Chapter Text
Fyodor finished his sermon flawlessly as usual. Even with his lack of sleep recently, the words seemed to be imprinted on his soul at this point. Although, in a way that made his life boring. As if the lord’s words had lost their meaning. He knew they still had meaning but it was different when you preached those words over and over.
The most interesting part of his job was the confessions. He helped people through their problems the best he could but there was only so much he could do. He was a priest, not a therapist. Most of it was simple. The usual cheating spouse, problems resisting temptation, troubled children, and the like. But there were always exceptions that kept his life interesting. But those exceptions were few and far between.
Over his years of being a priest, he had trained his eyes to search for these exceptions. Many of his colleagues called it a gift. One that was lent to him by god. But he knew it was simply through observation. He had made a name for himself as a gifted exorcist. He had come to believe part of that skill had come from his past experiences with demons. Their infectious manipulation and eagerness to stray humans from the way of the lord seemed to have rubbed off of him like a plague. But he kept his strength in preaching the word of the lord. He refused to acknowledge the experiences he had with demons in the past. Especially one of them. The only one that truly made him dirty. Taunted him. He sighed. He shouldn’t be so distracted. He had a victim right in front of him.
He was a young man with carefully swept hair in a dark green suit. He was nervously looking around, curious as to why Fyodor would call him here. Fyodor could already tell things about the man. He was prideful, shown by how much effort he put into his appearance just to go to church. Fyodor could see signs of fatigue on him but that was only part of the reason the man had piqued his interest. It was the clear residue of some sort of demonic entity. Fyodor couldn’t tell from the residue what type but it was clear. A demonic entity was draining the man. Fyodor crouched in front of the man.
“Mushitarou-Kun, do you have something you need to tell me?” He asked. Mushitarou narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why did you call me here, father?” The man asked. Fyodor knew he had to be careful not to anger this one. He seemed like the type to fly off the handle easily.
“You seem extremely drained, Mushitarou-Kun,” Fyodor said gently. He couldn’t come out and say he saw an entity’s mark on him. He would think the priest was crazy. Not like he cared if he did but it would ruin any chance of helping this man. Even though helping wasn’t his sole reason either. In a way, he truly was the worst excuse for a priest. His good deeds were done as a way to gain something. In this case, a way to satiate his endless boredom.
“Well, father, my close friend can be a bit of a nuisance. He seems especially interested in messing with me lately,” Mushitarou said with a dramatic sigh and crossed his legs. Fyodor knew exactly who the man was talking about. Edogawa Ranpo was not a believer so Fyodor did not have many chances to speak to the man, but he had seen Mushitarou with him multiple times. He felt like it was quite an odd combination considering what he knew about Mushitarou. “That’s all. Sorry to have worried you, father.”
“We both know that’s not true. I can see it in your eyes. There’s something going on,” Fyodor pushed. Mushitarou wrinkled his nose in distaste. Fyodor was lucky that his status as a priest made Mushitarou have some respect for him. He was sure others didn’t get such preferential treatment. The man crossed his arms. “You can trust me, Mushitarou-San. Anything said here stays between the three of us.”
“Three?” Mushitarou tilted his head and looked around the room. Fyodor chuckled.
“Me, you, and god,” he explained. That reaction confirmed one of his suspicions about Mushitarou. He wasn’t a believer, he was only here to keep up appearances. They did live in a small religious town after all. Most things revolved around the church. All of the believers in his church would have immediately understood what he was saying. “You don’t have to worry about judgment either. I hold no judgment for anyone. That responsibility is left to god.”
“It… It is rather personal and embarrassing,” Mushitarou mumbled. Fyodor smirked. He got his foot in the door now that the man had admitted there was something wrong.
“I have heard everything, Mushitarou-Kun. Nothing you could say will phase me. This is for your own sake. I may be able to help you,” he smiled kindly at the other man. Mushitarou looked at the floor, starting to nervously fidget with his hands.
“I doubt you can help. I’m not even completely sure what’s happening,” he said. Fyodor noticed the slightest hint of a blush on the man’s face. So this demonic entity must embarrass him in some way. “You’ll just be wasting your time.”
“I doubt it. Please, do tell me what is happening. I don't want someone in my community to be hurting. It is my job as an ally of God to help his creations,” Fyodor said, grabbing one of Mushitarou’s hands again. Mushitarou finally caved.
“I… I have been having strange dreams. I’ve never been a very sexual person. I would even describe myself as asexual. But recently I keep having sexual dreams and no matter how much sleep I get I am never rested. A… A man keeps appearing in my dreams over and over. Every single time. I don’t know what’s going on,” Mushitarou sighed. His face was fiery red now. Fyodor nodded. He had suspicions and this confirmed it. An incubus. Male demonic creatures who fed on sexual energy. Fyodor would have much preferred for it to be a succubus. A female. They were easy for him to deal with. He had no interest in women. But men offered him temptation.
“What does this man look like?” Fyodor probed. If he was going to get anywhere in dealing with this creature then he needed more information. Mushitarou looked at him.
“Y-You know what to do? Um… He’s tall with white hair in a braid. His clothes are strange. Much like a clown just without all the color. He’s very enthusiastic and excitable. I never know how to respond to him but he doesn’t seem to care,” Mushitarou explained. Fyodor hummed to acknowledge he was listening. It was rather bizarre. Incubi were often extremely conventionally attractive and dressed in a way to tempt people. All of the ones Fyodor had seen were like that. But this one was different. It only served to pique his interest more. “H-How am I supposed to deal with this situation?”
“It will be helpful if you give me your address and allow me to visit on occasion. I’ll be able to figure out more there. It won’t be a quick process. You’re dealing with a demonic entity,” Fyodor explained. He could see the doubt flash in Mushitarou’s eyes but the man willingly gave his information. “Thank you. I’ll make sure to call you before I visit. Would it be okay if I walk you home today? I would like to take a look outside of the house only today.”
Mushitarou nodded and led the priest out of the church. Fyodor felt the eyes of some of the followers on him. Fyodor rarely left the church seeing as his home was there. He had a room inside of the church and he barely had reason to leave. He paid no mind to the murmuring. Before they could get far, their walk was stopped by someone jumping on Mushitarou. The man hung on to him like he was a tree. Another man came running up.
“R-Ranpo-Kun! You can’t just jump on Mushitarou-Kun like that!” The man screamed. Fyodor knew both of these men. Edogawa Ranpo and Edgar Allen Poe. Fyodor knew much more about Ranpo compared to Poe since the latter was very reclusive and shy. Ranpo had solidified himself on Fyodor’s mind from the moment they met. Ranpo had immediately told him that he could see Fyodor’s true character. Fyodor had kept a close eye on him from then on, cautious of the man revealing anything. Ranpo reluctantly climbed off of Mushitarou at Poe’s insistence. It was only then that he seemed to notice Fyodor.
“Oh, hello Dostoyevsky,” he said casually. Fyodor nodded at him. “What are you doing with Mushitarou-Kun?”
“He was having some problems that I am going to investigate for him,” Fyodor explained. Ranpo scoffed.
“If he needed that then he would have just come to me. I’m the world’s greatest detective!” Ranpo exclaimed. Poe bowed to Fyodor.
“I-I’m sorry about Ranpo-Kun. I promise he’s a good person, he's just… Excitable,” Poe apologized. Fyodor chuckled. He waved off the apology. He truly didn’t care. His mind was set only on the incubus. He didn’t care about others respecting him either.