Chapter Text
Time had little meaning in Muzan’s domain. The Infinity Castle bent reality with every breath, rooms shifting, doors vanishing, space folding in and out of itself like a dream turned sideways. Douma had been summoned along with the rest of the Upper Moons. He arrived gracefully, humming to himself, cloak fluttering as he floated down into the warped chamber Muzan had created.
And there he was.
Akaza.
Standing, arms crossed. He hadn’t looked at Douma yet, but Douma could feel the tension in his aura. Douma took his place beside him with all the serenity of someone who knew he wasn't welcome.
“Fancy seeing you again, Akaza-dono,” he whispered.
“Don’t talk to me,” came the sharp reply.
“Still bitter?” Douma teased, eyes half-lidded in amusement.
“You hold grudges like a human.”
Akaza didn’t respond but his fists tightened, just slightly. A memory flickered in Douma’s mind, his fierce battle with Akaza. The night they fought for dominance among the Upper Moons.
[A Flashback]
The blood on the floor hadn’t dried yet. It painted long, jagged streaks across the floor… evidence of a fight that had shaken the very walls of the desolate hall. A clash not just of strength, but of pride. Douma stood at the center of it, not a drop of blood on him. His smile, as always, was too soft. Too easy. And far too cruel. Across the room, a figure knelt with clenched fists and a trembling jaw. Akaza’s eyes burning with fury, humiliation dripping from every word he didn’t say.
“You were strong,” Douma said, folding his hands behind his back. “But not strong enough, I’m afraid.”
The silence stretched tight.
Douma tilted his head, curious.
“You’re not going to yell at me? Not even a little ‘I’ll kill you next time’?”
Akaza said nothing. He only stood slowly, his breathing steady but sharp, like he was restraining something feral inside him. Douma’s smile faded for a moment… just a flicker. There was something raw in that silence. Something that refused to break, even when shattered.
That made him interesting.
[End of Flashback]
Douma grinned wider and turned his gaze forward. Muzan was about to speak, and Douma was nothing if not obedient when it mattered but even as the meeting began, his thoughts wandered.
That fire in Akaza’s eyes... It still burns.
Muzan’s voice echoed through the grand chamber of the Infinity Castle, low and chilling like silk soaked in venom. The Upper Moons sit in their designated places, statues before their god. No one dared to speak unless spoken to. No one moved except for Douma.
Not his body.
But his eyes.
As Muzan continued to speak, issuing orders and cold expectations, Douma let his gaze wander casually, and lazily until they landed on the figure just a few paces away.
Akaza sits with perfect posture, jaw clenched. His eyes stayed forward, sharp and unmoving, the picture of focused fury.
“He really is fascinating.” Douma thought.
That hair, a wild, spiked mess of flaming pink… so loud, so defiant, as if his very appearance refused to be silenced. The strands curled in sharp angles, chaotic yet striking.
His shoulders, broad and always tensed, like he was constantly preparing to throw a punch. Strength carved into every inch of his frame, hardened by battle and rage.
Douma let his gaze drift lower, to the deep lines of tattoos over Akaza’s arms, chest, and face... But more than that.
His eyes. Gods, those eyes.
Yellow irises, glowing like twilight through paper lanterns. So vivid, so sharp, they looked as though they could pierce right through the world and those lashes… soft pink, impossibly delicate for someone who carried so much weight in his fists.
But it was the sclera that made Douma’s breath catch.
A deep, haunting blue, marbled with fine cracks, like shattered glass barely holding together. It wasn’t just color. It was texture like a frozen lake breaking beneath your feet, the moment before the fall. Even now, locked onto Muzan, they shimmered with unspoken fury.
Douma couldn’t help the soft hum that escaped him, so quiet only he could hear it.
“What a beautiful little ball of unresolved violence.”
He tilted his head slightly, letting the edge of his fan brush his lips hiding his grin as he looked at Akaza as if admiring a painting.
“You really are captivating, Akaza-dono.”
After the meeting, as quickly as he came, Muzan vanished. His presence dissolving like mist, leaving behind a silence that felt heavier than his voice ever did. The Infinity Castle stilled. The other Upper Moons began to fade into the shifting corridors one by one, without a word. As if they knew better than to linger.
But Douma didn’t move. Neither did Akaza.
And for a brief, fragile moment, they were the only ones left standing alone in a sea of ever-changing walls. Douma’s fan slid open with a soft flutter, catching the stillness like a sigh. He tapped it gently against his chin, turning slightly toward the man who had unknowingly held his gaze the entire meeting.
“You didn’t even glance my way once,” he said softly, almost like a lover's complaint. “How cold of you, Akaza-dono.”
Akaza didn’t respond right away. His jaw tightened. His back was still to Douma, as if acknowledging him was beneath him but Douma could feel it, the tension. The heat under the ice. The way Akaza’s muscles coiled like a fuse waiting for a spark.
“I was wondering…” Douma stepped closer.
“Are your eyes always that lovely?”
That did it.
Akaza turned his head, just slightly. His eyes met Douma’s. Brief, sharp, and furious. A glare meant to wound but Douma only smiled, his gaze soft. Enchanted.
“There they are,” he whispered, barely audible. “That color really is divine.”
For a second, the tension stretched between them like a thread pulled too tight. One more word, one more breath, and it might snap. Akaza turned fully, his fists clenched at his sides.
“Say another word, and I’ll rip your tongue out.”
Douma giggled. A soft, light sound almost genuine.
Akaza stepped closer, just a fraction barely a shift in space, but it was enough. The distance between them shrank.
“I said,” Akaza growled, “shut your mouth.”
Douma only tilted his head, that dreamy smile never leaving his lips.
“Mm… you’re trembling, Akaza-dono. Are you angry?” He fluttered his fan closed with a gentle snap.
“Or maybe… flustered?”
Akaza’s expression twisted, the corners of his mouth pulling back in a sneer.
“You’re disgusting.”
Douma laughed, light and airy, as if Akaza had complimented him.
“You keep saying that,” he said, stepping just a little closer, eyes still locked on those fractured, golden irises. “Funny how you’re still here with me. Makes me wonder… why is that?”
His voice dropped to a soft murmur... playful, but not teasing. Something else now. Something deeper.
“You haven’t forgotten, have you? That fight, the way it felt when I had you down... breathless...”
Akaza’s fist whipped forward, slamming directly into Douma’s skull with a thunderous crack. Bone splintered beneath the blow, a sickening crunch echoing through the castle but the damage mended just as quickly, flesh and bone knitting back together in seconds but Douma didn’t flinch. He simply blinked slowly, smiling at him, his face a breath away from Akaza’s clenched jaw.
“Mm… there you are again,” he whispered. “That look...”
Akaza’s chest heaved once.
Twice.
Then, with a snarl, he turned away.
“You’re not worth it.”
And just like that, he vanished into the twisting corridors of the Infinity Castle. Douma stood in place for a long moment, watching the spot where Akaza had been. His fingers traced the edge of his fan. Then, he laughed again softer this time.
Fainter.
“So intense. So full of fire… and still, somehow, the most breathtaking thing I've ever seen.”
“…We’ll meet again. Very soon.”