Everyday, Ashura grows more curious with the prayer that the young woman asks of God. After long thoughts and consideration, he had decided to fly back down to earth and investigate further about this young woman. Ashura is one of the majestic demons in heaven, and he cannot just appear in front of mere mortals in his true form and using his demonic powers, he shapeshifted himself to resemble the body of a handsome, muscular figure wearing mass amounts of jewelry and silk cloth made out of the finest material. A red robe encases him with parts of it that drags behind him, flowing in the wind. Even though he had disguised himself as a mere human, his transformation is never truly complete, keeping key parts of his majestic demon form.

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Ashura then slowly approaches the Shrine and meets Shizuka. He notices just how calmly and peacefully she prays on the altar, her eyes shut gently, her palms delicately placed against each other. She softly uttered her prayers through her lips. Near the Shrine, he looked around, investigating the mortal world’s condition surrounding the area. He noticed mortal beings living joyously and other insignificant acts such as helping, playing, farming, even learning. Nothing that quite piqued his interest, Though a little later, he witnessed a thief that stole a decent amount of gold near the gate of the Shrine. Ashura was quite shocked when first he saw it. He never thought that Good and Bad could be mixed together on earth like such and not be separated like Heaven and Hell. 

Before he could follow the thief, Shizuka came out of the shrine with her mesmerizing beauty, causing him to switch his attention. The sight of Shizuka caused him to feel an emotion foreign to him. His heart felt slightly warm, yet different to his usual blazing heart of battle. It was an odd sensation, similar yet alien. He didn’t pay attention enough though, as Shizuka caught a glimpse of him. In shock, she gasped, she had never seen a handsome, young, muscular man before, it was outlandish and she stared in disbelief. His look was that of those who belong to nobility and not a regular boy nor some rich family. Ashura stood his ground, without blinking he notices Shizuka’s long, dark hair which resembles the darkness of moonlight, her eyes shining bright like pure emerald, and her lips as red as scarlet rose.

“A-ah, sir, are you new around here?” Shizuka asks with her face fully blushed.

“Yes, I came with the intent of visiting this shrine” Ashura answers whilst looking away, he needs to quickly remind himself that he is in his human form.

“Well, you may enter, Sir... everyone is welcome here. Besides, God will always welcome His servant that comes to pray upon him.” Shizuka welcomes Ashura. 

“Thank you, Miss..?” Ashura asks, with the intent of receiving her name.

“Oh dear, where’s my manners? I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Shizuka. Pleasure to meet you, Sir. And you are ?” Shizuka asks while offering her hand for a handshake. 

Ashura stops to think for a moment, he hasn’t come up with his disguised name yet. Though with a quick reflex, he came up with a name. 

“I’m Rasha, A general from a Kingdom quite far from here. Pleasure is all mine, Miss Shizuka” Ashura answers as he shakes Shizuka’s hand. 

As their skin came into contact, something changed within Ashura’s heart. That “something” tickled him, he however, did not understand such feelings and hurried to release his hand. 

“Perhaps  you want me to accompany you, Sir ?” Shizuka’s voice shook as her words left her mouth.

“Please, just call me Rasha. And yes, I would like to have an ally to accompany me at this current moment.” Ashura accepts the kind offer.

“Right then, Rasha.. Right this way..” Shizuka leads Rasha into the shrine.

They both spoke to each other while entering the Shrine. Only for a moment, Ashura felt as if he were no longer a Demon, but a mortal. He pleads right in front of the altar and prays to God, like an ordinary human. After he finished praying, Ashura asked if there was a good place to rest after a long journey near the Shrine. Shizuka answers that there is a place near the lake of lotus that acts as a barrier between her village and a cliff that leads to the capital city below. Ashura asked Shizuka to lead the way to that lake, and Shizuka agreed to take him to the lake. 

They took a fast route across the field, though along the journey they didn’t speak much, they only ever mentioned trivial things like their age and hobbies. They arrived at the lake two hours before sunset. For the first time, Ashura felt that he could find something amazing from the sunset from the point of view of a Mortal. Shizuka explains to Ashura how she loves the sunset and the lake that they’re currently gazing upon. 

“My mom always took me here before she passed away about five years ago. Ever since then, I’ve always come to this location to clear my mind.” Shizuka broke the silence in between them.

“I’m sorry for your loss. I hope she finds eternal happiness in heaven. And thank you for bringing me to your favorite place, however, I must ask” Ashura finds the opportunity to ask his question regarding her prayers.  “Why do you feel the need to  always pray to God ? Why do you entrust so many things to God? Don’t you feel like God will abandon you at some point?” Said Ashura. 

“As a servant of God, I always believe that our Lord will always answer our prayers even if we have already forgotten our own wishes by then. I put my trust in God cause He will always look after his Servant without asking many things in return” Replied Shizuka. 

Ashura had no words to speak, he aimlessly gazed upon the setting sun in front of him, watching the darkness engulf the land. Shizuka notices how dark it has gotten and offers to lead Rasha back to the shrine where he can find his way back. After reaching the shrine the both of them said their goodbyes. Ashura patiently waits until Shizuka disappears from his sight and promptly flew away back into heaven where he came from.

During his slumber, Ashura keeps finding Shizuka infiltrating his mind, and during the daytime, he could not help but stare down from his balcony into the shrine below where he first met Shizuka. Ashura kept finding himself being overridden by this annoying sense and emotion lingering within him. This unfamiliar tingly feeling, annoying yet pleasing. It all happened when he first gazed into her emerald-like eyes, and the condition only kept getting worse the second they made contact with each other’s skin through their handshake. Ashura would not have a good night’s sleep that night, for he kept tossing and turning, wishing that this foreign feeling would leave his body.

    In the morning, Ashura decided to meet up with the two of his friends. Kendatsuba and Yasha at the Grand Palace of Heaven to figure out what this mysterious emotion truly is. On arrival, Yasha greets him right in front of the gate.

“Ashura, I was already expecting you.” Yasha states with a cheeky grin 

“Eh, What do you mean?” Ashura responds in a confused manner.

“I saw you come down to earth to the shrine below that held a celebration a few days ago, what were you doing? It's quite uncharacteristic of you to fly down to the mortal realm, actually I’ve never even seen you do that before.”

Before he could even answer his question, the door swings open and another majestic Demon that brings pride walks into the Throne Chamber and directly down towards Ashura. A smile runs across his face. 

“What are you smiling for? This isn't a laughing matter!” Ashura yells, now frustrated 

“It seems that the Great Demon Ashura is looking for a love interest down on earth. And you spent some time with the mortal” The smug demon, Kendatsuba exclaims.

“Ugh, You guys watched me from above the heavens yesterday, didn’t you?” Ashura plants his palm on his forehead.

They didn’t answer his question, but Kendatsuba is instead too busy laughing at Ashura who was once known for his unremorseful acts, murdering innocence in cold blood, now finding interest in a young 21 year old mortal. Ashura tries to explain his best, that he was only trying to discover what this new feeling is and that he knows no love. Kendatsuba’s laughter grew louder and more uproarious. Yasha, however, understood the situation and pulled Ashura over and advised him to visit Ryūō for proper guidance, for he believes that he’s more responsible than himself and Kendatsuba.

However, Yasha develops a concern that Ashura might kill the young woman. He is aware of how cruel Ashura is when it comes to things that have a connection to Love, Kindness and Affection. Yasha tried to explain that Ashura’s feeling often happens to demons or even God when they see a mortal that is outstandingly gorgeous or fascinating, but the outcome is decided by the person themselves. Whether they will accept these foreign feelings, or leave a scar in their heart to continue living in a familiar lifestyle.

After a long discussion between Ashura and Yasha, he decided to go visit  Ryūō at his underwater Palace to ask for his enlightenment. Kendatsuba also came to accompany Ashura. They went into the underwater realms and were greeted by the Dragon King, Ryūō with a warm smile and were offered nectar. 

“I foresaw this, Ashura. And I know that you will ask for my guidance about the feelings that you are feeling at the moment.” Ryūō speaks, facing away from Ashura as he pets his dragon. 

“I will not deny it, because… it is true. I have never experienced this kind of feeling before. What ever happened to me? I’m a Yokai, one of the most fearsome demons in the heavenly Kingdom… I can’t be a-” His words were entangled within his tongue.

Ryūō didn’t answer. He only advised that he should take control of this foreign feeling and to make sure that he will not act irrationally towards it. 

“You see, Ashura, it is uncommon yet well known that even demons like us could feel emotions that do not belong to us.” Ryūō’s vagueness left Ashura still conflicted and floods Ryūō with even more questions than what he had when he first came.

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In the morning, as per usual, Shizuka went to the Shrine to pray firsthand. This particular day, however, Rasha suddenly materialized at the lake near the Shrine. This time, Rasha came outfitted inside his general uniform. Shizuka didn't realize it at first but when Rasha called her name, Shizuka quickly recognised his voice. Shizuka then swiftly approaches Rasha and greets him with a hug. 

Rasha was caught off guard, he had never felt the warm embrace of a hug before, however it placed a warm smile on his face.

"What are you doing here, Rasha? I thought last night you said you would return to your Kingdom?" Confused, Shizuka asks him.

"I did, but I decided to return here. Can we talk for a while?" Rasha hesitantly asks.

"Sure, where would you like to speak?” Shizuka asks in hopes of experiencing the exact same feeling as yesterday. “The place before perhaps?" 

Without opening his mouth once, Rasha took Shizuka by the hand and led her way to the pound located near the Shrine.

“I just wanted to express my gratitude for you greeting me and accompanying me to your favorite place.” Rasha thanks Shizuka.

"I also want to say that if you ever need help, if you find danger knocking on your door, Call out my name. General Rasha. I will be here when you call and it is my sword duty to protect my people." 

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Shizuka never knew that she could meet someone so charming and mesmerizing to the point where it exceeds all her expectations with flying colors in a person. After dusk, she told her father all about Rasha. Her father could only smile seeing how brightly her daughter is speaking to the man of her dreams. On the flipside of the mirror, Ashura is engulfed in humility after being bombarded by Kendatsuba’s teasing. He mocks Ashura, claiming that a Demon could never be allowed to be with a mortal, it is just not meant to be and it would break the laws of nature. His harsh words struck a weak point within Ashura, realizing how much different he had become.

In his confusion and anger, Ashura flees the scene, speeding towards Shizuka’s village without the time to transform himself into his human form. His majestic demonic presence by itself struck chills down the villager’s spines, and his footsteps caused great earthquakes to form all over the village. Blinded with confusion, he utilized his powers and burned everything that crossed his sight. Everyone who resides within the village pleads for mercy, running aimlessly and watching their homes burn to the ground.

Ashura eventually locks his eyes upon the Shrine, he readies his mighty sword, slowly unsheathing it from his left hip. Though just before Ashura could destroy the Shrine, he caught a glimpse of Shizuka crying pleading at the Terrace of the Shrine from the corner of his eyes. He slowly takes his steps towards her, raising his mighty sword with a merciless, blank stare.

"RASHA!!!"