A/N: Uh oh! Haven't updated since last August and it's now January check! I apologize, I didn't have motivation to write and my interests kind of deviated away from DR. Ty all for reading though here's an update!

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"My dearest, have I ever shown you... The basement of my house?"

"You have a basement?!" You asked, dumbfounded.

That information would have been great to have known earlier when the two of you started dating. Often times you'd break out into fits of passion, making out excessively and not realizing the neighbours could've seen through Korekiyo's very open windows. It's embarrassing to even think of them seeing you two get intimate with each other. Being in a basement would have very much helped.

You were also very shocked by the fact that it took him so long to tell you he had a basement that you just so happened to have never seen in the countless times you had been to his house. For crying out loud, the two of you just got back from a vacation to Europe lately! A lot of fun things transpired and yet this man had the audacity to not tell you about his basement.

"I do have a basement, however I don't let anybody in there... Out of pure respect of what I keep in there, of course." Korekiyo explained, "However, you are special. Your presence fills me to the brim with feelings of love and you simply make my heart swell with every movement you make... In all my travels and all my pursuits of lust, nothing has ever made me as joyous as the sight of you. So what I am saying is... I trust you to see my basement. It is very important to me and I think it's time you know of it's existence."

You were definitely blushing. You could feel it. You know when you blush so hard that you can just feel how hot your cheeks are without even touching them? It was that kind of blush. Korekiyo was definitely the most poetic and well-spoken man you had ever heard. Every other man in your grade couldn't even figure out how to tell a girl he wanted to have sex without making it sound physically repulsive and disgusting. However, Korekiyo could say literally anything and you'd be weak in the knees instantly.

At this point you also began to wonder, if Korekiyo had hid his basement from you for months now and had not let anyone into it ever, what could be lurking down there? He said it was out of respect of what was down there, but what exactly was down there? Was he perhaps hiding a gigantic cryptic beast that could feast on humanity if not tamed by your boyfriend? Was he keeping a bunch of dead bodies trapped under there and convincing you to go down so you could just add to the pile? Was this all a scheme of some sorts? Or was he perhaps hiding... special tools and materials that could be used in various ways? You didn't want to overthink it, so you simply followed Kiyo to another room.

In the other room, Kiyo moved a floorboard out of place to reveal a hatch-like door with a noticable lock. Kiyo pulled out a ring of keys from one of his pockets and shuffled through them to find the right key to unlock it. The key was somewhat rusted and weathered, it looked as if it had been put to good use in it's time. Kiyo pulled the door open and revealed a flight of wooden stairs. "After you." He said.

You took a step onto the stairs and crawled down a little bit, only to get scared because of the anticipation for what could be down there. "Could you lead the way instead?" You asked.

"If that is what you would prefer, I will proceed to lead the way." He replied, beginning to climb down the old stairs and closing the door on his way.

There was no lights on the way down, it was basically pitch black. You couldn't see a thing other than the very vague outline of Korekiyo in front of you. He held onto your hand tightly and led you down the flight of stairs into a very cold, dark room. Kiyo let go of your hand and you felt startled the moment he did, but you felt relieved to see that Kiyo was still alive and was not swiped by a basement monster or anything unrealistic that your mind jumped to. He lit a match in the dark and opened up a lamp that was hanging on the wall, lighting a candle inside. With that you could begin to see your surroundings.

You observed the room as Korekiyo lit more matches and began to light up even more lamps in the room. This room was like a regular basement, but there was no lightswitch and no electric light sources. The room was exclusively candlelit. This gave it an eerie vibe. Around the room where various artifacts such as swords and other weaponry used by ancient soldiers, withered books, traditionally sculpted statues of creatures, monsters, and important figures, pieces of armour that were most likely worn by real samurai, and stone tablets with unidentifiable text and images. There were several framed pieces of artwork on the wall depicting blood stained battlefields, stories from mythology, and magnificent rulers from different periods in history. It was like a museum crammed into one room. Not what you expected.

At the end of the room, hanging on a wall, was a large painting of a woman. The painting had two lamps on either side of it, meaning it must have been important. The woman in the painting wore traditional Japanese clothing and had long, dark turquoise hair. Her lips were crimson red and her eyes were slightly closed, but underneath you could see gleaming yellow eyes. She looked like Korekiyo, but clearly more effeminate. She was sitting in what seemed to be a garden with cherry blossoms and shrubs behind her. It was a gorgeous work of art.

Underneath the painting was a wooden table that held a book. The book was very neatly placed, lining up with the centre of the painting, and it had a dark cover with no words on the front.

"Kiyo... What is this place?" You asked.

"This is the shrine of my studies." Kiyo explained, "I've been collecting and studying all of these relics to understand humanity for years now."

You were simply amazed at the dedication, tidiness, and atmosphere of this room. You could tell Kiyo truly cared about this place. You then took another glance at the large painting of the woman and then looked back at Kiyo. Breaking the silence, you asked, "Was this woman someone of importance to you, Kiyo?"

Kiyo turned his head towards the painting, "That... is a painting of my late sister. A local artist painted that piece for her before she became deathly ill and passed away."

He had told you about his sister's death in the past. You felt bad for bringing the painting up now, "I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't apologize! You see, my sister is the reason I became so fascinated with anthropology in the first place. This whole collection is one that I have done in her honour, to remember her in a way that is beautiful, rather than being upset. Some of these objects are ones that she obtained in her time and then passed on to me! I believe there is a life after death, and in a way I believe my sister still lives on in the form of this room. That is the reason I don't let anyone in, simply because it is near and dear to me as a person." Korekiyo explained.

You were amazed once again at Kiyo's dedication and passion. You didn't want to touch anything, so you simply gestured towards the book underneath the painting, "Is this book related to her too?"

"That was my old journal I used to record my studies while my sister was ill," Kiyo said, "You may flip through it if you please."

You gently turned over each page in the old journal, glossing over scribbles, drawings, notes, all about culture and various other things. On the very last page of the book there was simply one sentence and nothing more on the page.

Find somebody to share your passion with, and may it carry on until the day you meet me again, Korekiyo.

You hadn't realized, but Kiyo was hunched over your shoulder watching you go through the book. He commented on the last page, "Those were my sister's dying words. The last thing she ever uttered. I wrote them down to remember."

"She really did mean a lot to you, huh..."

"Are you speechless?"

You chuckled, "Yeah, very much so."

"Would you perhaps like to go back upstairs and do something a little more... fun?"

"No, I think I'll stay here a moment. Take everything in, you know?"

"Alright, I will be upstairs when you are finished observing. I trust you enough to not tarnish this room. Be sure to blow out all the lamps on your way out." Korekiyo said, walking out of the room.

You closed the journal and put it neatly back into place the way Kiyo had it before. You walked another lap of the room, absorbing the energy that the room gave off. As you blew out all the candles and made your way back to the stairs leading upwards, you let out a deep breath and looked back to where the painting of Kiyo's sister probably sat in the darkness of the basement.

One thing was certain, after that day, you felt a deeper connection to Korekiyo.

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A/N: This is such a bad place to put this note but I'd like to note that in this fic it's different than canon. In this fic, Korekiyo's sister wasn't abusive or manipulative and was simply a regular older sister who got Kiyo into anthropology and then died. This also means Korekiyo isn't into his sister, the whole mess with Kiyo taking off his mask to play the role of his sister isn't a thing, and he's not murdering women to give her friends in the afterlife.