, but a passion that only sires could understand.
Rassyu rushed to his room and grabbed a pouch of green herbs from his top drawer. He ran back to the bathroom in time to turn off the water of the bathtub. The water was up to Undume’s waist, which was enough to clean her off. Already the water began to turn red from the bleeding back, but Rassyu hoped the herbs would stop any more flow the blood would insist upon.
"Undume," he said, tilting her head towards him. "Undume, come back to me."
"Uhhhnnn…" Undume moaned, her eyes opening to his shoulder. "R-Rassyu? Please, help. I can’t stand it."
"Shh. Take this." He helped her to open her mouth, and placed a few of the leaves from the pouch in her mouth. "Chew on those softly and suck on them. Don’t swallow until they start to taste bitter."
"They’re sweet," she noted aloud.
"That means they’re ripe." Rassyu tilted her forward into his right arm. He then lifted up the back of her wet shirt and took a look at the damage. "This is going to sting a bit."
"Surprise me," Undume said weakly. The herbs helped a bit, but oh how she wished she were dead.
"Let me clean you up." Rassyu grabbed for a cloth nearby and began to dab at her wounds, the blood staining the white cloth quickly. He placed some of the herb from the pouch into his mouth and began to chew it. He felt his skin become a bit numb, but then spit the herb out onto the cloth and rubbed it into her wounds.
"Oouuuch," she moaned.
"Your body really doesn’t like your demon blood."
"Is that what it is? Feels like something stabbed me… twice."
"Well, in a way it did. Your wings came through your human skin, ripping them up pretty good."
"Is this always going to happen?"
"Yes, but the pain will tone down." Undume stayed quite, part of her regretting her wish. Rassyu finished dabbing the medicine on her back and began to clean up the blood that stuck to her skin. After doing so, he left the exhausted Undume to get her some clean clothes. He returned to find her leaning against the bath’s wall, a soft snore coming from her mouth. He smiled as he picked her up from the tub.

After replacing the sheets on her bed and placing her under the comfortable care of her covers, Rassyu turned the lights out and closed the door, happy that the pain had subsided. Xanadus always had to experience the pain of their demon blood mixing with their natural blood. He had heard many screams in the night, and it made him thankful to be born a demon.
"How is she?" Merne asked him, having waited outside Undume’s room the whole time.
"She’ll survive," Rassyu answered to the Xanadu that served under him in his squadron.
"I was too young when I became a Xanadu to remember the pain, but I can understand what she may be feeling. She’s lucky you’re her sire. Most sires just leave them to fight it through."
"Hmph. They’re idiots."
"Haha, that’s true, Rassyu. But, why do you help her?" Instead of answering, Rassyu looked at the floor and smiled. "Oh really?" Merne answered, as if he understood.
"Besides, I’m surprised she survived the pain. Her body seems to be rejecting the foreign blood more than anyone else I’ve witnessed."
"Maybe she’s special."
"Cursed, you mean."
"Cursed. Yes. Will she be okay?" the purple Xanadu asked with concern. Rassyu looked him in the eyes with a sense of doubt behind them. "If there’s anything I can do to help, just call upon me."
"I’ll keep that in mind. Good night, Merne." Rassyu entered his room and returned to his comfortable sleep.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The cry was heard throughout the floor. Many demons peered through their doors to see what the commotion was, but once they saw Rassyu run out of his room and into the one next to it they closed their doors and returned to their much-appreciated rest.
"What now?!" Rassyu said, flipping the lights on and running over to Undume. Undume sat huddled in the corner of the room, her back against the two walls, blood dripping down them and forming a small puddle where she sat. Her knees were tightly held to her chest, and her eyes stared insanely at the floor. She breathed heavily as drips of blood slipped from the triangles on her face. "Again??" Rassyu said as he bent down next to her. She stared at him blankly, her eyes still showing the same manic emotion.
"Make… it… STOP!!" She yelled, throwing her hands onto either side of her head and rocking her pain-filled body. "MAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOP!!" she yelled over and over.
Merne ran into the room and shut the door behind him. He found the two in the corner and ran over to Rassyu. "What’s wrong?" he asked.
"I don’t know. Why is this happening again? I gave her herbs two hours ago! They should have lasted till the sun came up!"
"Her body must really be rejecting the demon blood. What do you need?"
"If I give her more herbs she may die, or sleep for weeks."
"Is she in pain? Or just going mad?"
"Pain! She’s not going mad!! Get-"
"Auuuuugh!!!" Undume yelled standing up and leaning against the corner, her eyes vacant and staring at the ceiling.
"Undume!" Rassyu stood and reached to grab her, but she dodged and ran for the door. "Undume!!"
She ran out the door in a hurry and fell onto her hands and knees before getting ten feet. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" she screamed at the faces peering at her. She stood up again to chase the onlookers away, but fumbled and fell on her face.
Her mouth bled.
"Undume!" Rassyu yelled, catching up to her and lifting her into his arms. She kicked and screamed, trying to beat him away, but to no avail.
"D-demon!! Demon!!!" she yelled. "Let me go!!"
"Here, give her this!" Merne said, holding a few purple leaves for Rassyu to take.
"My arms are full. What is it? Give it to her, give it to her!!" Merne placed the leaves into Undume’s mouth. She chewed them before spitting them to the floor, which was enough to knock her out. She fell limp in Rassyu’s arms and he took her gently to his room.
"What are you going to do?" Merne asked him, following close behind.
"Comfort her. Get me more herbs from the storage downstairs. I’m going to need them."

She rested peacefully in his arms, his gaze never leaving her face. Finally she was sleeping without pain, or so he hoped. He sat in the chair with her nuzzled up against his warmth, and slowly sleep finally took him as well.
Rassyu should be a lot older than he is. When he was seventeen he ventured too far into Crosse's center (a place fabled to be the beginning and end) and was caught in a trap that would not release him for another 73 years. While there he did not age. And while there he reached insanity until a single dream gave him the courage to survive. The figure in the dream had the same presence that Undume had. Was that why he felt so deeply connected to her? When he was released he returned to a home that thought of him as dead. Because of the maturity and inner strength he formed while in the dimensional trap, the Demon Council placed him as a Seeker in their order. This job gave him a higher status than he had, and allowed for him to travel willingly into the human world as the Council wished. Rassyu was later given the title of Knight when his fighting skills surpassed his teacher's. Seven years after his entrapment, Rassyu was sent out to find a human who would become a Xanadu. Her name was Undume, and he became her sire. But he felt like he was becoming more. It wasn't a fatherly connection. It felt more like love. But he hardly new her. Who was she?

Rassyu sighed as he awoke, the memories that flood his mind leaving as the sun’s rays lit his face.
"Mmph," he mumbled, his eyes wincing at the light that burned them.
"You’re awake," a sweet voice sounded from above him. Behind his chair peered two hazel eyes, which he could have sworn had gold in them. Undume smile softly and walked to face him in front. "How are you feeling?"
"Numb. I don’t remember much, but… thank you." Rassyu smiled as he stood from the chair and stretched.
"Hungry?" he asked, looking at the girl who was a good five inches shorter than him. She nodded quietly and sat on his bed. She stared out the window beside her. "I’ll be right back."
Rassyu left to get food for the both of them, glad to see her feeling better, yet worried. What if it were to happen again?

Undume sat and stared into the mirror, her eyes focused on the three red triangles on her left cheek. "Don’t you come off?" she said rubbing them hard.
"You had better not do that," Rassyu said with the smell of food following his trail. "They don’t come off. And unlike your wings, they don’t disappear." Undume sighed and walked past him, her eyes filled with sadness. "Are you regretting your wish?" Rassyu asked as he handed her a plate and sat down at the small table in the middle of the room. She followed his lead and sat down on the other side of the table and began to eat the food ravenously. She didn’t recognize the ingredients, but by this point it didn’t matter to her.
"No," she said catching his gaze. "It hurts like Hell, but it’s better than being where I was."
"What was so devastating anyway?"
"Nothing. And that was the problem."
"And pain is sweeter than that?"
"I’d rather die. But… but it won’t last for long. Right? So, I’m willing to make that sacrifice..." she trailed off into the tastiness of the food touching her tongue.
Rassyu sighed as he sipped his drink. At least she was alright.

Undume would scream for three nights more until on the fourth night when she was finally able to sleep a full night. (Much to Rassyu’s relief, for her sake and his.) On the sixth night Undume no longer bled, and on the seventh Rassyu left her to the comfort and privacy of her own room.

They both slept for a full day, undisturbed by the moving world around them.