Get Black Out: Alv.

She’s Holding on my Heart like a Handgrenade.

Chapter four: The Panic, The Vomit. (From a Great Height).

Getting back into routine after the eternity devil was quite easy. Aki and I kept going on patrols and even had training sessions with Himeno, Arai, and Kobeni. The latter two had apologized about trying to sacrifice Denji, and I forgave them. I knew they were going through a lot of stress like the rest of us, so I can’t really hold it against them. Not to mention I still wanted to be friends. Even then I could tell how awkward the air has been since the incident, but with time hopefully it’ll dissipate. Nonetheless, life continued as usual. Breakfast was still chaotic as always, training with Aki was going well, my relationship with power was…something, and Denji and I were doing well. In short, things were going well. Though me and Denji hadn’t been able to go on any dates, whether it be due to work or chores. Not to mention Power always wanting to be a part of everything we do, but even if seeing them prank Aki was amusing it was also suffocating. Luckily, tonight all of us were heading to a little party with others from work.

I was so excited, I had all but begged with Aki to let us go shopping for some new clothes. Reluctantly he agreed and I managed to find a nice purple sundress, it was so cute I had to buy it. So here we were, at a nice restaurant with Himeno and the others, as well as some coworkers we hadn’t met before. It was great, everyone was having a fun time. At least I was, Denji and I were talking and I occasionally chatted with Arai and Kobeni. The food was amazing, so many foods I’ve never tried before. Though I hated that Power was hogging all the fried chicken,

“Power share!” I tried to grab a wing.

“Hands off harlot!” she simply yelled as she shoved more food into her mouth.

“Hey, Himeno? So about that advice.” My ears perked up as I heard Denji talk to a practically drunk Himeno. To think he was actually deadset on getting the advice that will make head over heels for him, too bad he doesn’t realize I already am. But who am I to ruin his fun?

“Ehh? Oh right I guess I do owe you it.” Himeno said clearly tipsy. “Enjoy the night first Denji, but don’t worry I’ll give you all the details.”

At that Denji smiled like he had found gold.

“So will you forgive us for trying to kill you, Denji?” Himeno asked.

“Dude, all is forgiven! Super forgiven!” Denji exclaimed, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Suddenly the man sitting next to Denji grabbed his shoulder, he then told Denji that since this was a welcoming party for new recruits that we had to introduce ourselves.

“My name is Denji. I’m 16, If I remember right. My hobbies are eating and sleeping!” Denji introduced himself, and his age shocked many of the people there. Himeno quickly made sure Denji hadn’t drank any alcohol, which he hadn’t. Next Arai and Kobeni introduced themselves, leaving me last.

“My name is Reze. I think I’m also 16. And my hobbies are, um. I actually don’t have any hobbies.” I answered honestly, which earned me some looks.

“Man Aki, do you let Reze do anything?” Himeno asked.

“She can do whatever she pleases, she is just a hard worker.” Aki answered, and the others, San Himeno, Arai, and Kobeni, were surprised to see Aki somewhat complementing someone else. “Though I agree, Reze you should look into hobbies.”

“I will, eventually.” I said sticking my tongue out at him.

“Hey Fushi, where’s your rookie?” Himeno asked the man.

“I’m sad to report that they were killed yesterday.” He answered, leaving Kobeni, Arai, and I shocked. When questioned about the mortality rate we didn’t really receive a reassuring answer. I thought back to how Aki had told me it’d be better to find a different career, one that didn’t involve devil hunting. And honestly part of me really did consider it, but how could I just turn and run with my tail between my legs? Not after going through everything me and Denji had, and especially not after being given this opportunity.

I then started thinking, what else would I even do? Like I had mentioned before, I don’t have any hobbies, nor interest. Maybe I should find something I like, but what would that be? What do normal people even do?

“Where would I even begin?” I mumbled to myself.

“Begin what?” I suddenly jumped as Makima was right next to my face.

“M-Miss Makima! You scared me.” I said.

“My apologies Reze, and apologize for my tardiness.” Makima sat down and ordered some drinks.

I immediately took note of how tense it immediately got when she arrived, but I didn’t think much of it. Probably just everyone being nervous around the boss. Though, I did notice Aki and Himeno were ordering more beer and drinking, as well as asking Miss Makima to keep drinking. It was weird to say the least.

“Is this what adults do? Just drink the night away?” I asked Denji as he ate his food.

“I don’t know, but that beer can’t be that good?” He replied. I decided to push my luck.

“Hmm, Hey Aki-”

“No”

“Alrighty.”

Soon it seemed both Aki and Himeno passed out, and Makima, in my mind at least, was crowned the queen of drinking.

“Sooo, are we going to have to carry Aki home now?” I asked.

“Probably, god what a pain in the ass it’s gonna be.” Denji groaned.

“It won’t be too bad. Look, you grab his legs and I’ll grab his arms.” I suggested, it was only when I saw Himeno grab Denji’s shoulder that I realized shit was about to hit the fan.

“Denjiiiiiii, are you ready for that advice I promised you?” Himeno slurred out.

“Um, are you okay?” Denji asked.

“Yep! Never been better!”

“Miss Himeno? Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you could pass out again at any moment.” I asked, concerned evident in my voice.

“Psssh, don’t worry Reze, I've drank a lot more than this.” She brushed my concerns off as she made Denji face towards her. “Now Denji, to make Reze love you even more you have too…”

Himeno stopped talking and had this distant look in her eyes, and everyone turned to look at her.

“I have to what THE FUCK!” Denji yelled, without warning Himeno started vomiting all over Denji. It stained his pants and shirt as he was mortified. I was also mortified, it was so disgusting that I also threw up too. Some people were laughing while others showed pity and remorse, Power was the loudest of all. In the end Denji ended up running to the bathroom, with Arai going to help him wash off the puke. Leaving us there to clean up the mess.

“Oh God, Miss Himeno? Are you okay?” I asked the one eyed woman.

“Hmmm? Yeah, I’m fine Reze.” Himeno said, Fushi then got up and sighed.

“Well, that’s our queue to start heading out.” He said as Power reluctantly let go of the chicken and helped Aki up. Once we were outside Denji and Arai joined us, and to put it nicely Denji looked like he had just walked out of hell.

“Hey Denji, you okay?” I asked him.

“No, god what a fucking night.” He sighed, he looked ready to pass out. In fact he did, I managed to catch him but holding him was a bit hard since he had gone limp.

“Let me help you.” Himeno said she was still somewhat waisted but seemed sober enough now, after the whole pule incident.

“Are you sure Miss Himeno?” I asked.

“Yeah, after all that. It’s the least I can do.” She ruffled my hair as she put Denji on his back. “How about I make it up to you both, come to my place. We can watch some movies and all that.”

“You sure? You drank a lot, like a lot a lot.”

“Don’t worry, my place isn’t too far from here.” Himeno assured me, and maybe in another world she was drunker than she was now. Luckily puking must have gotten most of the alcohol out of her system.

I decided I did want to end this night on a better note.

“Okidokie!” And so we were off.

Once we made it to Himeno’s place, she allowed me to borrow her clothes for the night.

“Go change in the bathroom, I’m going to put Denji in my bed so he can rest a bit.” She said, “After you I’ll change and grab some water. God, I’m going to have such a bad hang over tomorrow!”

“You did that to yourself, Miss Himeno!” I said from the bathroom, her Tshirt was definitely a bit bigger than I expected. It looked like I was wearing a dress, nonetheless I put it on and let my hair down. Stepping out I looked around her apartment, noting how nice it was. I would love to come hang out here more often, maybe I could convince Aki to allow us to come visit when we can?

“Alright, Denji’s in bed. Let’s get comfy shall we?” Himeno said she was wearing a gray tank top and panties.

“Miss Himeno? Don’t you wear anything else at night?” I asked, looking at her night time attire.

“Heh, no. What? You worried my striking good looks will steal your boyfriend?”

“Maybe the old Denji, but the new Denji wouldn’t dare.” I joked, “though, he would still stare heh.”

“You’re right.” We both giggled.

Soon we made our way to her couch, Himeni had grabbed a bottle of water. Though, she was tempted by greater evils to grab more beer. But seeing as there were two minors in her home, she opted not too. She made some popcorn and we chose a cheesy romcom to watch.

“Denji, is gonna have one hella headache when he gets up.” Himeno said drinking some water. “I should probably grab some medicine for him when he does.”

Right on que Denji entered the living room, looking like he had just exited hell.

“Ugh, my head feels like it’s splitting open.” He complained as he slightly slurred out his words. “Where are we?”

“You’re in my home kid, thought I’d make up puking on you.” Himeno explained as she got up. “Let me grab you some medicine for that headache of yours.”

As Himeno went to grab them, Denji made his way over to me.

“Reze,” Denji whined as he plopped onto my lap. “I feel like shit.”

“Well to put it lightly, Denji. You look like shit.” I told him honestly.

“Not nice.”

“I still love you though, even if you got puked on by another lady.” I joked.

“That’s not funny Reze! It was so gross! Fuck, my head!” He held his head.

“Sorry, Denji. But it is a bit funny, as messed up as it was.” I told him and I brushed his hair with my hand.

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you were the one who got puked all over.”

“Probably, but hey!” I pulled out two lollipops Makima had handed me after the puke incident. “Miss Makima was kind enough to give us these!”

I handed one to him.

“Maybe it will make the night taste a bit better. And,” I leaned down and kissed him. “Maybe that too.”

“Definenitly!” Denji replied with a smile and blush. “Maybe another one will help too?”

“Sure why not!” I kissed him again.

Chance Encounters.

Chapter four: Frightened.

Grey wouldn’t say she’s in love, would she? Could she still love? She couldn’t even love herself. Years under her step-family’s thumb had left her broken not knowing what love was anymore. The only thing of love she could even faintly remember was the love her parents gave her, yet that, like most of her past life, was fleeting and fading. So how could she possibly say she’s in love? That was what Grey had on her mind as she ate the breakfast the church provided, the meal was nice, the nicest thing she’d had in a long while. Yet she couldn’t enjoy it fully because of her thoughts, currently she and Gauche had gone silent as they ate. And there was an obvious tension between them. Grey blamed herself for the tension, she believed that if she had kept her mouth shut and not mentioned the night before the tension wouldn’t be there. Obviously to anyone else it wasn’t her fault, but she didn’t know that. So now she thought there, awkward, uncomfortable, and anxious. On the other end of the spectrum, Gauche wasn’t.

He remembered love well, like the unconditional love his mother gave to him and Marie, or the stern yet caring love he received from his father, not to mention the sibling love he and Marie shared. But it was the cruelty of the world that had locked up that love away from him, only Marie could retrieve even a small amount of love he once had. But now? Well Grey was with them, and Gauche doesn’t exactly know what to feel. At this point his distrust of her has started to dissolve, not entirely obviously but she has shown she can be someone to depend on. But if anything he felt more pity for her than anything, if that was even possible for him to do. Ever since his parents murder, he’s had an apathetic personality to anyone that wasn’t him or his sister. But with Grey he did show some empathy, he practically put himself all on display to her last night. And with that conversation they had last night of her being afraid of fire, and how she looked when they first met Grey he had come to the conclusion she came from an abusive household. The only thing that alluded him was if the abuse came from her parents, or siblings. Unconsciously Gauche’s grip on his fork tightened, he had a memory of when he was asleep in his mother’s lap, well not entirely asleep. He remembers laying there as his father opened up to Gauche’s mom after a visit from his father’s uncle. He heard his father mention how when they were kids Gauche’s uncle abused him, mentally and physically. So bad he left home just at eighteen with nothing to his name. Their parents did nothing about it because they didn’t care for Gauche’s father. But in the end Gauche’s father became a successful and wealthy noble, who cared for his wife and kids and taught Gauche at a young age to always treat Marie how he wanted to be treated, he became the best person his family ever was. He was always a role model to Gauche henceforth why he cares for Marie the way he does. But maybe that’s why his father and mother were murdered in the first place. Gauche’s other relatives had always been greedy and selfish, so with his father becoming wealthy it was bound to attract trouble. And Gauche had no doubt his uncle ordered the hit.

Gauche was so lost in thought he didn’t even realize sister Theresa was talking to them.

“Hey brat, you listening?" She said as he finally zoned in.

“What old hag?”

“You’re such an idiot,” She sighed. “I was saying you three can stay here for a couple nights, Grey and Marie can sleep in my room, and you can sleep in a guest room.”

“O-Oh no, I could never do that ma’am. Marie and G-Gauche can have it and I can sleep in a guest room.”

Gauche turned to her, his eyes squinting as if trying to examine her. Grey noticed and blush, hiding her face behind her hands.

“W-Why are you looking at me like that!?” Grey yelled behind her hand.

“Because, no sane person would willingly give up a better bed.” He responded like this was common knowledge.

“B-Because you and Marie have been traveling longer than m-me! A-and you carried me here s-so you need more rest.”

“Well isn’t that new, is this true brat?.” Theresa turned her eyes to look at Gauche again.

“What of it?” Gauche now turned away.

“Nothing, just never thought you’d do something that nice for anyone else but yourself.”

“Tch, shut it old hag.”

“Well regardless, I still suggest you and Marie should take my room. Especially with those burns you have on your arm.” Theresa pointed to some burns on Grey’s forearm.

Grey squeaked in embarrassment and shock, she quickly went to cover her arm in shame. Gauche’s head jolted up and looked at her arm, as she indeed had burns. Bad ones by the looks of it. It seemed neither of them had noticed the burns until Sister pointed them out. And Grey looked panicked.

“T-Those are nothing! T-They’re just marks, yeah marks! I probably got them this morning by accident!” She rambled off as if trying to cover a murder scene, but obviously neither Gauche or Theresa bought it. Like Gauche, Theresa from the moment she met Grey knew something was wrong. The way she carried herself, and the fact she got nervous or jumped at any mere moment was enough to cause Theresa to assume the worst. It wouldn’t be the first time someone from that background made their way here, both intentional and unintentional.

“They look more than just marks, Gauche, mind taking her to the room after you two finish eating? I’ll call a medic to look at those burns.” Theresa asked Gauche, and other times he would have told her to screw off. Just this once, he nodded his head in agreement.

“No need to d-do that, please.” Grey almost pleaded, like it was overkill. “I-It really is nothing!”

“Would you shut up and eat?” Gauche said in annoyance, what he wasn’t expecting was for Grey to do so. Almost on cue, and that raised concern in both Theresa and Gauche because of her body language.

“I-I’m sorry.” Grey said in a quiet yet broken voice.

“Grey…I didn’t mean to-” Gauche tried apologizing but Theresa put a hand on his shoulder, signaling to not make things worse. “Just… finish up eating.”

After that the rest of the meal was tense, and now it was Gauche’s fault to feel bad. He hadn’t meant to talk to her that way, especially with the little background knowledge he had on her. This was also a new feeling for Gauche, never once had he felt shame for saying to someone in a mean tone. He knew he could be blunt and overall rude, but most times it was just him being honest about how he feels. Yet with Grey, it almost felt wrong. He would have to find a way to apologize to her later. After their breakfast Marie went to go play with the other children, leaving Gauche and Grey to go to the room to see the medic.

The check up was embarrassing for Grey, she felt like such a burden. All of this to her was a waste of time because she felt like she didn’t deserve this, even if everyone around her said otherwise. In the end there was nothing that could be done about the burns, but the medic did say it shouldn’t affect her day to day life. But if any kind of pain or discomfort did start occurring, go to a medic immediately. Furthermore, they mentioned that these burns didn’t seem accidental. Not like she had gotten them from accidentally having her arms over the fire, no. It more so seemed like they were on purpose, not from her, but more so from an outside force. This only further confirmed Gauche’s theory that she came from an abusive home, but Grey’s magic didn’t have anything to do with fire, unless one of her parents happened to have a fire affinity. In any case, he noticed Grey’s face pale, almost like they were about to discover her biggest crime.

“Miss Grey, did someone do this to you?” the medic asked.

“N-no!” she answered, but it seemed so forced. Like she has been trained to answer that specific question.

“Miss Grey, I can assure you who over did this too you can’t hurt you anymore.”

“What m-makes you believe anyone hurt me?” she asked in an attempt to deflect the question, all the while she began to panic more and more.

“Grey, just answer the question.” Gauche tried to jump in, but it only caused Grey to panic more. And it looked like she would break at any moment.

“Nothing happened! Nothing n-nothing happened!” She repeated.

“Enough, may you two leave so I can talk to Grey?” Theresa asked Gauche and the medic, and Gauche wanted to say no, to stay, because now whether he realized or not. He was feeling something he only ever felt for Marie, concern.

“I’m not going to leave old hag, if she wants to travel with me and Marie then I need to-”

“Gauche, we can bicker about anything else any other time. But just this once do what I say.” Theresa said with a firmness Gauche had only seen from his mother, and for once he decided to not fight with Theresa.

“Fine…” Gauche responded as he left the room with the Medic.

Theresa turned back to Grey, but Grey had run off from the bed and into the corner of the room. Her gray eyes stared at Theresa’s form in absolute fear, like she was preparing for the worse. It broke Theresa’s heart, because by now she had put the puzzle pieces together. From what she has gathered from the burns, Grey’s mannerisms, and her actions now. She knows what her home life was like, all that was left was discovering who the culprit was. So she walked calmly to Grey who was trying her best to shrink, and when Theresa reached her arm out Grey flinched. Grey expected the typical fire her Step-sisters would send at her, but not the warm feeling of someone caressing her cheek.

“It is okay child, I’m not going to hurt you.” Theresa said in a calm motherly tone, she was crouched down in front of Grey. “Whatever happened before, it won’t hurt you anymore.”

For a minute Grey waited, waited for a fire ball to hit her, a slap to connect to her face. But it never came, instead her breathing started to slow as a calming warmth enveloped her.

“You don’t have to tell me a thing, not now or ever if you don’t want to.” Theresa said, just as Gauche had said. “But, tell me…was it your father?”

Grey shook no, her dad would never.

“Mother?”

Once again she shook her head no, her mother was too kind to do so.

“Siblings?”

Once again no, because Grey didn’t consider them her sisters.

“Then…was it a step family?”

When Grey didn’t respond with no, Theresa knew she had found her answer.

“Don’t worry, they will never harm you again. We can stop them if you wish, I know magic knights who would be more than willing to bring people like that to justice.” Theresa told Grey as she slowly hugged the blue-haired girl, and for a moment Grey pondered it.

She would love nothing more than finally getting back at her step family, getting her home back, and doing her parents justice. But is she ready? Could she ever face her step family? Was it too late already? She is sure they must have come up with a lie, saying she had died tragically. Maybe even saying she was so heartbroken of her father’s death, she took her own life, not that it would have been untrue if Gauche hadn’t found and saved her. But even then, what would she do after that? She would still be all alone.

“I…I don’t know…I’d be all alone again…” Grey managed to crook out.

“That’s okay, it doesn’t have to be now.” Theresa told her. “When you’re ready, I can help.”

“W-what if I never am?”

“You will one day, it just takes time dear.” Theresa brushed Grey’s hair. “Even if you think you never will be, just know you are stronger than you think you are. I can tell you’ve been broken, the girl you once were eroded away by people who have used and abused you your entire life. But I can tell that girl is resilient, and still in there. She hasn’t lost the fight just yet.”

“H-How do you know that?”

“Because my sweet, I can still see the fire in your eyes. It hasn’t been snuffed out just yet, it just needs to be ignited once again.” Theresa said as she felt Grey begin to calm down.

“H-How will I know I’m ready?”

“When the time has come, you will know. It could be tomorrow, next week, or a year. Don’t try to rush it, take your time and grow, become who you want to be. Just always remember I’m here to help if you’re ever in trouble, though. You’re traveling with that brat, and as bratty as he is I trust him to keep you safe.”

“I-I don’t know if Gauche will let me continue traveling with him and Marie. So far I feel like I’ve been such a burden.” Grey admitted the feelings she’s long felt since joining the siblings on their travels.

“If that’s truly the case, of which I highly doubt, then you have a place here.”

“Sister! I-I could never! I’d be a burden!” Grey protested.

“Again with the burden talk, listen here dear. You are not a burden, you will never be a burden. So don’t ever say you are one, understand?”

“Y-yea ma’am!” Grey said.

“Good, now how about we get you some new clothing.” Theresa suggested, this caused Grey to realize she’s been wearing the same outfit since she met Gauche.

Chapter 4: I was there on the day they sold the cause for the queen.

The next morning was surprisingly peaceful, well as peaceful as it can get when a fiend keeps trying to snatch your breakfast. But it was peaceful nonetheless, for the most part it felt weird knowing me and Denji shared our first intimate moment together. Yet it also felt nice, this was a big step in our relationship, and if our lovesick faces to one another and Aki’s actual sick looking face when he caught us was anything to go off of. Then things were going great, even Power couldn’t ruin this. So we all got ready for work, with Aki having Denji, power, and me walking to the office. Aki said he and Himeno were going to investigate a devil report.

“Going off on a date?” I giggled as I waited for the other two to finish up.

“This is purely work, Reze.” Aki responded deadpan.

“Okay okay, just be home before seven and wear a rubber.” That made him choke on his coffee.

“Reze!”

“Just kidding!” I laughed hysterically.

After a bit Aki recollected himself, he placed his coffee down.

“Reze, Denji has to fill out some forms in regards to the bat devil. I’ve asked Miss Makima to allow you to be there to learn how to file them out.” He told me.

“Ugh, paperwork? That’s boring, boring, boring.” I whined.

“I get that, but it’s necessary.”

“Fine! But I want curry tonight then!”

“Bargening now?”

“Curry!”

“Fine, you’ll get your curry.” He said as I smiled in victory.

But just like I predicted once we got started, I was bored out of my mind. Denji seemed to be in the same boat as me, neither of us were really interested in what Miss Makima was explaining to us. We knew it was important yet neither of us had to will to care, though it seemed Miss Makima noticed our apparent boredom

“You know, I hate making you do all this paper work. It’s almost like killing the bat devil was a bad thing.” She said, she then looked at us and asked. “Is something bothering you two?”

When she asked that I stopped and thought for a minute, was something bothering me? Really, the only thing that was bothering me was that Denji didn’t love me anymore. But that was put to rest after yesterday. But I could feel some sort of discomfort? I think that’s the best way I could describe it, this feeling of wanting to escape. I can’t explain why I felt this way, I mean I have a roof over my head, three meals a day, someone that I could view as an older sibling, and most importantly my boyfriend. Yet, I couldn’t shake this feeling of wanting something more.

“Well…the city is nice and all Miss Makima but…I don’t know, I just don’t think city life is for me.” I answered honestly. “I have this feeling of wanting to get away, maybe the city is a bit much for me.”

“I mean, we did live in the forest for a long while.” Denji said. “I’ll be honest, I can’t say I don’t miss it.”

Even though it was a time where we had suffered, Denji more than me. We were happy to an extent, we had each other, and Pochita. So suddenly being lifted to a better living condition in a new place, well it left room for nostalgia. Maybe I missed the country. I have always dreamed about living there with Denji and Pochita. Makima stared at us for a bit, she hummed to herself.

“And how about you Denji?” Makima asked him.

“Not much really, I got a place to sleep, food, and Reze. The only real thing bothering me is top knot being a jerk.” I couldn’t help but giggle a bit at his answer. “But if Reze isn’t happy, I gotta do something about it.”

That made me smile a bit.

“If that’s the case, then do you mind if I ask you two to do something for me?” Makima asked us.

“What is it, Miss Makima?” I asked as we watched her pull out a metal briefcase, inside there was something that could only be described as flesh like bullets. I didn’t understand why but I felt some kind of familiarity around it, but also an immense fear throughout my body.

“I want you two to defeat the Gun Devil, it appeared in America 13 years ago, but nobody where it is now.” She started explaining. “It’s a very strong devil that all the hunters want to kill. But I happen to think that the two of you can kill it.”

“Why do you say that Miss Makima?” Denji asked

“Because you’re not like any of the other devil hunters.” She simply told us. “If you are successful in killing the Gun Devil, I’ll make any wish of yours come true.”

“So like, if I wanted a nice house in the countryside where me and Reze could live?” Denji asked as I turned to look at him.

“I said anything, Denji.” Makima said.

“Anything? You could do that?” I was a bit skeptical.

“It’s only allowed because this devil is so strong and bad, mind you. People were trying to profit off of guns as a countermeasure against devils across the world. Which resulted in an increase in crime and conflict. The news focused on it for a while nonstop with people more afraid of gun violence than ever.”

“That does sound terrifying.”

“It was, furthermore, after a major armed terrorist attack happened in America. That was the day the Gun Devil appeared.” She continued. “In a little under five minutes 1.2 million people were killed. And the Gun Devil hasn’t been seen since, fear of devils across the board increased as a result. Making them all stronger than ever before.”

“O-Oh god…” was all I managed to get out, while my blood ran cold Denji continued to listen.

“Since then Gun control got a lot more severe in an attempt to weaken the Gun Devil, along with increased censorship of the news.”

“Hey Reze, you understanding this? Cause I’m not so sure I do.” Denji asked me.

“Well, um, let’s just say this Devil is strong Denji.” That was the best way I could explain best to him, and seemed to understand that.

“With that being said, do you think you can beat it, Denji?” Makima finally asked.

“Well, if I bust out all the stops.” He got up. “It’ll be a peace of cake!” He said as he held up the piece sign, as much as I loved his confidence I couldn’t help but worry. I mean we just heard how this devil killed millions of people in only a few short minutes, so part of me worried for him.

“And what about you Reze?” Makima turned to me and I nearly froze when I saw the loon in her eyes.

“Well, I may not be a devil like Denji. But I will try my best to even get close to killing it, Miss Makima.” I said with all the confidence I could muster.

“In that case, first we need to find the gun devil.”

“Um, Miss Makima. How are we going to do that?” I asked, as she motioned back to the briefcase. From there she explained that the Gun Devil moves so fast pieces of its flesh rip off, and that if a Devil eats it they become more powerful. Furthermore, when the piece of the gun devil reaches a certain size they’re attracted to the original body. Meaning if we find enough pieces we find the Gun Devil. Afterwards we had to wait for Himeno and Aki to return from their mission, and we had to prepare since we had a report of a devil in a hotel. Luckily it gave me and Aki enough time to learn the basics of sword fighting, and a few light sparring sessions. But soon we made our way to the hotel, alongside Arai, Himeno, and Kobeni. I was glad to see them all again, though I wasn’t happy Power had come along. But me and her have been getting on better terms, slightly. But she and Denji seemed to be getting along better.

“It’s hiding somewhere in this hotel,” Aki said. “This is no ordinary Devil, it’s eaten a piece of the Gun Devil’s flesh.”

“Maybe it’s the real Gun Devil.” Denji said with a bored expression.

“I don’t know Denji, if it was the flesh would probably be going crazy.” I responded.

“You’re right Reze, the bigger the flesh the stronger the attraction. The reaction isn’t strong enough.” Aki said.

“Told ya!” I giggled, but internally I was relieved.

“Guess you are.” Denji said still bored.

“How amusing, give that thing to me!” Power practically commanded to Aki, who in turn just stared at them coldly.

“I thought I told you two to work on your manners, like Reze.” He said.

“Awe, thank you Aki!” I smiled at the compliment. Though Denji and Power started talking back to Aki until he gave them gum to shut up.

“Here Reze,” Aki gave me two pieces of gum.

“Thank you!”

“Why does that harlot get two!?” Power yelled.

“Because she’s behaving.” Aki responded as I stuck my tongue out at her when Aki wasn’t looking.

“Hayakawa, considering we’re about to fight some devils. Can we really trust these two to watch our backs?” Arai mentioned and while I understood where he was coming, I felt like he had to have some faith in Denji.

“We can’t let them watch our backs. On extermination missions, they’ll be taking point. If they try to run or switch sides, we kill them.” When he said that last part he looked at me.

“Aki, I don’t know if I can.” I started before Aki cut me off.

“Reze, regardless of your connection. It is imperative you don’t let emotions get in the way in what could be a life or death situation.” He simply said.

“Wow, treating us like livestock.” Power said.

“You two don’t get rights.” Aki said.

They started talking amongst themselves about the bat incident, and to be fair I was on Aki’s side about them being reckless. Though Denji then said he deserved an award, I was close to bringing up what we did but remembered that’s not something you should say out loud and in public no less.

“Got it! I’ll take one for the team. Whoever kills the devil will win a kiss from me on the cheek!” Himeno announced.

While Arai was freaking out and saying how Himeno shouldn’t do that, Denji just looked confused and not interested at all.

“But doesn’t a reward help with motivation?” Himeno asked as she grabbed me and Kobeni into a hug.

“Miss Himeno, you’re heavy!” I complained. All the while Denji looked at the building.

“I don’t need a kiss, I got motivation plenty." He said as we stared at him. “I got someone already for that, I’m gonna find all these meat chunks or whatever for her so I can kill the Gun Devil. That way we can get an even better life.”

“I see and who might that special someone be?” Himeno asked, curious.

“You’re hugging her.” He pointed to me. Now it was my turn to be stared at by the trio.

“W-What!? But Reze said she had a boyfriend!” Kobeni said.

“Yeah, well he’s my boyfriend.” I gave a shaky smile.

“B-But how could someone like him be with someone like you!?” Arai said almost like a matter of fact.

“Hey I’m right here jackass!” Denji yelled at him.

“It’s a long story, Arai.” I told the older man.

“Well, if that’s the case.” Himeno walked up to Denji. “If you kill the Devil, I’ll..” I couldn’t hear that last part, but if Denji’s crazy expression had anything to say. Well, I was worried. So as he ran off ahead and Arai followed close behind I turned to look at Himeno with a worried expression, yet she just smiled at me.

“Don’t worry, I just said that if he kills the Devil I’d tell him how to make you even more in love with him.” She explained, and I not only laughed but blushed.

“God, I love him.” I said.

“I still wonder how.” Aki said sarcastically.

“Don’t ruin it Aki!” I said as we followed the guys.

Once we were inside we walked up the different floors, we ended up on floor eight where Arai slammed Denji into the wall.

“Himeno’s been nice enough to train me for the last six months! I don’t what she offered you but for her and Reze’s sake I’ll kill the devil!” Arai proclaimed, and I couldn’t help but giggle slightly knowing what Miss Himeno really offered Denji. Soon Power went over to join in on the fun and Kobeni followed behind to try and calm the situation down, I decided to go join in just for fun. Soon a hell broke loose with Power fueling the fire, and the boys being boys. We kept walking after that and soon I found myself getting bored, compared to everything that happened yesterday this was a downgrade. That was until Miss Himeno stopped up.

“Aki, incoming.” She said as we watched a door open and this weird head with a hand and foot came out of it

In an instant it jumped to attack Kobeni but was stopped mid air, almost like it was stuck in place.

“It can fly?” I asked, suddenly Power cut it in half.

“Damnable devil! Did you see how it floated in fear of me?”

“I don’t think that’s what happened, Power.” I said while trying to get Kobeni off of me.

“You dare underestimate me harlot?”

“I’m not, Kobeni, please get off of me!”

“B-But what if there is another Devil, Reze!”

“Reze is right, that was my power.” Himeno explained, we all turned to look at her. “I’ve got a contract with the Ghost Devil. I served up my right eye in exchange for being able to use a ghost’s right hand.”

“You can?” I asked.

“Yep yep, pretty cool huh?”

“That is! Aki, can I get a contract with the Ghost Devil?” I asked as if I was asking for a toy.

“We’ll talk about it later, Reze.”

“Anyways, how about it, Aki? Has he got any of the gun devil’s flesh?” Himeno asked as Aki kneeled down.

“No strong reaction. This isn’t the one.”

“I see, guess we better keep heading up.” Himeno said. And so we continued our trek up, yet with every step it felt like we were walking an eternity. Though it seemed I was right when Arai pointed out that we were supposed to go to the ninth floor.

“Wait wait wait, what just happened?” I asked, for Arai just went downstairs only to come from the upstairs side.

“Kobeni, make a double peace sign, and stay put.” Himeno said as she ran downstairs, only for the same thing with Arai to happen to her. And now we were starting to panic, Kobeni more than all of us.

“A-Aki what’s happening?” I asked as I stepped back.

“It has to be the work of a devil.” Aki answered as he then went into a room only to exit from the opposite side.

“Reze, follow me” Denji said as we entered a room only for it to happen to us. “None of these rooms go anywhere, they just open to the room across the hall.”

“We’re trapped in here! No way out and I doubt we can communicate with the outside world!” I said.

“I figured as much, we’re trapped on the eighth floor.” Aki said. After a bit we decided to hold up in one of the rooms, we needed to calm down and gather our thoughts. In an attempt to calm myself down I laid with Denji in the bed, I hugged him as he rubbed my back.

“Let’s run through what we know. This is probably the devil’s doing and no matter how many times we try to go to a different floor, we end up in the eighth again. The elevators are inoperable and there’s no way outside via the rooms or any windows. And we can’t go through the ceiling either.” Aki relaid everything we’ve learned, yet it didn’t do anything to calm us.

“Maybe it’s because Power killed that Devil.” Denji suggested.

“Maybe, it did start after the devil died.” I added on. “It could have been using its power before it died, and now.”

“You commanded me to kill it, harlot!” Power yelled in my face.

“I didn’t! Get out of my face, you reek!” I yelled back as I pushed her.

“A Devil’s power is released when they die, it can’t be that.” Aki told us.

“Then what is it?” I said now sitting up. “Are we trapped here forever?”

“Hard to tell really. Aki, is the flesh reacting?” Himeno asked.

“Actually, it’s gone dead still.” Aki said, holding out the necklace.

“The devil was bait, and we bit it hard. Haven’t seen a devil this clever.” She said as continued to smoke.

“But if no one hears from us for a while won’t other devil hunters show up to help?” Arai asked.

“I guess we better hope they don’t fall into the same kind of trap, then.” Himeno simply told him.

“We’re all going to die here, we’re all going to starve to death.” Kobeni said in a broken voice.

“Don’t say that Kobeni! Everything will be fine I promise!” I told her to cheer her up.

“Yeah, hang in there Kobeni. Didn’t you become a devil hunter to send your brother to college.” Arai joined me in cheering her up.

“They basically forced me to do it.” Kobeni admitted, and they shut us both up. “My parents are set on my older brother going to college, since he’s the gifted one. So they made me get a job, it was become a Devil hunter or a sex worker! I wanted to go to college, too! And now I’m going to die here!”

Kobeni began to bawl her eyes out, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. While I may not remember my parents, I sure as hell know that’s not something a parent should do. But before I or anyone could do anything Power began to laugh manically, like this was entertaining to her.

“Her Face!” Power laughed.

“Stop it! Quit laughing!” Arai shouted at the fiend.

“Kobeni, Devil’s love fear. If you get scared, you’re giving them what they want, sweetie.” Himeno comforted the girl.

“But I’m so scared!” Kobeni confessed.

Himeno then looked at Aki who had a concerned look on his face, and when asked about it he told us the clock has been stuck on 8:18 in every room.

“There’s a chance that time has been frozen here on the eighth floor. If that’s the case, no one is coming.” He explained.

“Oh shit, that means we can sleep as much as we want!” Denji said, like he had discovered gold.

“Denji, I don’t think that’s the take away we needed!” I scolded him.

“Hey it’s true is it not?”

“Reze is right, we might be trapped here forever.” Arai agreed with me.

“I mean, we might be, but we might not be, y’know.”

“No Denji, we don’t know!” I said back to him.

“Whatever, wake me up when you figure it out.” Denji said as he pulled me into a hug.

“Denji! Let me go! This is no time for cuddles!” I yelled as I tried to squirm out. “Dammit”

“He’s actually asleep.”

“Aki help me out!” I pleaded.

“No point now, just lay there for a bit Reze.” He responded.

“Aki!”

After a few minutes of me being stuck in Denji’s grasp I did end up taking a short nap, but when Himeno woke me up she explained what I missed, that being Arai and Kobeni’s current state. Aki being stubborn, and Power being…well Power. Out of boredom I decided to roam the halls with Aki to take my mind off of things.

“Anything interesting happen?” I asked him as I approached.

“Not in the slightest, just the same as before.” He said with a sigh.

“Man, how boring, boring, boring, boring.” I slightly whined, I took my sword out just for the hell of it. “Sigh, just our luck, huh?”

“I guess so.”

We continued what seemed like a pointless hunt, and by god was I starting to get irritated. Maybe it was hunger or genuine boredom, but I was pissed and it showed.

“God, where is the damn Devil!”

“Reze, calm yourself. I know this is a bad situation, but we have to keep a calm mind. If the devil sees us crack it will use it as an advantage.”

“But I’m tired Aki, I wanna go home and rest in MY bed!” I bowed my head in defeat.

“I promise we will get out of here, we just have to find the devil responsible for this.”

“Well that seems easier said than done. Can I have a smoke?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“First, you’re underage. Second, because I’m out anyway so I couldn’t give you one if I wanted to.” He admitted as he showed me the empty box.

“Why do you even smoke?”

“It’s…complicated.” With that answer there was a moment of silence.

“Hey, Aki?”

“Yes?”

“This may be a bit weird but…can I hug you?”

“Why?” he asked, not looking at me.

“It’s just with all of this I feel really stressed, and if I’m being honest I feel scared. I just really need a hug right now.” I told him honestly.

“Why not ask Denji for a hug?”

“I don’t know if he’s awake or not, and I don’t really like waking him up.”

“Just…this once okay?”

I immediately hugged him tightly, this was just what I needed. Aki has been what I imagine what having a brother is like, someone who cares for you. And while I learned he may not be open to the idea of seeing me as a sister, especially with what happened to his family, maybe one day he will see me as his sister. Until then I am just happy for small moments like this.

“Sorry.” I said as I let him go.

“You’re alright. Feel better now?” He asked as he patted my head.

“Yeah, thanks again.”

After a few more what felt like hours of searching, we decided to fit the silence with conversation. The typical conversations about food, favorite pass times, and movies. But soon Aki asked me a question I wasn’t ready for.

“Reze, why do you always wear that choker? I’ve never seen you take it off, not for bed or anything.” He asks.

I froze, like what do I tell him? Or yeah I just have this pin in my neck! Neither my boyfriend nor I know what it is, and I’m afraid if I pull it I’ll die! But that’s completely normal! Like that would be crazy to say! I could lie, but I also feel bad lying to him, especially since Aki has been nothing but honest to me. But I also didn’t want him to look at me any different, so I decided on a half truth.

“If I can be honest,” I’m not. “Remember when I said Denji got it for me?”

“When we went to pick up Miss Makima I believe.”

“We it’s very special to me, I’m scared of losing it. That’s why I always wear it, that way I also have something from Denji with me when we’re apart.” I hoped that worked, it was technically true. And by the looks of it, it was a good enough answer for Aki.

“I get that, it’s always good to have something to remember somebody by.” Aki stared as if remembering a different time. “Sorry if that was an invasive question.”

“Don’t worry about it Aki, I think we have bigger issues than that.” I smiled and patted him on the back to ease the mood.

“I could use a smoke, let’s go see the others.” Aki said, as me and him entered the room the others were in.

“Hey, Denji.” I greeted him.

“Woke up first huh?” He said.

“Well someone had to go look with Aki. Enjoy your nap?”

“Would have enjoyed it more if I woke up with you next to me.”

“Maybe when we get out of her we can.”

“Aww, you two are two cute.” Himeno chimed.

“Himeno, do you have any smokes left?” Aki asked.

“Sorry, last one.” She said as she smoked it.

“Let me have it, please.” Aki asked her as she placed it in his mouth.

“Ooooo, indirect kiss. Aki you dirty dog!” I giggled as Denji joined it.

“And she calls us lovebirds!” Denji cackled.

“I don’t understand.” Power said, puzzled.

“Shut up.” Aki glared at us. “I got some bad news, remember the devil we killed. Well, it got a lot bigger.”

“Wait what!?” I choked on my own spit. “But we didn’t see anything!”

“I did earlier, didn’t want to worry you.”

“Well now I am!”

We then heard something break and we all rushed out to see what it was. It was not pretty, it was like the devil we saw before but even grosser and bigger.

“It traps us in a hotel and its body turns into that?” Himeno gathered. “What kind of devil is this?”

“Humans, hear me. You foolish humans, I offer you a contract.” The disgusting devil spoke. “Feed me the human known as Denji, even his corpse will do, let me eat him. Do this, and I’ll let the rest of you leave in peace. You’ll be free to leave! Now, accept the contract!”

“NO!” I screamed and pulled Denji towards me.

“Reze!?” Denji screamed.

But as I pulled him towards me we heard a door open, when we turned to look we saw Kobeni holding a knife.

“Denji…let it eat you.”

“Kobeni…what are you doing?” I asked as I just stared at her, more specifically the knife. But before she answered she let out an unadulterated scream and rushed towards us, me and Denji were ready to fight. Yet Aki simply blocked her attack, causing her to let go of the knife. With Himeno then elbowing Kobeni’s gut knocking her out. Afterwards both Aki and Himeno tried using their contracts, sadly neither worked. And only caused the Devil to grow.

“I have no weaknesses on the second floor, you’ll never be able to get to my heart! There is no way to survive this place, apart from accepting my offer.” The Devil taunted us.

“You’re probably not gonna let them go even if I do die.” Denji said.

“Actually, no. The devil used the word “contract,” right? Those kinds of terms hold a strong sway when a devil is involved. If one side makes good on the deal, the other has to or else they die.” Himeno explained. “So, we would be able to leave by killing you, Denji.”

“But we would! Right, Miss Himeno?” I asked as my heart rate increased, they wouldn’t actually kill Denji, my Denji.

“Himeno…we should kill him.” Arai said as he also came out of a room. “We can come up with another plan once he’s dead, and we’re out of here.”

“Arai are you crazy!?” I screamed out. “NO NO NO! We’re not killing Denji!”

“It’s our only option, Reze! We can’t be stuck here forever!!” Arai yelled back.

“We’ll find another way! Right Aki!?” I turned to look at him for help.

“The Devil wants Denji dead. That means his death would benefit it,” I waited for what Aki would say next. “Which is why we’re not accepting.”

“Thank you Aki!” I almost collapsed.

“Reze!” Denji caught me.

“I’m with him!” Himeno chimed in.

“I say we kill him! My nobel prize will remain forever out of reach if I’m unable to leave this place!” Power said like an idiot.

“I’ll kill you!” Reze I nearly strangled her if Denji hadn’t been holding me.

“What’s her problem?”

“Right now that’s you power.” Denji said.

With that we all had to sit in the hall and just wait, and I never left Denji’s side, literally.

“Reze, as much as I like hugging you. Can you please let go?” Denji asked.

“No! I’ve lost too much already. I can’t let any of these nut cases touch you.”

“Reze, we’ve already decided to not kill him.” Aki tried reassuring me.

“Not a chance! It’s too risky to let him go now.”

“You’re a stubborn one Reze.” Himeno told me, to which I simply pouted. “Besides that, have you got any kind of plan for actually getting us out of here, Aki?”

“If what the devil says is true, we can’t kill it. But we’re not killing Denji either.”

“So, the plan to start, then?” Himeno asked.

“If we really are out of options I’ll use the sword.” Aki said.

“No, you won’t.” Himeno practically commanded.

“Why not? What does it even do?” I asked.

“Yeah, what does it do? If it can help us out, shouldn’t we use it?” Denji added.

“He shouldn’t use it even if we’re out of options, if it comes to that…sorry but you’ll have to die, Denji!”

“NO!”

“I can help you find another boyfriend, Reze.” Himeno offered.

“I don’t want another boyfriend! We just fixed our relationship!” I yelled.

“And you can do it again with someone else! We can go to a mixer together.”

“No no no!”

“It’s gone!” Our attention was directed to the sound of Arai’s shout. Then we heard both Arai and Kobeni’s scream, with that the devil began to laugh and grow. Soon we were running for our lives.

“Denji’s heart, give it to me. I will grow as your fears grow. And with your terror, I will capture you!” The devil told us as a threat.

Soon the whole eighth floor started to tilt, we just had enough time to get in a room to safety. I started to panic, everything was going wrong and the only way to solve this was to give up the boy I love.

“Somebody! Anybody, kill Denji!” Kobeni pleaded.

“That’s it, I’m using the sword…” Aki was about to use it when Himeno used the ghost hand to restrain him.

“Miss Himeno! What are you doing?” I asked as I felt the strength leaving my body.

“We can probably get out of here if he uses that sword, but the pact is one that takes a lot of years off Aki’s life in exchange.”

“What!? Aki, why didn’t you tell us!?” I screamed now, unable to control my emotions.

“He has too much to live for, I’m sorry, Denji, Reze.” Himeno said as Arai suddenly tackled Denji.

“Get off of him!” I jumped on to Arai’s back.

“Reze! This is the only way! Please forgive us!” Arai pleaded.

“I can’t lose him! Please don’t take him from me!” I started crying.

“Damn it, you made her cry!” Denji said angry now.

“Die!” Kobeni screeched as she was about to bring the knife down on Denji until.

“AAHHH!” Aki managed to jump in and take the Knife for Denji as we all stopped.

“A-Aki!” I screamed as I saw him bleed.

“He might be a piece of shit that deserves being stabbed a time or two, but he wants the Gun Devil dead. And I can’t kill him myself. To do that, I need devil hunters with the guts to fight it. The more the better, and even if it costs me my life, I’m not letting Denji die.” Aki finished his speech and Denji looked concerned.

“Power! Your the blood fiend, right? Can you stop him from bleeding out?”

“I only have complete control over my own blood, the blood of others is a challenge. But I supposed I’d need a new cook if topknot died.” Power said as she went down to help Aki.

“Aki, are you going to be okay?” I asked as I went to his side.

“Don’t worry, I not dying that easy, Reze.” Aki managed to pat my head and give me a weak smile.

“What do we do…what do we do! Aki…Aki! Aki, what do we do?!.” Himeno, for the first time since I’ve met her, looked scared and it broke my heart to see her like this.

“It’s not my fault! It’s his!,” Kobeni screamed. “If you just let it eat you, this would all be over.”

“Yeah, yeah I get it.” Denji said as he stood up.

“Denji?”

“Guess it’s snack time, I’m not going down smooth, though.” He said as he walked to the door.

“Wait, Denji, don’t please!” I tried to go to him but Arai grabbed me.

“Reze, don’t!” Arai told me as he didn’t let me go.

“If I go and kill this devil, you better tell me how to make Reze heads over heels for me. And I’ll be able to take her on the best date ever.” Denji Declared.

“Do you have a plan?” Power asked.

“It’s gonna hurt but I’m gonna take my chainsaws out.” Denji said. Once he explained his plan of practically cutting the devil down til it’s begging for death, down he went.

“Denji!” I screamed still in the grasp of Arai.

And so, the slaughter began. Denji erupted into his Devil form, allowing me to see it in all its gory glory. As he ruthlessly cut the devil down, drinking its blood and not letting up. And for what felt like hour upon hours, Denji with the help of Himeno using her ghost hand to rev his engine, finally killed it as we all managed to get out. Once out I immediately hugged him, refusing to let go.

“You idiot! Never do that again! I could have lost you!” I practically cried as I hugged him despite the blood covering him.

“Sorry Reze, but look we’re out and have a piece of Gun Devil flesh!” Denji said hold the piece of flesh, but soon he passed out.

“Crap!” I tried holding him up until Himeno came and helped.

“Let’s get thes two to the hospital,” She said. “You two reutnr to the office and report what happened.” She ordered Kobeni and Arai.

Soon we were on our way to the hospital for Aki and Denji, I never left either of their sides. Himeno and Power left to get some food, leaving me with Aki and Denji as they laid in different beds.

“Reze, we’ll be fine alright?” Aki told me having been bandaged up and given some blood.

“I know, I just…want to be with you both a bit longer…I could have lost you both.” I confessed, I looked over to Denji who was still sleeping.

“I get that, but you’re tired just like the rest of us.”

“Don’t worry I’ll get rest later…thank you…” I thanked Aki.

“For what?”

“For standing up for Denji, and for quite literally taking a knife for him.”

“It was nothing, I said what I said back there. As much as I dislike him, we need him…you need him.” At that, I sat there on the seat next to Aki’s bed quietly.

“I need you too…Aki, you are the closest thing I’ve had to a family besides Denji. I wouldn’t know what I’d do if you…”

“Reze…is that about the sword?”

“…yes..”

“It was a contingency plan, it was only if I had too…”

“Promise me, promise me you’ll never use it!”

“I can’t make that promise…” He said solemnly.

“Then…lie to me…” I took a breath. “Lie to me, tell me you won’t use it.”

“…”

“Please Aki!”

“I promise! I promise I won’t use it!…I promise I won’t leave you alone, okay?”

“Thank you…” I laid my head down as he patted my head.

“Sleep now, Reze. You’ve been stressed all day.” He sighed.

Chapter 3: Love forever, Love is free

Public safely had an abundance of weapons to choose from, that was obvious when Aki took me to get one. He suggested several different ones such as knives, axes, even a spear. But in the end I decided to go with a katana, it was more practical, not to mention Aki had a sword too. Meaning he could teach me how to fight with it. Speaking of Aki, I couldn’t shake the guilt I felt. How could I be so insensitive, he literally told me his family was killed and I had the gall to make a joke like that? I didn’t mean it in any kind of way, only in a joking manner. Yet, even then I should have been more conscious of my words. I sighed and shook my head, I just hoped he wasn’t mad at me. Ever since getting here Aki has been one of the few people I’ve come to trust, besides Denji and Makima. So him being upset with me, coupled with me and Denji’s current relationship in short made me panic.

“Reze.” I perked up immediately, Aki called me as he noticed me staggering behind.

“Yes Aki?” I asked, never meeting his eyes out of shame.

“I’d like to apologize for my attitude earlier.”

“Apologize? Apologize!? I should be apologizing to you!” I said in disbelief.

“Reze-”

“Let me talk! I should be apologizing for making such an insensitive joke, that wasn’t right for me to do. And before you can say “that didn’t give me the right to act the way I did” yes it did! You had every right to act the way you did. So don’t apologize for something I did wrong.” I finally finished, finally getting all my feelings and guilt off my chest. “I’m sorry for the joke Aki, but I guess…you’re like a brother to me. I know that’s dumb, and I know I said this before but we’ve only known each other for a few days. But I feel safe around you, and I’ve never had a brother before so it’s new to me.”

I felt myself begin to shake, I felt all the frustration I’ve been bottling up finally start to burst out. Communication has always been something I valued, before when Denji and I got into arguments we would try to talk it out. And most times it helped resolve the issue, maybe that is something we should do. I actually haven’t had the talk with Denji after catching him staring at Makima. Maybe that’s what we need to talk about. That way he knows how I feel about everything, and I can know how he feels. After what felt like an eternity, Aki finally spoke.

“I forgive you.”

“What? But why?”

“It’s obvious you didn’t mean it in a harmful way, so while I was upset I can’t be mad at you.” He said. “No point in beating yourself up about it.”

With that he gave me a comforting pat on the back, and I felt as if a weight had just been lifting.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, now let’s continue with our patrol.” He said. And off we went, and to be honest it was slightly uneventful. Though I once again got to sight see, it never ceased to amaze me what we would find in the city. And there were several things that amazed me, like the trains, the street markets, and even the towering buildings. And after a few hours Aki and I returned to the headquarters, and were told we had to escort Makima back from a meeting she had with some higher up. Aki allowed me to ride in the passenger seat.

“Hey Aki, when do you think you’ll teach me to drive?” I asked, learning to drive would be useful.

“Not yet, it’s best if I teach you something simple first. Would you be interested in learning to ride a bike?” Aki asked me.

“I wouldn’t mind, would we get Denji one?” I asked. While I was still worried about him being with the fiend, Aki’s words had managed to calm me down.

“I don’t think I trust that idiot with anything that has wheels.” That statement earned a chuckle from me.

“I guess you’re right.” I thought for a moment. “Aki, do you not like Denji because he’s a devil?”

“Partially yes, but it’s also because he’s selfish and ungrateful.” He said as we got closer to where we had to pick up Makina. “I understand he’s your boyfriend, but I know you’ve realized how he’s acting. Your outburst earlier and the conversation we had after the fiend said as much.”

“I have, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to love him. He can be kind, and selfless when it’s people he cares about.”

“And he cares for you?”

“He…does.” I paused for a moment. “Before becoming a devil, Denji sold his right eye to buy me this choker. I was mad at him obviously for doing something so dumb, but he did it for me. I know with everything going on it’s hard, but I want to work it out…I love him.” I said that last part more so to myself, even then Aki stayed silent for a moment.

“Then work things out, and knock some sense into him.” He said. And I smiled.

“I’ll do my best.”

We then picked up Makima from an important looking building.

“Hello Reze, Aki. Thank you for picking me up.”

“Anything for you Miss Makima.” I smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Shall we return to headquarters?” Aki asked, starting the engines.

“Yes,” Makima responded. “Those higher ups sure are something, asking about our news recruits and all that.”

“They asked about me and Denji?” I asked.

“Yes, nothing to be concerned about. I do find Denji interesting.” there was a long pause, can’t say I disagree with her. But after we stopped at a red light Aki spoke.

“As far as I can tell, Denji is disgusting, not interesting.” He said and I couldn’t disagree with that entirely either, I mean just look at how he’s been acting.

“He can be at times, I’ll admit that doesn’t mean he’s not interesting.” I responded.

“You have known him for a while, Reze.” Makima mentioned.

“Reagardless, why do you have such high hopes for him?” Aki asked Makima.

The light then turned green as we started driving once again.

“Devils are born with names, and the more those names are feared the more powerful the devil is said to become. Coffee isn’t considered very frightening. So a Coffee devil would be quite weak. But what about a car devil? There’s the fear of being run over and killed, so it would probably be strong.” Makima explained.

“So if Denji can turn into chainsaws, that means he can turn into a chainsaw devil?” Meaning Pochita was the chainsaw devil.

“Exactly, seems pretty interesting to me.” Makima responded to me.

“He may be interesting but I’m not sure he’ll be of any use.” Aki said.

“Denji is a pretty good fighter, I mean you saw or more so felt what he can do.” I brought up the alley fight, which seemed to pop a nerve.

“He used dirty tactics, even still Reze. Everyone in public safety has a real goal or motivation.”

“Well.” I began before Aki cut me off.

“Reze.”

“Fine Aki.”

I could hear Makima slightly giggle at our banter.

“As I was saying, he said he just wants to live the good life. He’s a bad fit for our operation. Not only that, but he thinks he can be friends with devils. He’s still a kid, a stupid brat.” Aki said and I stared at him before speaking.

“Then what does that make me?”

Once again there was a pause.

“Reze, you seem to actually be taking this seriously. You asked me to teach you, meaning you’re willing to learn like you said. So while you are trying to live a good life, at least I know you’re not selfish like him.” Aki told me plainly. And part of me wanted to defend Denji like earlier, but after these past couple of days I stayed silent.

After that we dropped Makima off at headquarters.

“Reze, follow me.” Aki told me once we dropped the car off.

“Where are we going?” I asked, following behind, katana in hand.

“We’ll be meeting with one of my coworkers and her new recruits. We will be working with them.” Aki explained, other recruits? That would be nice, means me and Denji wouldn’t be the only new ones.

“Oh? What’s your coworker like?” I asked and Aki seemed to think.

“She can be a bit much, and a bit too…personal.” He said. “You’ll know what I mean when you meet her.”

“Okay?” I got a bit nervous.

We entered into a training are I saw there were only three people there, a short woman with brown hair tied into a small ponytail and she looked nervous, a gut who was tall and relatively built who also looked slightly nervous, and lastly a woman who looked around Aki’s age if not a bit older. What stood out about her was the eye patch over her right eye, reminding me of when Denji sold his right eye. I pushed that thought to the side as they noticed us.

“Hey Aki!” the older woman called over to Aki in a cheery tone.

“Himeno.” That's her name. Said woman’s gaze moved to me and I froze out of nervousness.

“Ooh, and who is this cutie?” Himeno cooed. And I felt myself slightly blushing.

“Himeno, this is one of my new recruits. Reze, introduce yourself.” Aki said, as the other two walked up behind Himeno.

“Hello, my name is Reze. pleasure to meet you.” I bowed my head.

“Lighten up dear, I see Aki taught you to be uptight like him.” She joked.

“I’m not uptight!” Aki defended himself, and I couldn’t help but giggle.

“Well you have a routine you hate breaking.” Reze I briefly mentioned.

“You stay out of this.” Aki scowled at me as I giggled more.

“I like you,” Himeno said. “It’s good you have someone who counters your stoicness.”

“Just introduce your new recruits,” Aki grumbled.

“Alright!” Himeno clapped her hands. “Introduce yourselves.”

“Hello, I am Hirokazu Arai.” The man said as he bowed.

“K-Kobeni Higashiyama.” The girl said as she looked like she was about to have a panic attack.

“It’s an honor to meet you both, I hope we work well together.” I gave a friendly smile and returned their bows.

“Good to see you taught them manners, Himeno.” Aki said.

“You say that like I don’t have great manners.” Himeno chuckled, which earned a side eye from Aki. Did they have a thing? I couldn’t help but notice it. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but if they did that would give me new ammunition to mess with Aki.

“As you all know, we will be working together for a while. As new recruits, including our other two members who aren’t here, you will get first hand experience hunting devils.” Aki explained as we all nodded. This would be great! I’ll finally be able to make some friends. I know it’s supposed to be strictly business, but Denji and I have always wanted to make friends. Now I’m sure these two, Arai and Kobeni, are older than me. Still, a friend is a friend.

“We can get to know each other once our other two members return.” Aki said. “In the meantime, we’ll have you spar.”

My eyes beamed.

“Will you be teaching how to fight with a sword?” I asked excitedly, despite carrying it with me all day since getting it, I haven’t learned how to use it.

“I believe now would be a good time.” He said, and I think he could see the excitement radiating off of me.

“You really did get a lively one huh?” Himeno chuckled.

“Unfortunately.” Aki sighed. “Very well then, let’s start with”

“Hayakawa.” A man in a suit called over. “We have something regarding your other recruit and the fiend.”

“What is it?” Aki asked.

“It’s better if you see for yourself.” The man said, he then started leading Aki somewhere else.

“Wait, Aki!” I called over as he turned back. “What happened to Denji? Is he okay?”

“I don’t know yet Reze, but if they are asking me to come it must be something bad.” He said, and it didn’t reassure me at all. Was I right? Did the Fiend really do something to Denji, my Denji? At first I was upset that I wouldn’t be taught to fight with a sword, now I’m worried for my boyfriend. Aki could see I was starting to worry. “I’m sure it will all be fine, in the meantime Himeno will teach you.”

“O-Okay…”

“I’ll be back, I promise.” He tried to reassure me.

“O-Okay…” I watched as he left, and I felt a bad feeling in my gut. Though, for the moment I had to push that away. For right now Himeno caught my attention.

“I must say, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen Aki’s soft side.” Himeno put an arm around my shoulder. “He must really care for you.” She pinched my cheek.

“I see what Aki meant when he said you can get personal.” I told her as she continued to pinch my cheek, I didn’t mind though. Since it took my mind off the current situation.

“I get that, now how about some training?” Himeno took her arm off of my shoulder and turned to Arai and Kobeni. “Who’d like to spar with Reze first.”

Both seem slightly nervous about sparing, and if I had the guess both were new to fighting like me. I wonder how long they’ve been new recruits? If I think me and Denji have only been devil hunters for…has it really been two days? Feels like it’s been longer. Regardless, I understand their hesitation.

“Come one, I won’t bite.” A mischievous smile spreads on my face. “Unless I need to.” I teased.

Both slightly jumped, and both Himeno and I laughed.

“I’m only joking.” I said.

“I’ll spar with you.” Arai said. I nodded as we both got ready. I decided to try and use my sword, obviously I wouldn’t try to hurt him with it. But I should get used to fighting with it, see what I can do. Though, without proper practice I pretty much just had a lark knife in my hands. Regardless, I took a stance that if I’m being honest, I got it from a movie me and Denji watched on Aki’s tv. Though it seemed to make Arai go on the defensive. We both waited to see what the other would do, but after a few moments I decided to strike first.

Lunging forward I swung my sword at him but he quickly dodged, and he went to tackle me. He was sloppy though and I managed to back away in time. This time instead of charging straight forward I decided to try and circle around him. As I did so I tried a couple more swings, but he still managed to dodge. He then managed to make me drop my sword, I didn’t have time to grab it so I went to use my fists. I tried to throw some punches, some landed others were blocked. He made to go punch me, but I dodged. He was respectfully built, so I didn’t want to feel how much of a punch he was packing. Not to toot my own horn, but for only being a devil hunter for two days I was a pretty good fighter. It seemed karma heard that, for I then got caught off guard, next thing I know I’m on my ass. I was punched right in the gut, and damn did it hurt. I put my arms up in surrender.

“I hope I didn’t hit you too hard.” Arai said, concern evident in his voice as he helped me up.

“Nah, you’re good. I expect to be hit way worse than that on the field.” I said in an attempt to ease his nerves. “I have to admit though, you are strong.”

“Thank you, you’re quite skilled yourself.” He said.

“Arai, if you don’t mind me asking. How long have you been a devil hunter?” I asked.

“I believe me and Kobeni have been devil hunters for six months.” He answered.

“Six months!?” I asked in surprise.

“How about you?”

“Two…days.” I said slightly embarrassed.

“Oh wow, you’re new new.” Himeno said as she walked to us. “Still, you show promise. Luckily you got Aki to teach you the ropes.”

“I guess so.” I said smiling.

“alright! Kobeni you're next up!” Himeno said, and Kobeni seemed to grow nervous.

“I-I don’t know if I can f-fight.” Kobeni stuttered.

“Awe, c’mon Kobeni. I’ve seen you train before, you’re better than you know.” Himeno reassured her, and while Kobeni didn’t budge it was nice seeing someone kind. I may have just met Himeno but I did like her. Aki could use someone like that in his life. Heh, look at me. I’ve only known Aki for two days and I already care for him.

“B-But Himeno!” Kobeni pleaded.

“Miss Himeno, if she doesn’t want to spar I don’t mind.” I said. Kobeni gave me a look of gratitude.

“Hmm,” Himeno hummed for a bit as she thought. “Alright, how about we get to know you Reze. I know Aki said we’d get to know each other when his other two members get back, but there’s no harm in getting to know each other a bit now.”

“I don’t mind.” I responded as we all took a seat on a nearby bench. “What do you guys want to know?”

“Let’s start with something simple, what’s your favorite food?” Himeno asked an ice breaker.

“Oh, um…” I thought for a second, I haven’t tried enough food to have a definitive favorite. “Curry.”

“Curry?” Himeno asked.

“Yeah, It was one of the first proper meals I’ve had when I first met Miss Makima.” I told them honestly.

“Miss Makima recruited you herself?” Arai asked.

“Me and my boyfriend, yeah.” That got several different reactions from them all. Arai looked shocked that I had a boyfriend, Kobeni was no different yet it was hard to tell with how nervous she usually is, and Himeno looked slightly shocked but intrigued.

“Ooh~ do tell girl, what’s he like?” Himeno asked as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

“Well, um. He can be dumb, selfish, and as of late a dick.” I said as they saw me grow increasingly frustrated. “But he can also be sweet, caring, and sometimes a dork.” I then began to smile.

“Ah, to be young and in love.” Himeno said as she leaned her entire body onto me.

“Miss Himeno, you’re squishing me.” I said as I was feeling her weight on me.

“Shh, just enjoy the moment.” She said as she continued to smother me.

“What about you guys? What’s your favorite food?” I asked, trying to get Himeno off of me.

“U-um, hamburgers.” Kobeni said in a meek tone.

“Hamburgers?” I looked at her puzzled. “What is that?”

Once again they all looked at me bewildered, it wasn’t my fault I haven’t been in the city too long. Back in the countryside with Denji we didn’t get much food, besides what we were able to afford.

“You’re joking right? There’s no way you don’t know what a burger is.” Himeno said.

“Sounds familiar but I don’t think I’ve had one before.” I told them honestly.

“T-they’re like a sandwich, but the bread is round and has beef, vegetables, and cheese.” Kobeni explained.

“Round bread?” wait til I tell Denji that, it’ll probably blow his mind.

“We have to take you to get one, I’m sure Aki wouldn’t mind if we kidnapped you for a quick burger run.” Himeno said with a mischievous smirk.

“Miss Himeno! With all due respect, wouldn’t our time be better spent preparing for a devil attack?” Arai interjected.

“C’mon Arai, no harm in some fun.” She told him.

I smiled softly, this was nice. It was kind of like what I had currently, Denji and Himeno seemed to both be carefree and looking for fun, Arai and Aki were similar though Aki was a bit more calm and level headed, and Kobeni while nervous was in my opinion good company. This is something I could get used to, and while I love Denji I also wanted to make other connections. So I gladly watched Himeno and Arai bicker about their duties and burgers, all the while Kobeni tried to step in. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Aki walking towards us, I immediately got up and rushed towards him.

“Aki! What happened!?” I asked frantically, worried etched all over my face.

“Reze, calm down.” He said as he sighed. “Your boyfriend, in short, was an idiot.”

He then turned to Himeno and the others.

“Himeno, get your recruits ready. We’re heading out, got a devil report.” He said, then he turned to me. “On the way I’ll explain something to you.”

At that I was nervous, yet curious as to what he wanted to explain to me. Aki and me took a separate car then Himeno and the others, once again I took the passenger seat and Aki started the car.

“So, what did you want to explain to me? If it’s the birds and the bees then no need to worry.” I joked, and I got the reaction I wanted with him making a choked sound.

“Shut it will you!”

“Hehehe, sorry had to.” Once he recollected himself he spoke.

“What I actually want to explain to you is what a devil contract is.”

“Devil contract?”

“Yes, in public safety we not only kill devils but capture some. Primarily ones who cooperate with public safety.” He explained as I nodded. “In order to make a contract one must give something to the devil in exchange for their help.”

“I think Denji told me once he made a contract with Pochita back when they first met.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, something about him giving Pochita some blood to survive in exchange for his help killing some devils, though at some point Pochita helped because he connected with Denji.” I explained to Aki, who looked suspicious about the whole thing, like he couldn’t and wouldn’t believe a devil would help just out of the kindness of their hearts.

“Regardless, that is a contract. Many public safety agents including myself use them, typically in exchange for pieces of our skins. Sometimes, if the situation is dire, our limbs or lives.” At the mention of that the car grew quiet. “Maybe not now, but when you’re more experienced you will get your own contract, if you choose too that is.”

“Maybe, it sounds like it could be useful. But I don’t think I’m ready just yet.”

“As I said, you can make one if you choose too. I simply thought it be best if I told you about them now.”

“You said you have one?”

“Two actually.”

“Oh? Mind telling me?” I said getting nosy, that was until we stopped and noticed the road was blocked off by cops and public safety officers.

“How about I show you one instead.” He said as we got out of the car.

Once we met with the cops and public safety officers we learned they had just arrived, apparently this bat devil showed up and seemed to be fighting this human looking devil with chainsaws. I immediately made the connection. It was Denji and so did Aki. They said they were probably still fighting and at this point Himeno and the others arrived. Aki and Himeno had decided it was best for a small group to scope the situation, that small group being us. So while I was itching to get to my boyfriend, Kobeni and Arai were freaking out. We traversed the mostly destroyed city block, man looks like Denji and the devil did a number here. It was all trashed, but luckily from what we could see there were no casualties. As we got closer to the center of it all the first thing we noticed was the spilled guts of the dead bat devil. It seemed like Denji came out victorious. I felt proud in a way, knowing Denji could fight and survive. Sadly, that pride died and worries emerged as I saw a site that terrified me. As a giant disgusting looking devil stood tall and in its grasp it held Denji up. So many emotions ran through my body, anger, worry, fear. And it was about to run in there and save Denji, or at least try too, until Aki stopped me.

“Aki! I have to go save him!”

“Reze, remember what I told you back in the car?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Watch.” He said as he held his arm up doing a weird dog thing with his hand as he closed an eye. “Kon”

Next thing I know this giant fox head with many eyes appeared from seemingly nowhere, it bit the other devil’s head clean off.

“Looks like she’s the leech devil. May I swallow?” The giant fox head said, all I could do was stare in awe. That was a contract?

“Do it.” At Aki’s command the devil dissolved into smoke and disappeared. Once I had recovered from my initial shock I quickly ran over to Denji.

“Denji!” I said as I kneeled down to him, Aki was ordering the others to help with search and rescue. I noticed that Denji didn’t seem to be too aware and that he had a chainsaw coming out of his head. Was that his transformation? Doesn’t seem to match the description Miss Makima told me about. Nonetheless I worried, then I noticed the fiend and what seemed to be a cat in a cage. “What did you do?” I asked with venom in my tone.

Before she could respond however I heard Denji mumble something.

“Dream battle…my dream battle…Reze…dream…Reze.” He repeated over and over again, and it put me at ease a bit to know that he was thinking of me. Even if he had a chainsaw in his head.

“Let’s get him some medical attention.” Aki said as he approached us.

“O-Okay!” I said as I hurriedly got up to help Aki lift Denji.

“Him and the Fiend need to be debriefed.” Aki said, and by now i’ve noticed Denji is missing his left hand.

“O-Oh my god!” I almost yelled out as Denji kept babbling about dream battle and me.

“And Meowy?” Me and Aki turned to look at Power and the cat, who in turn meowed at us.

“Have the cat sent to a veterinarian for a thorough checkup.” Aki said as we got into the ambulance. I didn’t care what happened to the fiend, as long as my Denji was safe.

The ride to the hospital was like hell because all I could do was hold Denji’s remaining hand, and while his babbling had stopped he was still slightly twitching. And once we got there I didn’t feel any better, mainly because we had to wait for them to fix Denji. That included reattaching his hand, which Aki managed to find much to my relief. And after several grueling hours we were finally in a hospital room waiting for Denji to wake up, all the while I kneeled by his bed never letting go of his hand.

“Reze, the doctors said he’ll be fine.” Aki tried to reassure me for the hundredth time.

“But what if he’s not? I can’t lose him, Aki. regardless of what has happened these last two days I still love him.”

“You really are too good for him.” He huffed as he was cutting some apples.

“Maybe I am, but that doesn’t change the way I feel for him.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that what he did was reckless, furthermore this could have the fiend well…” As much as I disliked the fiend and didn’t care what happened, and partially blamed her for what happened today. That didn’t mean I want her to possibly be killed, and I doubt Denji would either.

“You heard the reports Miss Himeno sent, he saved people.”

“I know, Reze.” The room got quiet. “That’s why I’ll let this slide.”

“Really?”

“Yes, only if he listens to me.”

“That’s fair…really fair, and nice.” I smiled at him.

“That doesn’t mean I’ll overlook his disregard for your relationship.” At the mention of that I looked down at Denji.

“When we…found him he kept saying my name…that has to mean something, he was thinking of me.” I said with some hope in my voice.

“I noticed that too, maybe his fight with the two devils knocked some sense into him before we did.”

“Maybe.” I sighed. “Please wake up Denji.”

As if hearing me Denji started waking up, he looked over at Aki who was still cutting apples before looking over at me.

“Reze?”

“Denji!” I quickly hugged him. “You stupid stupid idiot.” I said as tears threatened to spill.

“We found your arm, a blood infusion was all it needed to be reattached.” Aki told him, in the cold tone he only talked to Denji in. “You really are a devil.”

“You seemed pretty friendly with that devil back there, I saw.” Denji said, and Aki explained to him what he told me about devil contracts. And he also explained how he had a contract with the fox devil, having offered some skin in exchange for some help back there. Aki then explained how him and the fiend were being watched, that’s how they knew where they were going and why the devil was attacking. That explained why Aki had to go, furthermore Aki told Denji that they knew the fiend was trying to kill him. That made my blood boil, but what surprised me was that Denji was playing dumb. Why is he trying to protect the fiend that tried to kill him? That was the question on my mind as Denji tried to reach for the apples, Aki pulled them away before looking down for a second and passing them to him. I knew what Aki was thinking, he was thinking about all the reports and how while Denji was reckless he still saved people. And so Aki gave Denji his ultimatum, that he’d let this slide if he listens to him from now on.

“Sure, I’ll keep it in mind.” Denji answered. “You both can relax. I may not be after some big-deal goal like you guys and I might dream small, but I’m as serious about this as you are. You can count on me.”

“Try and learn some manners in the meantime,” Aki said as he got up. “And talk with your girlfriend, I believe she has something to say.”

With that it was just me and Denji, hand in hand. For a moment neither of us spoke, and we stayed that was until.

“Reze.”

“Denji.” We both spoke at the same time. “You first.”

“Reze, look I know that I’ve been acting like a major dick.” He started out as he looked down at our intertwined hands. “And If I’m being honest, the reason I followed her and saved her cat she’d…let me cop a feel.”

“Denji…”

“I know, but when she knocked me out and the bat devil ate her cat I realized something. It made me think about us and Pochita, how we would have done anything for him and he would have done anything for us.” He held my hand tighter. “And reminded me too about the yakuza and how when I was dying I had realized I took every moment you, me, Pochita had for granted. And I had a moment of clearity, clare-ity?”

“Clarity?”

“Yeah that, I realized that since getting to the big city I’ve been taking you for granted. I was so busy looking at other girls, that I forgot I already have the best, prettiest, funniest girlfriend ever.” He said as he finally looked me in the eye. “I love you Reze, and I’m sorry I've been a terrible boyfriend. And I promise that from here on out I’ll be hundred, no. A thousand times better!”

“Denji…”

“Reze did I say-”

I hugged him so tightly not wanting to let go.

“That’s all I wanted to hear, I was so afraid of losing you that I wasn’t good enough for you!”

“I’m sorry I made ya feel that way, but you are the greatest person ever!” He hugged me back just as tightly.

“Denji.” I looked at him. “I love you too.”

We stared at each other before we closed the small gap between us, we kissed each other gently. Obviously this wasn’t the first time we have kissed, but this meant so much more. This wasn’t just a kiss, but a promise.

“So um, can you pass me another apple?” Denji said as we laid in the hospital bed in each other's arms.

“Of course, Denji.”

After that things improved between us, Denji seemed fully dedicated again to our relationship and I couldn't be happier. It didn’t take long for Denji to be discharged from the hospital, since blood seemed to patch him up quickly. Once back to Aki’s apartment we all got much needed rest, though I had a different plan in mind. I had put on some pajamas I had bought, they were some pants with cats on them and a T-shirt twice my size. And once I was sure Aki was asleep I snuck into Denji’s room. As I gently got into his bed I felt him stir and look over, he was shocked to see me.

“R-Reze-” I shushed him.

“Shh, Aki will hear.”

“What the hell are you doing in my room? Better yet why in my bed?”

“Is it bad I want to sleep with my boyfriend?” I asked him with a smirk as he blushed. “Besides, I miss sleeping together. You, me…Pochita…”

I frowned at the memory that he wasn’t here anymore, I still haven’t come to terms with it. Seeing this Denji snuggled with me.

“Like old times huh?” He asked.

“Yeah, like old times.” I said smiling.

It wasn’t long before we both fell asleep, and originally I was planning on sneaking out before Aki woke up. But sadly, that didn’t go as planned. But can you blame me? Waking up in your boyfriend's arms all comfy makes you lazy. And I had to admit, Aki’s reaction was priceless.

“Morning top knot.” Denji said as we exited his room.

“Morning Aki.” I followed behind

“I-I.” We looked up and saw Aki’s jaw dropped as his eyes narrowed in on us, and I realized at that moment what this looked like.

“This isn’t what it looks like!” My face had gone crimson. “I just wanted to sleep with him okay! Not in that kind of way!”

Denji at this point finally caught on.

“Oh, yeah no. We didn’t fuck.”

“DENJI!”

“What? It’s true.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to be blunt about it.”

“You two…just…sit down while I make breakfast.” Aki grumbled out, and Denji sat down while I quickly went to Aki.

“Hey Aki?”

“Yes, Reze?”

“We were able to work things out.” I told him as a small smile appeared on my face.

“So he’s done being an idiot and taking you for granted?” He asked as he started to prepare breakfast.

“Being an idiot, no. But the second part, yes.”

“Good, now go sit while I prepare breakfast.” He said, and while he may have not shown it, I could tell he was happy for me. Even if he still doesn’t fully like Denji.

Besides that the day went by relatively alright, since it was the weekend we didn’t have work. So a majority of the day was us doing some chores, much to Denji’s protest. But also small stuff like Aki teaching me to cook some food, Denji and Me watching the Tv while acting all lovey dovey, and even convincing Aki to play some board games with us. It was nice really, it felt like we were a real family. But that peace didn’t last long, for as I was helping Aki prepare ingredients for lunch we heard loud banging at the door.

“Um, Aki, were you expecting someone?” I asked.

“No, I’m not.” He said as he walked out of the kitchen.

As we looked at the door the lock was broken off, and we all had gotten ready for an attack. But instead we heard an annoying voice.

“What a pitiful home this is!” Said the fiend Denji was with her cat. I felt my blood boil. Why was she here?

We soon found out that Power was assigned to live with us, and while I would never question Makima I just wasn’t on board with it. Especially since she tried to kill Denji, and I was still somewhat jealous of her. Regardless, it was out of our hands. That didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying, Power was like a kid. She didn’t like veggies, didn’t clean after herself, and is all in all revolting as she barely showers. Luckily I wasn’t the only one who found her disgusting. So as night came around I was cleaning her mess while Denji had to clean the toilet, since Power said she was too important to anything. But then I noticed Power going to the bathroom, was she finally going to clean her mess? No, she would never. Especially since Denji was there, so I stopped what I was doing and made my way to the now closed bathroom door and tried listening in.

From what I could hear Power was doing her part of the deal, and was going to allow Denji to touch her chest. While I did find it admirable she was keeping up her end of the deal, that didn’t mean my blood didn’t run cold. And for what felt like an eternity, Deni finally said something,

“Nah, I’m good.” He responded back.

“Huh? What is that supposed to mean?” I hear Power respond.

“It means I ain’t touching.”

“But was touch boobs not your mission?”

“Yeah it was, until I realized I got a girlfriend. And not just any girlfriend, but the best girlfriend in the world. One I made a promise to. So you don’t owe me anything alright.” He said, and my heart started beating. It made me smile, he really was trying to be better.

“Mhmp, humans are so confusing. But so be it then!” I immediately got out of the way as Power opened the door, she then looked towards me. “I don’t understand his infatuation with you, but it is of no concern to me.” She proclaimed before going to her room.

Once she had gone I went to the bathroom.

“Hey Denji?”

“Reze? Um, did you hear that?” He asked nervously, but I eased him with a smile.

“Yeah, but I’m not mad. In fact I’m happy, really happy.”

“Really?”

“Yep, you made me proud Denji.”

“Glad it did, told ya I was gonna be better.” He gave me a smile, one that made me blush.

“Hey, Denji.” I started before looking to the side. “After you're done, come to my room and wash your hands.”

I then quickly went to my room before he could respond, I needed time to mentally prepare myself. I had been contemplating on this for a long while, since the house incident. And now I was certain of my next move, all I had to do now was wait.

“Reze, why did you want me to come to your room?” Denji asked as he finally entered the room.

“Denji, um, sit with me?” I asked while patting a spot on my bed.

“Um, alright.” when he sat down we both sat in silence, but that didn’t last long.

“Denji, back at the house, when you asked to touch my boobs. I really didn’t like that.” I told him.

“Sorry about that Reze, that wasn’t right.” He said acknowledging his mistake.

“Yeah, but I gave it some thought. With our relationship, I want to go to the next level, maybe not that level. Not yet at least but,” I inhaled. “Denji, you can touch my chest.”

The world seemed to slow down as we stared at each other, and my words seemed to finally sink into Denji’s head.

“Wait wait, Reze. we don’t gotta, I don’t want to make you do something you don't wanna-”

“Denji,” I grabbed both his hands. “It’s okay, I…I want to feel your hands, I want this.”

Once again we stared at each other as we blushed.

“Y-You really sure?”

“Yes, Denji.”

Slowly I brought his hand to my chest, and slowly and gently he started feeling them. I slightly moaned a bit and blushed more, feeling slightly embarrassed. But at the same time it felt nice, not because of how lewd it was but because it was intimate. Like it was just me and Denji, nothing else mattered. After a few moments Denji took his hands off my chest.

“So, um, was it everything you expected to be?” I asked him shyly.

“No,” He said and I froze, scared that this would ruin our relationship until. “It was even better than I expected. Since it was with you.”

I looked at him before I started laughing.

“Oh my god, Denji. How can you say such sweet things?”

“Hey I meant it! This was incredible because it was a moment with you!”

“I’m glad you liked it Denji, I actually…kind of liked it too.” I said slightly, and to my surprise Denji blushed too.

“T-That’s good!”

“To a big head now Denji~” I teased as a way to feel less embarrassed, this moment was nice if only it could last forever.

“GO TO BED YOU TWO!” We heard Aki said. Oh, have we been too loud?

“I ALSO AGREE, YOUR PROCREATION IS KEEPING ME FROM MY SLUMBER!”

“OKAY JUST SHUT UP!” Denji yelled back as were both blushing crimson.

“Um, goodnight Denji.” I quickly kissed him before scurrying off.

“Good night Reze!” He said back.

Chapter 2: If You Should Go Skating on The Thin Ice of Modern Life.

The ride from where we lived to Tokyo was longer than either Denji and I thought, we left our old home relatively late and now a new day was rising. And while I was starting to get exhausted just sitting in this car, It was nice being able to sit next to Denji and hold hands. Though one thing is for certain, this woman, Makima, gave me a weird feeling. But for the life of me I couldn’t tell why? Maybe it was her overly calm demeanor? Or her way of speaking? Yet, despite this weird feeling I never felt unsafe. It’s obvious Denji felt the same way, despite not being the sharpest tool in the shed, he could pick up on certain things. Still, I tried to enjoy the ride since this is the most either of us has seen of the outside world. And while Makima practically called us her dogs sounded alarms in my head, she was kind. She was the kindest person we’ve met in a long time. Against all better judgement I let my guard down, so much so that when Denji’s stomach rumbled I slightly jumped.

“We haven’t had breakfast yet either.” Makima said. “Let’s grab something at the rest area.”

The thought of food made my own stomach rumble, to which I grew embarrassed. Damn, and I forgot the food I got for Denji and me at home.

“Sorry.” I said with my face flushed.

“No need to apologize, everyone gets hungry.” Makima simply said.

“Sorry, but we don’t have any cash.” Denji told Makima.

“Actually I made some today.” I mentioned, I pulled out the money. It wasn’t much, now looking at it I realized it probably wouldn’t get us much. “Damn it.”

“Just pick what you want, I’ll pay.” Makima told us. This shocked us both, never once had someone been so kind. I sound like a broken record but it’s true. Most people always had this fake sweetness around us, they only ever pretended to pity us. But most people could have cared less if we lived or died. But Makima offered to pay for our food, saying we’re in her care. Well, she was practically a saint. So as the car continued to drive after stopping at a toll booth, I decided that Makima was someone I’d forever be in debt too. And it seemed Denji had a similar sentiment.

So now we stood in front of the rest area where we ordered our food. Denji read the menu, which made me proud since when we first met he couldn’t read much. Luckily I did, and after a few months I was able to teach him something, so I smiled at my work.

“I’ll take some Udon and a sausage!” He ordered.

“I’ll take a curry rice” I ordered for myself, It sounded delicious after all.

“Sure is. I’ll take a curry udon, please.” Makima told the chef. that sounded good too, I thought. Denji on the other hand was more vocal.

“Oh, that sounds good, too…” Denji’s body suddenly gave out, and before I could grab him he fell face first into Makima’s chest. Now I’ve never considered myself the jealous type, have I been told before that I can be a bit overprotective of Denji? Yes, but that’s only because of how much I love him. Coupled with the loss of Pochita, it only makes sense I’m protective of my boyfriend. Especially when he’s face first in another woman’s chest and saying she smelled good! Sorry, let me calm down a bit. Let me worry about my Denji first.

“Denji, are you okay?” I asked.

Hearing my voice must have reminded him his girlfriend was standing behind him.

“Sorry, those chainsaws cut me up, too.” Chainsaws? Seriously, what did I miss? “I think I’m a little low on blood right now.”

Seems Makima had the same question on her mind, she proceeded to ask.

“How did you end up like this?”

Denji went on to explain that we had a pet devil, Pochita obviously. And as he explained we both once again realized that he was gone, we loved him and he loved us. Tears started forming and I quickly grabbed Denji’s arm. He allowed me to, sensing my sadness.

“It’s still not fair, I’m grateful Denji's still alive. But…” I didn’t want to finish that sentence, it was too much to bear.

“Hard to believe, I know.” Denji said as he held me.

“There’s not a lot of precedent for your condition even from a historical standpoint.” Makima began as she walked to look out. “It doesn’t even have a name, I believe you.”

Makima just kept shocking us. She believed us? Most would just expect two poor teens to be spouting out a pity story, but she believed us saying something about having a good sense of smell. But what she said next filled my heart with something, hope maybe?

“Your best friend lives inside you. Not in the sentimental sense.” She said, back at the cabin Denji mentioned that he had Pochita’s heart. But Denji meant it more in a metaphorical way, yet now thinking about it. It made sense, and if Denji had Pochita’s heart that meant Denji no longer had the heart condition. Meaning Denji wouldn’t die! “Your body had the scent of both human and devil.”

“Is that right? That’s awesome! Really…awesome…” This time I was able to catch Denji, he was out cold.

“He must have really lost a lot of blood huh?” I said mostly to myself.

“He did, especially in the state we found him in.” Makima told me she helped me carry him to a nearby table. There I laid him down with his head on my lap, as gently pat his head as he slept.

“You seem to love him, don’t you?” Makima asked as she watched over us.

“I do, we’ve been through so much together. I don't know what I would do if I…If I lost him too.” I never moved my eyes from Denji, I was afraid that if I looked away he would be taken away from me too. “Miss Makima, thank you so much. You don’t know how much this opportunity means to us.”

“I can only imagine, you’ve both seemed to have suffered much together.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “As for the opportunity, you have no need to thank me. All I ask for in return are excellent devil hunters.”

“I’ll try my best to be one, but again I’m not as skilled as Denji is.”

“Worry not, I’ll make a fighter out of you. I’m sure you’ll be explosive.” Makima said, it made me feel a bit better. Knowing someone believed in you helped a lot.

“You can count on me Miss Makima, I’ll make you proud." I told her with a smile, is this what having a mother was like? Having someone who made you feel safe? It must be.

“I know you will.”

Our food came out and my curry rice looked amazing, but I wanted to wait until Denji woke up so we could eat together. So I waited and so did Makima. This time I wanted to ask something.

“Miss Makima?”

“Yes Reze?”

“You and Denji both mentioned something about him, and I wanted to ask. What state did you find him in?”

“I suppose you deserve to know,” She hummed. “Well, when we found him his head was metallic, he had sharp needle like teeth, and most prominently he had a chainsaw not just on his head but also protruding from his arms.”

The image in my head was vivid, it must have been terrifying. To think Pochita could do such a thing.

“I’m sure Denji told you about the Yakuza’s fate.”

“He did, and I’m glad they’re gone. We’ve spent many years in debt because of them. Denji more than me.” I felt no shame in not feeling remorse for those dead men, after all it was their faults for trusting a devil. They had that coming, but even in their death they still took something away from us.

“Then I can assure you, you will never go through that again as long as you obey me. Understood?”

“Yes Miss Makima.” I nodded and she gave me a warm smile, one that made me feel content. Content of a new life, a life with the man I love. Who, at this time, decided to wake up. “Morning sleepy head.”

“Reze?” He began. “Udon!? The Udon?” He got up but once he saw his Udon he gave a sigh of relief.

“Your food isn’t going anywhere Denji, well maybe except your stomach.” I giggled.

“Yeah, you’re right Reze.” He turns to Makima. “Is it cool if we eat our food?” He asks.

I guess since we’ve never eaten anything this nice before we don’t necessarily know manners, we didn’t want to seem like slobs. Makima in turn tilted her head.

“Are you alright? Can you eat on your own?” She asked, which made sense since he just passed out. He was about to say yes before looking at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“I cannot,” He answered with a smile. “Reze, mind feeding me?”

“What? Why?” I asked him. “I want to eat my food!” I whined a bit.

“Oh please, please please please!” He pleaded with me, and I was about to shut him down. That was until he gave me these wide puppy dog eyes, and fuck how could I say no?

“Uggghhhh, fine! But you better feed me back.” I told him.

“Done deal!” He practically jumped with joy. I proceeded to grab his bowl.

“Say ahh.” I said as I fed him. It was a nice moment, something I felt we were never allowed to have before, so having these moments now was nice. I’m still sad about Pochita but I hope he’s smiling at us being happy. Once we finished eating we went back into the car and made our way to the big city, Tokyo.

We had to walk for a while but I surely didn’t mind, I was in awe with the city. While I was definitely a country girl I couldn’t deny the beauty the city gave, and I kept stopping to look at the tall buildings even if it meant almost getting left behind. I then began to hold onto Denji’s arm, it felt like we were on a date and I couldn’t help but look at the other couples walking by. I saw one girl snuggle up to her boyfriend and how happy they were together. Maybe Denji and I could be that happy now? It was the first day of our new lives after all. So I decided to snuggle up to him in an attempt to get his attention, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention to me. Instead I followed his gaze and found him staring at Makima.

“Hey Denji, maybe we could try some of these places out. Some seem to give out food.” I talked to him, I tried to drag his attention away from Makima. But no response. “Denji? Did you hear me?”

Again no response, he just kept looking at Miss Makima. And if I didn’t know any better he was eyeing her up!

“Denji!”

“H-Huh? What’s up Reze?”

“Are you serious!?” I said no longer hugging his arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“You know what’s wrong!” I hope I wasn’t causing a scene. But Denji, my boyfriend, eyeing up another woman in front of me, that wouldn’t stand.

“I really don't, Reze! Please tell me what I did.” He said in a desperate voice, but it was too late I had already turned away from him. Arms crossed and everything. Part me probably knew he didn’t mean to, after all we’re still teens with hormones. But that doesn’t mean I still can’t feel hurt about it, these are basic principles of respect in a relationship.

“Please don’t be mad at me Reze.” Now he was panicking, I would never break up with him but I definitely want him to learn from his mistakes. Maybe I’m being a bit too harsh? Before I could even continue we both heard Miss Makima call for us.

“We’ll talk later okay?” I told him as we turned to a building.

“Alright.” He said as he said with his head down in shame.

Once we entered the Tokyo Devil hunters headquarters I was in awe once again, quickly forgetting about the little argument me and Denji had. Miss Makima explained how there are many Devil hunters in the city, but that public safety had many benefits such as vacation time. That sounded nice, if we worked hard enough maybe we could travel. The thought of me and Denjia traveling sounded amazing, and that freedom of going where we wanted to go and doing what we wanted to do was even better. But once again I caught him staring and Makima and I decided to elbow him, that caused him to groan in pain and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. I only huffed and turned my head away when he turned to look at me. He touched my hand gently, and at the gesture I could tell he was sorry so I took his hand into mine and sighed. We had a lot to work out, didn't we?

“Denji, Reze. We’re supposed to wear uniforms, so put them on.” Makima handed us both white button up shirts and ties. “Once you both change I’ll introduce you to your coworker.”

Coworker? So we’ll be working with someone? I guess it made sense. We were new to the area and to the profession, well I am. So we needed someone with experience to teach us. We started to get changed, and I had to take my clothes off. Luckily Makima had a place for me to change, though never mind if Denji saw me, the cabin had no place to change so we never really felt uncomfortable with the other changing.

“Miss Makima?”

“Yes Reze?”

“I know we have to wear the tie, but I was wondering if I could leave my choker on?” I asked, It would feel weird not wearing it. And I still felt self conscious about my pin.

“And why is that?” She asked.

“Well…um it’s a bit personal.” I said. And seeing the topic made me uncomfortable Makima simply waved her hand.

“I see no issue as long as you wear your uniform.”

“Thank you Miss Makima.”

Once we finished changing what was left was our ties, which neither of us knew how to tie.

“You look hot in these clothes, Reze.”

“Awe, you don’t look half bad yourself Denji.” It almost like our little argument before never happened, because now we were slightly flirting. And you can’t blame me, seeing Denji in a button up is hot.

“So…” Denji started.

“No, I don’t know how to tie a tie either.” I said simply, it was obvious he was going to ask that.

“Damn, oh well then. Let’s go.”

“Hehe, alrighty.” I giggled as I gave him a peck on the cheek, and the blood rushed to his cheeks. We were soon standing in front of Miss Makima’s desk, both Denji and I had ties untied. All the while we stood next to this guy with long black hair tied in a top knot, he also wore a whole suit with a sword on his back. And while Denji slouched a bit, he had amazing posture. I think me and Denji will be in good hands, unless Denji does something dumb…well…let’s see what happens.

“Denji, Reze. This is Aki Hayakawa. He started three years before both of you.” Makima explained. “You’re going to be shadowing him today.”

At the news of that Denji was shocked and vocal about it.

“We’re not working with you, Miss Makima?” He asked.

“Of course not Denji, she said she was the head of the division. That makes her the boss.” I told him but that just caused him to look at me, like I had just insulted his family name. “What?”

Aki then grabbed Denji.

“That’s obvious, you’re not even in her league.” Aki told him as he dragged him away. “Time for patrol.”

“Hey wait for me!” I quickly followed them. He wasn’t wrong though, Miss Makima is definitely out of his league. Furthermore, he's already dating me. Even still Denji seemed to throw a fit about not working with Miss Makima.

“Come on Denji, this is our first day.”

“But Reze!”

“No buts! I’m sure Mister Hayakawa will be a great teacher for us!”

“No fair!”

“Good grief.” I sighed, before I knew it Miss Makima had gotten down to meet Denji.

“If you do a good job, we can work together someday.” She told him as she tied his tie up. Aki looked over his shoulder to see her do it, and she then came to me.

“Remember what I told you Reze, meet my expectations and you will have a great life.” She then tied my tie. “Understood.”

“Yes Miss Makima.” I responded.

Patrolling was nice, it allowed us to continue sightseeing the city more. Though Denji kept annoying Aki, asking questions like if Miss Makima had a boyfriend. Which you better believe got a shove out of me.

“Denji stop asking him that, he’s supposed to be teaching us.” I scolded my boyfriend. “I’m sorry Mister Hayakawa, Denji can be a bit rude at times.”

“Hey!” Denji protested.

“It’s true Denji, you need to learn to respect others.” I simply told him. I then turned my attention back to Aki.

“If you don’t mind me asking Mister Hayakawa, what is life like in the city?" I asked, I was curious on what life was going to be like. Though he didn’t respond, that’s a shame. I didn’t want to push him seeing as Denji already probably annoyed him. But lo and behold Denji decided to push his buttons again.

“Hey, jackass. My girlfriend asked ya something.” That seems to do it.

“Come with me.” He told us. We followed him into an alleyway, was there a devil here? Would this be a learning experience? I got ready for anything.

“So why did you want us to come here-” Denji was asking Aki before Aki punched him in the face.

“DENJI!” I screamed. But Aki didn’t stop and proceeded to beat Denji up more. I went to try and stop him, but he turned to me.

“Stay out of this, I don’t want to beat up a girl. Especially someone who is respectful.” I knew I couldn’t fight him, he was more experienced than me. But dammit, I wasn’t just going to let him beat up Denji. I tried to get a quick punch to his face as he grabbed a cigarette, but he was quick and soon twisted my arm.

“Ah!” I yelled in pain.

“I told you to stay out of it.” He let go of my arm as I fell to the floor. “You two need to quit this job. Show up tomorrow and I’ll kick your ass again. That includes you too, lady.” He said as he took out his cigarette.

“W-Why?” I asked through the pain of my arm.

“Look, I’m trying to be nice here.” He said as he took a drag. “People who start this job without thinking it through end up dead. I’ve had colleagues who got into devil hunting for the payday and it got them all killed by devils.”

The idea did scare me, but even if we didn’t work for public safety we would die anyway. Whether it have been from starvation or the Yakuza, in the end we would have been dead.

“The survivors are the ones with real motivation.”

“We h-have motivation.” I said, trying to get up. “W-We have the motivation of not ending up in the gutter. To live a new life!”

“Then you choose the wrong career. Sooner or later you’ll get killed. Besides, you could do better than him.” He said throwing his cigarette on Denji before spitting on it. “I’ll let her know that you ran off, scared away by the devils.”

He then started walking away, and I couldn’t help but feel tears running down my face. Was he right? Was this really the wrong choice? Am I even good enough to be a devil hunter? More than my arm was hurt, my pride was also damaged. I looked at Denji, and he looked like he was ready to murder someone. Before I could do anything he ran up and hit Aki right between the legs, which had to hurt.

“You really are a nice guy, huh?” Denji said. “I can take you beating the crap out of me, but hurting Reze is a crime.” He then began repeatedly hitting Aki in the balls. “When I’m fighting a dude it’s nuts or nothing!”

While it was definitely a crude and juvenile way to fight, I can’t say it doesn’t make me love Denji more knowing he’s willing to kick another man’s balls for me.

“I-I think that’s enough Denji.” I said finally getting up and walking to them.

“Yeah, ya know. We had Udon and curry for the first time today, man. We were treated like decent humans for the first time, hell we even had someone pay for our meal. I didn’t really think it through when I started Devil hunting, but if we get to keep up this kind of life? I don’t care if it kills me.” Denji said honestly and wholeheartedly. He was right, sure I wasn’t qualified for the job but it offered so much for us. I wasn’t going to let this opportunity go. Shortly after his little speech Aki got back up and he and Denji began fighting again. I stayed out of it not wanting to get hurt and I listened to them argue. It seemed Aki had a thing for Makima, which worked for me. If it meant Denji would try to date her I was fine with it. Though soon Aki passed and we had to carry him back to headquarters. Denji tried to lie but Aki woke back up, god is this how work is going to be like?

“Good to see you three are hitting it off. You two are going to be joining Hayakawa’s unit.” Makima told us. I didn’t mind, sure he beat up Denji and hurt me but that didn’t mean we couldn’t learn. Though, I understand why Aki and Denji opposed it.

“I can understand the girl, she’s respectful and I see potential. But him?” I’ll take the compliment, and it meant he didn’t hate me. Especially after the whole alley fiasco.

“Hey! what’s that supposed to mean?” Denji yelled back

“It means you’re a punk!”

“We’ve only been in the city for a day, how could this day get any worse?” I sighed as the boys continued to fight. Makima goes on to explain how Denji is human but can turn into a devil, which I’m still not used to hearing. But she mentions if Denji ever quits or becomes insubordinate, he’d be…disposed of. That thought scared me.

“And what about the girl?” Aki asked.

“As far as we’re aware she is human, yet she and Denji are close. So it is in everyone’s best interest if they’re together.” She responded. “Think of Reze as the one who will keep Denji in line.”

That wasn’t reassuring.

“Miss Makima, what does that mean?” I decided to ask.

“It means we’re working together until you both die.” My throat seems to constrict at her answer. So even if we wanted to leave, we wouldn’t be able to. After this we were dismissed and we continued to walk around Tokyo.

“You both are going to be living with me so I can keep an eye on you.” Aki told us. “Just remember, they said I can kill if you try to run off.” He told Denji.

“Mister Hayakawa?” I was going to ask him something, but he cut me off.

“As for you, no funny business.” He said, I knew immediately what he meant by ‘funny business’. And I blushed immediately.

“I-I was just going to ask um…is Makima a bad person?” I asked, it has been bothering me for the longest time. She seemed to be so kind, yet she had moments where she seemed to care less about others. Aki thought for a moment before responding.

“If you think that’s the case, then give up. Be grateful she’s giving you this chance.” Like have been this entire day. “And if you’re a devil you should be grateful she doesn’t kill you.” He told Denji, and he was right. But I can’t help but wonder why exactly she’s being so kind to us in the first place.

“So…she’s a good person?” I ask for clarification.

“Of course she is, she saved my life.” Wow, she did? I take my suspicions away.

“She really is a good person then.” I smiled.

“I hope I get to hug her again.” Denji said in a dreamy voice, this obviously got a reaction from Aki and a slap out of me.

We arrived in Aki’s apartment and it was incredible, it was way bigger than our cabin. It had several rooms, a balcony, kitchen, even a bathroom. I thought I had died and went to heaven! As we settled in Denji began making toast with jam, a dream come true for us, and while I was more neat he tended to be a bit more messy. Much to Aki’s chagrin, I made sure to clean up after. I had been the first one to take a bath because I knew Denji would be there for a while, and once I was done I changed into comfy clothes. An oversized shirt and some shorts. Once I walked out of my room, wow my room, I saw Aki putting clothes in a washing machine. I proceeded to walk over to him and watched, obviously he noticed and after a bit spoke up.

“What do you want?” He asked.

“Sorry, I just…how does it work?”

“Have you ever worked a washing machine before?” I shook my head no. “Drying?”

“No.” For a moment he stood silent, his eyes never leaving me.

“The clothes go into the washing machine, once you fill it up you put in the detergent.” He showed me how to do it, and then handed me the detergent. “Try putting the cups in.”

“Okay.” I said, and it took me a bit to make sure not to spill it but I eventually got it.

“Good, now once that’s all ready you have to press start. There are different settings for different kinds of clothes: whites, colors, heavy duty etc.” He then showed me what settings to use. “Once it’s done washing we put it to dry.”

“Thank you for teaching me, Mister Hayakawa.” I bowed my head.

“No need for that, I should thank you for cleaning up that mess earlier.”

“Sorry about that, Denji can get a bit messy at times.” I scratched the back of my head.

“Reze, was it? What I said in the alley, I mean it. You can do better than him.” Why did he have to bring that up?

“Mister Hayakawa, I know Denji isn’t the smartest, or nicest at times. But I could never leave him, we’ve been through so much together.”

“Even though he’s a devil now?”

I paused for a moment.

“Yes, the devil…used to be our friend.” I told him. “He wanted us to keep dreaming, so that’s what we’re going to do.”

“Reze, you’re a good kid. Regardless of what Makima said earlier, and what I said about potential in you. I still think you should leave. You have a bright future ahead, and I hate to see someone as young as you die an untimely death.”

“Mister Hayakawa, why do you treat Denji differently than me?” I decided to finally ask.

“I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to.” Was all he said.

“I see…Mister Hayakawa. I know me and Denji don’t seem like much, but we’re willing to learn. At least I am, I know I’m not a devil like Denji, or skilled like you. But I want to be able to do something to support myself, so please. Teach me to be a devil hunter.” I bowed in an attempt to persuade him. For a moment I didn’t hear anything except Denji talking about how he’s in the bath. Then Aki spoke.

“Alright, I’ll try my best. But if things go south I want you to quit and find a different job.” I immediately jumped up and smiled before hugging him.

“Thank Mister Hayakawa, thank you thank you!”

“Alright, I think it’s time for bed.”

“Okay okay, I have to be up bright and early!”

“And Reze.”

“Yes?”

“You can just call me Aki.” He said.

“Oh, Okay. Good night Aki.” I said before running off to bed. Finally, I was going to have a teacher.

Next morning we were called to a random house, on the reports of a fiend being there. Denji asked what a fiend was to which Aki explained that when a devil takes over a corpse they become a fiend. This was after we admitted to never going to school that got a small reaction out of him. Once we got to the room we were met with the fiend. It had pincers but looked human, it was eating a pet bird. It both terrified me and made me sad. Knowing that this once normal person was now a monster, furthermore that the bird had met a cruel fate.

“You kill this one, turn into a devil and show me what you can do.” He told Denji.

“Mister Hay…Aki, don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

“I simply would like to see what the boy that’s piqued Makima’s interest can do.” He said coldly. I mean I was curious as to what Denji’s devil form looked like, still it was a bit overkill.

The fiend began to charge at us, but in one swift motion using the axe they gave Denji, he cut the fiend’s head off.

“O-Oh god.” I said as I recoiled.

“If that bothers you then my statement stands.” Aki said, and immediately I steadied my nerves. He’s right there’s gonna be a lot more killing, and I can’t get sick every time it happens. “As for you, why didn’t you use your devil powers?”

“When I kill devils with my powers they get really messed up. So I coulda ended up like this fiend right?” He asks, and that thought and conversation Denji had with Pochita came to mind. And yeah he could have ended up like that fiend, but then again it would have been Pochita and not some monster. “So I kinda wanted to make it painless for him.”

“Wow, that’s very kind of you denji-“ I didn’t finish my sentence as Aki slammed Denji’s head against the window.

“Listen here, if you want to hunt devils then drop the sympathy. Everyone here is taking this seriously except you. I watched my family get killed by a devil in front of me, I’ve had drinks with the cops down there who are risking their lives to protect their families, even your girlfriend is serious about killing devils.” When he mentioned me I could help but look down and shuffle my feet. “I’d rather make any devil I kill suffer as much as possible. Why are you trying to do? Make friends with them?”

Denji was silent for a moment as he stared at Aki before answering him.

“If there’s a devil I could be friends with, then yeah.” He simply said. “Cuz I don’t have any friends”

“...I’ll remember that.” Aki said as he walked away. I decided to stay back to talk to Denji only to see him grab some dirty magazine, then it all clicked as to why he didn’t want to.

“Gross Denji!” I didn’t even know how to feel about this. Denji began this little speech after grabbing the magazine, talking about motivations. What was my motivation? Survival? I pretty much have that guaranteed. Love? Well I have Denji, even if we’re having some issues right now? So what was driving me other than the will of Pochita?

“Hey, Reze?” Denji’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I noticed he had crouched down and seemed to be thinking.

“Yes Denji?”

“Could I touch your boobs?”

“What!?” I immediately got mad. “No!”

“Why not!?”

“Because that’s not just something that you can do at a moment's notice, anything like that, it has to be something special!” What the hell am I even talking about? When did I develop such…I don’t even know what to call this, purity? Shame? “If we were to ever do it, I want it to be romantic, special, not with a dead corpse in the room.”

I don’t understand what’s up with Denji since we’ve gotten to the big city. Maybe he’s always been like this and I’ve never noticed before with the Yakuza and the constant need for survival. So maybe I never had the chance to realize that this is the man Denji always was, and now it was all revealing itself. I mean him staring at makima, asking if she had a boyfriend, even taking these magazines. Denji still calls me his girlfriend, but how much is that real? Now that we’re living new lives, how long will it be until Denji decides he wants another girlfriend, one that matches his energy. What if…he doesn’t love me anymore?

“Please Reze, I promise I-”

“Denji, enough.” I decided to walk downstairs and outside where Aki was talking to the cops. Once he was done he turned and saw I was unhappy.

“Are you okay, Reze?” The first time he’s used my name.

“Yeah, just…” I look out and see Denji looking at us from the second floor window. “Problems.”

“I told you, you could do better.”

“I don’t really know better. Frankly, he’s all I know.” I said as we stood next to each other. “Was…was your family really killed by a devil?”

There was a long pause.

“Yes, I lost everything that day. From there I promised I’d avenge their deaths, even if it killed me.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“Of devils or death?”

“Both, I mean even just seeing a fiend for the first time scared me.”

“Reze, I am afraid. But it’s that drive to avenge my family that makes me power through that fear, all it takes is one thing to power you.”

“What…what if I don’t have anything to power me…”

“Then you find something, something to fight for.”

“That sounds a lot harder said than done.” I said to him as I looked up at the sky.

“Life is hard Reze, I can see shit with that idiot is getting to you. I’ll see if we can have him paired with someone for a while.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, couples need space. Spend too much time and you can get bored of one another.” He explained as he pulled out a cigarette.

“Really?”

“Yes, some distance will do you both good. You’ll be able to relax and breathe, and he will probably realize that he’s taking you for granted.”

“You’d do that for me? But we’ve barely known each other for long, you even hurt my arm.”

“Sorry about that, but as to why? To put it simple, you’re respectful, nice, and I can actually stand you.” Aki said with his usual stoic face. Though it still gets a chuckle from me.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re coming on to me. Like a man who takes in a little kitten saying they’re not going to get attached.”

“Don’t push your luck, I tolerate you.”

“Okay okay…can I have a cigar-”

“No”

“You’re no fun”

After that conversation we were called back to Makima’s office, where we gave our report of the whole fiend incident. As I listened to Aki speak I noticed Denji seemed to be zoning out, what was he thinking about? And as if reading my mind he blurted something out.

“Boobs”

Boobs?

“Boobs?” Makima repeated as confused as I was.

“Hey, dumbass. Pay attention.”

“Listen to what now?” Denji said dumbfounded.

“You’re telling me you haven’t been paying attention at all?” I asked him.

“Nope.” he simply answered.

“Since Hayakawa said he’ll partner with Reze for the time being. I’m assigning you a partner starting today.” Makima explained. I’m glad she had agreed to me being with Aki, I’m sure this time apart will do us good. Though I can’t help but wonder who Denji’s partner will be.

“Hey, why don’t I get to be partnered with Reze?” It was good he still cared enough about me to complain.

“To put it simply, I believe it will be great training for Reze. On that topic, Reze I believe we should have you pick out a weapon to have.”

“Yes, Miss Makima.” Ooh! That sounds fun. “Don’t worry Denji, we’ll still see each other after work at home.”

“That’s no fair still! First I can’t be partnered with Miss Makima and now I can’t be partnered with Reze!” Why did he have to bring that up! Aki could see the hurt look on my face.

“She’s here,” Makima said. Wait…she?. "Be careful, she’s a fiend.”

Suddenly the door burst open and a woman with yellow eyes with red crossheirs as pupils, long blonde hair, and most importantly two red horns on her head.

“Prostrate yourselves, humans! For I am Power!” She announced herself. “Are you to be my so-called partner?!”

She’s a girl!? And a good looking one at that! No no no! He wasn’t supposed to be partnered up with another girl! This whole thing was for me and Denji to fix our relationship, but if he’s partnered up with this fiend there’s no telling what could happen. I looked over to Aki for help but he seemed to be surprised, and once he turned to me he seemed apologetic like he didn’t know either. Though Denji himself was shocked.

“Power?! Your name is Power?!” He yelled in confusion. “And you’re a fiend? Are fiends even allowed to be devil hunters?”

Maybe my worry and jealousy was for nothing, he seemed to be opposed to this as much as I was. I breathed a sigh of relief, as my worries began to disappear. But then I saw something, something that made my blood boil, Denji looked at Powers chest. And immediately he was fine with her being his partner.

“Well, whatever! Nice to meet you!” Denji said a little too enthusiastic. As Makima explained how division four was a special case and how Power, unlike most fiends, is rational, I couldn’t pay attention as I heard ringing in my ears.

“Very well, any concerns?” Makima asked. Without thinking I responded.

“Yes!” I said, everyone looked at me in confusion.

“And what might your concern be, Reze?” Makima asked me.

“It’s her!” I point at Power. “How can we trust her? Especially with Denji, no offense but he’s gullible who knows what he'd fall for. He needs someone to get him out of trouble.”

“So what do you suggest?” Makima asked me, staring into my soul.

“I should be partnered with Denji! I’ve known him for a long while, I can take care of him.”

“Mhm, while I see your point I don’t think it will be beneficial for you. I still believe having you with Hayakawa will be the best option.”

“But-”

“Reze, I understand your concern. But this is for the best of everyone.” She then clapped her hands. “You are all dismissed.”

“Wait!” Before I could say anything else Aki grabbed the back of my shirt. “Denji!”

“See you later Reze, Love you!”

“Who is that annoying harlot?”

“That’s Reze, she’s my” I never got to hear that last part as Aki dragged me in the opposite direction.

“Aki wait! What if he!”

“Reze, this is for the best. I get what you’re worried about, and while I think he’s an idiot. I don’t think he’s that dumb.” Aki told me as he let go of me. “Besided we said space would be good for you both.”

“That was before I knew he would be partnered with a girl.”

“In my defense I didn’t think Makima would choose her.”

“Well you could have told me there was another girl!” I was so mad I couldn’t understand why. “Oh god, I’m going to lose him.”

“Hey, look at me.” Aki grabbed my shoulders as he saw me start to tremble. “I can assure you this, power is too blunt and rash to do anything like that.”

“Really?” I said in a small broken voice, god I was so pathetic. Why did this hurt so much?

“Yes, let’s choose a weapon out for you okay? After that we’ll go on patrol and clear your mind.”

“Okay…” I sighed. “Aki?”

“Yes?”

“Am I…am I pathetic? Am I too clingy? Too jealous? Because with everything going on with me and Denji I feel like a mess. Is there something wrong with me? Am I in the wrong?”

“No, you’re not. Everything you’re feeling is normal, you’re still young, still figuring things out. This is your first relationship, right?” I nodded. “Then you’re still learning, and so is he.”

“It’s just, ever since we’ve got here he’s been acting this way. Openingly eyeing up other women, like we’re not a thing. How long until he just decides he doesn’t want me anymore?”

“If that were to happen…I’d beat him up for being an idiot.”

“For…me?”

“Like I said before, I tolerate you.”

“When did you become my older brother?” I softly chuckled, but when I saw his expression I got quiet. He had a sad expression like he just got reminded of a tragic event. Then I remember he mentioned his family was killed by a devil, oh god. Did he have a younger sibling? “Aki, I’m sorry I didn’t mean too.”

Chapter one: The Dawning of the rest of our lives.

Hunger. Everything experiences it when there is nothing to eat, nothing is spared from the feeling of one’s stomach demanding sustenance. Not the birds who fly high in the sky, the fish who swim deep down below the waves, and certainly not the unwanted and undesirable. That’s what Reze had been told her entire life, or what she could remember of her life. Which wasn’t much, all she could recall was her name and the bitter cold winds of a place she rather not try to remember. Besides that she knew nothing, not where she came from, where she is, or what her purpose was. She was lucky to understand the language but even then it didn’t mean much, for she never really stayed in one place for too long. Most of her current life was composed of finding some safe place to stay the night, finding her next meal, and just trying to survive to the next day.

It was easier than most would think, and Reze didn’t know how but she was a good actor. She knew how to cry on command, laugh when need be, or just be invisible. And it’s that skill that’s gotten her this far in life. But every night whether it be under a bridge, in some kind stranger's guest bed, or some homeless shelter she felt lonely and guilty. Lonely, for who wouldn’t feel alone, especially a child wandering on their own. And guilty for she’s had to lie and steal to survive, and it ate away at her. She thought this would be her life forever, always running, stealing, and cheating her way.

That was until she met one blonde hair boy and his little devil friend.

{Reze’s Perspective}

If I could describe Denji it would be a fool, but he was MY fool. I’d always have to get him out of trouble, and while there were times I wanted to beat him up for being an idiot. I also can help but love him, again he’s my fool after all. And Pochita, GOD don’t get me started on this little adorable orange devil I'd kill for if anything happened to him. But I’m getting ahead of myself, who are these two that I’ve seemingly started a life with? Well I think I should start with how I met them.

It started with a day I thought my life would end.

“God dammit.” I muttered as I slowly bled out. “Just my luck.”

I was walking in a forest at the edge of a city thinking I could find shelter, instead I ran into a devil, the snake devil. I should have been paying attention, if I would have looked where I was going I’d never be in this mess. But life is just unfair, sad way to go really. I never got the chance to actually live, have a house in the countryside like I’ve dreamed so many nights before, maybe meet a boy. No, I was going to die sad and alone. So I closed my eyes and accepted my inevitable and probably painful death. Yet, it never came. Instead came the sound of a chainsaw and the very distinct sound of a devil dying. Deciding to try my already horrible luck I opened my eyes.

There I saw him, them, I should say. A boy around my age, 13 if she had to assume. And in his arms he held what could only be described as an orange jellybean with a chainsaw on its head.

‘Is that a devil? No way, devils are supposed to be big and scary. Right?’ I thought to myself.

“Hey, you alive?” The boy turned to me, and got a good look at him.

Maybe it was because I didn’t often see or meet people my age, but I had to admit he was cute.

“Hey, are you dead?” He asked me again. Oh right, I guess I should answer. I don't want him thinking I’m dead.

“B-Barely…” I managed to get out before coughing some blood. Shit, maybe I would die after all.

“You should get that cut fixed up, or you’ll just die.” The boy told me.

“Yeah, let me just get up with half of my blood already on the ground, surely I would bleed out and die before I can make it there.” The nerve of this guy! To think I thought he was cute, no he’s just a dick.

“My bad.” My bad? MY BAD!? Is that all he could say!

“Just leave me be,” I huffed and covered my eyes with my arm. “I’d rather die in silence.”

Suddenly I felt something poke my cheek, begrudgingly I moved my arm and looked to my side. There in all its chubby orange glory was the tiny devil. Oh. My. God. IT WAS ADORABLE!!! Despite my injury I sat up and lifted it up in the air, and it seemed to enjoy it and I couldn’t resist but pet it.

“So cute!” I practically squealed.

“Hey, give pochita back!” The boy yelled at me, but I ignored him as I was enthralled by this little devil named Pochita.

“Such a cute name for such a little cutie.” I was now hugging Pochita as he snuggled back, much to the dismay of his buddy. “What if you came with me instead huh?”

“No way!” The boy snatches pochita back.

“Hey!”

“Come on Pochita, we have money to get.” Before he could even walk away Pochita whined and squirmed until he was out of the boy’s grasp, immediately Pochita came back to me. “What? No way! I already have enough problems with paying off this debt and making sure we don’t starve. The last thing I need is another mouth to feed!”

Debt? How did he have debt? Before I could even talk it seemed the two had a conversion with just their eyes.

“You’re not serious, her? I mean she’s cute but she’s also mean.” Cute? Oh I hope I wasn’t blushing. Wait…MEAN!?

“I’m not mean you are!” I yelled.

“No you are!”

“You are!”

“You are!”

“You!”

“You!”

“You!”

“You!”

“You!”

“You-” I started coughing up blood, shit started feeling dizzy.

Pochita now looked worried, cute, but worried and he turned to the boy again. And for a moment he stared at me and simply sighed.

“Fine, you win.” He said, before I knew it I was lifted into his arms.

“H-Hey, w-what?”

“Pochita doesn’t want to leave ya, so for now I guess you’ll live with us.” He told me, though he didn’t seem entirely thrilled about it. Oh well. I’ll probably leave before morning comes. When we got back to his place, if you could even say that, he laid me down on some makeshift bed.

“Wow, you live here?” I asked, looking around at the small trash filled room.

“Sorry if it’s not up to your standard, kinda the only place I got.” He said over his shoulder, he was seemingly looking for something to cover her wound.

“Do you have anything to disinfect my wound?” I asked him as Pochita made his way to me, he snuggled me and curled up next to me. Man, if this is how I die, with this cute little guy next to me, well it wouldn’t be the worst way to go.

“Nah, you’ll just have to tough it out.” Figured, well it’s not like I have ever gotten sick before.

“I guessed as much.” I yoinked Pochita from where he laid and snuggled him, he didn’t mind one bit. “So, this little one convinced you to bring me?”

“Yeah, I do get Pochita most times but he seemed very insistent on me not leaving you to die.” The boy, I should really ask for his name at this point, came to me with some random papers and old looking bandages. “Sorry this is all I got.”

“Don’t be, beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Agreeded.” He then looked a bit nervous.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well…um…I’ll need you to take your shirt off to patch you up.” he told me while looking away. Oh, has he never been around a girl before? He was cute when he blushed.

“Oh I see, you brought me here to get my clothes off?” I teased, and by god did his reaction only make me think he was cuter.

“What! No! I mean you’re cute yeah, but I would-” I chuckled and cut him off.

“I’m just messing with you, I don’t mind. You’re just helping me afterall.” I said as I took my shirt off, and for a second I thought his head would pop out of his head. “My eyes are up here, and the wound is near my hip.”

“Oh, right.” He said, snapping out of his earlier bewilderment he began to put the bandages on. “I think that should do it.” It wasn’t the best, but it would do the job. “No need to thank me.”

“Okay.”

“What! I was joking!”

“You sure? Do you think he was joking Pochita?” I asked the devil who barked in response. “We’ve decided you’re not joking.”

“Why do I even bother?” He grumbled as he crouched down, he gave Pochita a pat. “Well, at least Pochita likes you.”

“Is Pochita a devil?” I finally asked. “He seems too small and adorable to be a blood drinking monster.”

“He is, but don’t worry is a good guy.”

“I have no doubt about it, god I could just eat you up.” I snuggled him, he once again barked in response.

“This is probably not a good time to ask and all, but we never got your name.” The boy asked, and I stopped for a second.

“Funny, I was going to ask the same thing. I’ve been calling you the cute mean boy in my head.” I told him knowing it would make him flustered, and it wasn’t a total lie either.

“I-I, well it’s Denji!” He managed to get out.

“Reze.”

“Even your name is cute.” Now it was my turn to be flustered.

“Would you cut that out!”

“What? You’re cute, can’t I say that?”

“Do you have any idea what social cues are?”

“What now?”

Oh, he was dumb cute boy.

“Just…nothing, you said you were in debt before?”

“FUCK! I forgot to cash in for the snake devil! Dammit, all that work for nothing.”

“Hey! I’m not nothing!”

“Yeah well we’ll have nothing to eat this week!.”

“Are you…that poor?” I asked.

“Yeah, is that a problem? Were you expecting me to be loaded when I lived here?”

For a moment I just stared at him, and for the first time I actually looked around before looking at him. And for the first time in many nights, I felt empathy and genuine pity. He was no different from me, it was obvious he didn’t have anyone other than pochita. If it was true he was in debt I could only imagine how much it was, to the point he lived in severe poverty. And worst of all, he had to deal with me. But I didn't want to just run away, since I just screwed him over on what little pay he probably got.

“I’m…sorry.” I said, not looking him in the eye as Pochita put a paw on my leg.

“I’m sorry too, didn’t mean to snap at you…” He sat next to me. “I guess I’ll have to go and find another devil to kill.”

“That seems unfair.”

“Oh believe me it is, but the yakuza will kill me if I don’t pay them.”

“The yakuza!? Why do you owe money to them?” I asked, in all the time I wandered I learnt a lot of things. Who the yakuza are was one of those things, as well as to never get into trouble with them.

“Well my old man owed them, but when he…kicked it. His debt was passed on to me.” He told me, why did he tell me? I’ve barely known him for a few hours, and suddenly he’s telling me his life story. And his father killed himself? While still owing money and with a kid? How cruel! And from the looks of it Denji’s mom probably wasn’t alive either.

“That…”

“Sucks? Yeah I know.” He didn’t even let me finish.

“I was going to say sad.” I told him. “But it does suck.”

“Yeah, sorry again.”

“Don’t apologize, this isn’t your fault.”

“If you say so.”

There was a moment of silence, only the sound coming from Pochita gently purring between us.

“I could…help you pay the debt off.” I offered.

“Why?”

why? because…I guess it felt right.

“Because…you saved me, helped me, it’s the least I could do.”

“I…no.”

“No?”

“Look, Reze. I just met ya a few hours ago. I don’t want to get you involved in the deep shit I’ve gotten myself into.”

“Well you can’t stop me.”

“Did you hear a fucking word I said before, I owe the yakuza money like you said.”

“Okay and? You’re fighting devils. Who says I can’t do a few odd jobs here and there. Besides I’m hurt, so you’re stuck with me either way.” I said triumphantly. And with that he just sighed, meaning I won. From there forward, whether Denji liked it or not, I began helping him pay off his debt once my wound healed. Which left a sizable scar on my left hip. I took odd jobs where I could, and every time I got paid I’d give Denji the money, despite how much he obviously hated it. He’d always say “you don’t have too.” and “it’s your hard earned money.” Regardless, I helped out. And soon we grew comfortable together, it was a routine we had fallen into. He and Pochita would hunt devils and other various jobs to earn money, while I did jobs around the area. Sure we struggled to get money for food, but we were content. And as the days turned into months, me and Denji grew closer. Let’s not beat around the bush here, after almost a year we got together. It was only natural, sure we fought what couple wouldn’t? But it’s the fact we made up, apologized, and took accountability for our mistakes. But even then, it wasn’t all great. The Yakuza would always come, and Denji made sure to not allow them to see me. He feared what they’d do to me, so we always walked on egg shells. Not to mention how Denji degraded himself for cash, I hated it. Even when he didn’t mind I did it for him.

Not to say I don’t unconditionally love him, but he was careless at times, though it's more like he’s careless about himself. And don’t get me started about how he loved, he loved me and Pochita and his way was to adore us. Me and Pochita often had to tell him to tone it down, often by force, and by force I mean lightly slapping him and Pochita nibbling on his ankles. But sometimes he did things that I can’t forgive. Like for my fifteenth birthday he was talking about trying to get me something, even when I said he didn’t have the money to spend nor did he need to get me anything. But he insisted, and I had told Pochita to make sure he doesn’t do something dumb. But dumb seemed to be Denji’s middle name, or last name either or. But what he did next is something that will never be forgiven. He came back home late that night and when he and Pochita entered I first saw Pochita distressed face, that set off alarms in my head. But it was when Denji walked it, that’s what broke the camel's back. One of her favorite things to do in the morning was staring into Denji’s yellow-brown eyes. But he entered the shed that day with an eyepatch over his right eye, he had his trademark smile that made me blush and in his hand was a lovely choker. But that didn’t matter, nor the way he said happy birthday to me with the love he showed me all day. No, what mattered was the fact Denji, My Denji was missing an eye. And that’s when the fight started.

“Denji…what did you do?” I started off softly as he handed me the choker, the one I had been looking at for weeks.

“Saw you eyeing it up, decided it would be a perfect gift.” He said so nonchalantly.

“What. Did. You. Do.”

“Reze?”

I looked up at him with tears in my eyes.

“Why did you do that?”

“Reze, I thought I could sell my eye to get some money to pay off my debt some more. And with what was left I bought the choker for you-” SLAP.

“WHY!? DON’T YOU CARE FOR YOURSELF!? YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE THAT FOR ME!” I yelled at him as I sobbed uncontrollably. “FOR FUCK SAKE DENJI YOU GAVE AWAY YOUR EYE!”

At that point I ran out sobbing, stopping under a tree with my knees to my chest. It’s not that I didn’t love the gift, I loved it especially since it’s from the love of my life. But the fact he felt like he had to sell a part of himself for it, for me, broke me. Why did life hate us? Why couldn’t things be different, where we didn’t have to worry about Denji’s debt, where me, him, and Pochita could have jam for our bread. It was all so unfair. I guess I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice Pochita lay next to me, when I did he nuzzled his head against my hand to pet him. Which I did, and he looked guilty, probably that he could stop his dumb human from going through with the plan.

“It’s not your fault Pochita, I’m sure you did your best.” He looked at me, and knew exactly what he was asking. “No, I’m not mad at him…okay, I am. But only because he did something so reckless, and it was for me…” Hearing this Pochita nuzzled more against me. “Is he coming here?” I asked.

He looked at me and I understood. He was coming, but probably not for another few minutes.

“Hey, Pochita? Can you promise me something?” I asked him, and he barked in response. “Promise me, no matter what you make sure Denji is safe. Whether from someone trying to hurt him, or from himself. Can you do that?”

Once again, be barked saying yes.

“Good boy.” We sat there for a few moments until I heard Denji’s voice.

“Reze! Where are you!?” He yelled out, I almost didn’t want to call out. But I knew if I wanted things to work out we needed to talk.

“We’re here Denji.” I called out to him. He finally spotted us and made his way over, he sat down next to me.

“reze…I’m sorry-”

“Don’t apologize Denji, it’s a lovely gift. Thank you.” I told him as I held the choker in my hands. “Just don’t do something stupid like that again.”

“But, and hear me out-”

“Don’t. Do. It. Again.”

“Yes ma’am!”

A comfortable silence filled the air as we began to stargaze, it was our favorite thing to do. Because even when the debt seemed to never end, and nights got colder, the stars were the same as they always were. And once the cold wind blew we began to snuggle with pochita in the middle.

“You know, I can use this choker to hide the pin.” I told Denji as we cuddled. The pin has always been on my neck, neither of us knew what it was or what would happen if I pulled it. Frankly, we were too scared to see what would happen, for all we know I could die. So we never took that risk. With the choker I would stop getting weird looks from others, not to mention it would look good on me.

“See, perfect gift.”

“Yeah yeah, dummy. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

After this fight and reconciliation our lives would continue as normal, or as normal as it can be when you have a pet devil and debt to the yakuza. But it was our normal nonetheless. And soon both me and Denji were 16, and while we’ve managed to pay a good portion of the debt we still have a long way to go before it is paid off. Denji once again had to sell parts of himself, much to my anger. While I had worked more and even odder jobs, and most nights were spent head bread. Yet at night we would talk about our dreams, how I wanted to live on the countryside and make a life for the three of us, and Denji saying he wanted to be able to eat bread with jam and him and me going on dates. Our dreams are what kept us going, even when our own minds got the best of us. We both kept having nightmares, mine were about me being in what seemed to be a basement with cries coming from a door while a voice told me to stay away from the door. Even when I kept walking closer the cries didn’t stop and only got louder along with the voice. Then I would wake up. This night was no different, once again the three of us would chat, or in Pochita’s case bark.

That is until Denji coughed up blood.

“Denji!” I yelled in shock and concern.

“Shit, I heard my mom had a heart condition that caused her to cough up blood.” But that meant, no, I couldn’t lose him, not now!

“N-no, that can’t be it!” I grabbed his hand. “Please don’t let it be true…”

“Reze…” He was about to comfort me, until a knock came.

“Denji, we have another devil for you.”

“Can’t even let me dream.” He sighed before telling me to hide, which I did. I hate this, I hate feeling like I can barely help. If things were different, then maybe I could…who am I kidding? This is all our lives will ever be. And part of me knows that Denji thinks he is going to die someday. I overheard him once tell Pochita if he ever died that he could take his body, live the life he never could, and most importantly to him. Take care of me. I cried that day, harder than I thought I could. Why does he care for us more than himself? Well it was obvious, he loved us so much that he rather died than let us suffer. But we would suffer without him. Regardless of these depressing thoughts, once I was sure they were gone I got ready to go find some jobs to do. Despite my mood I still managed to get the jobs done, once arriving home I waited for Denji and Pochita to return. I even got some food with some extra cash I got, yet as time flew they didn’t return.

‘Where are they? They typically don’t take this long.’ I thought for a moment until a knock came from the door. I stopped like a deer in headlights, I didn’t dare move fearing who or what could be here. That’s when I hear a feminine voice.

“We’re not with the yakuza if that’s what you’re afraid of. We’re with public safety.” The woman said, seeming like she knew I was here. Still I didn’t move, not even for a moment. “We know you’re in there, no point in hiding ma’am.”

Knowing there was nothing else I could do, against my better judgement, I opened the door. There a woman with scarlet hair and yellow eyes with red spirals in them stood. With a smile that seemed too hollow to be genuine, as she had an eerie air around her.

“Good afternoon ma’am.” She greeted me, and I saw two others behind her wearing suits and sunglasses.

“You say you’re with public safety? How can I believe that?” I asked glaring at her. “Who even are you?”

“My name is Makima, and I am the head of Public safety division four.” Makima told me in an almost monotone voice, oh I for sure didn’t trust her. She gave me such an odd feeling. But before I could even voice my suspicion another, familiar, voice called out to me.

“Reze!” Denji’s voice rang out, I glanced over and saw him. He had an oversized coat on and no shirt underneath. Any other time I would tease him, but something caught my eye, well actually two things. Firstly, he had both his lovely eyes back somehow. But secondly, he had a cord on his chest. A cord that looked like Pochita’s tail.

“Denji, your…what happened?”

“Let me explain everything. Ms. Makima, do you mind?” Denji turned to Makima, who gave a nod in response. So back into the shed we went.

“Denji, please explain. Where is Pochita, and who is that lady outside?” I asked once again, my concern growing. Denji began to explain how the yakuza tried to kill him in order to get power from a devil, but that Pochita saved him by doing something neither of us knew he could do.

“He gave me his heart, that way we could keep on dreaming!” Denji declared, yet all I could do was process everything I could. Denji and Pochita almost died today, and pochita is now gone. Once everything was processed, I broke down. Pochita, one of the few rays of joy me and Denji had other than each other. Was gone. That’s not fair, THAT’S NOT FAIR.

“THAT’S NOT FAIR!” I screamed, as tears rolled down not just my face but Denji’s. “WHY DOES LIFE KEEP DOING THIS TO US?”

In an instant Denji held me as we cried.

“He’s not gone Reze, I have his heart! Meaning he’s still here, you got that?” Denji was never the brightest, but he always managed to say things that made her feel better. Once I had stopped crying I pushed my head against his chest, and listened to his heart beat.

“Y-You’re right, he is still with us.”

“Exactly, so let’s keep dreaming for him!” He encouraged me, and all I could do was nod. Next thing I knew we were in the car with Makima, she was offering us jobs to work for public safety. And while I told her I had no experience fighting devils like Denji does, she insisted that I would be trained. Even though I didn’t feel comfortable with it, as long as me and Denji were together that’s all that mattered.

So me and Denji watched as the city lights grew brighter.

“Get ready Reze,” Denji told me while holding my hand. “We’re finally going to get a real life.”

Despite all my sadness I smiled back.

Chapter 3: Late night and sisters

————————

Once Gauche had made it to the outskirts of Nean he made sure to gently lay both Grey and Marie down. He then went about making a fire so they would stay warm, he didn’t seem to notice Grey waking up. But he soon realized she was when he set the firewood on fire, and watched as she quickly jolted up and began to back away like her life depended on it. He immediately took note of the look of terror on her face, like the fire could jump up and attack her at any moment.

“What’s wrong?” He asked and seemed to pull her attention from the fire. “It’s not going to attack you.”

“I-I know it’s just…I don’t…like fire…” She paused as she said that, almost like she was ashamed of not liking it.

Part of Gauche wanted to leave it at that, but a gnawing part wanted to know. Why? He couldn’t tell even if wanted to. But he also knew boundaries, so he wasn’t going to push if she didn’t feel comfortable. So they sat there in silence after she answered. It was an awkward silence and both seemed uncomfortable, Gauche was uncomfortable because this was the first time he’s had to interact with someone that wasn’t Marie, and for Grey she was uncomfortable because this was the first time she’s had to interact with someone period. Putting two antisocial and socially awkward people together was a recipe for an awkward situation. For a few moments they continued to sit there in silence, until one of them decided to break it.

“T-Thank you again…F-For taking me with you two, it meant a lot to me that you did.” Grey told him as she looked down at her lap.

“It’s not a big deal, Marie wanted you to come along. That’s all.” He told her as he rubbed the back of his.

“But it was more than that, really. You saved me.”

“Again, that’s because-.”

“Marie told you, I know. But you saved me in more ways than one.”

“What do you mean?”

“You…you gave me the will to live again.”

Gauche didn’t know what to say, never once did he think he could do such a thing. He knew he came off as cold, rude, jaded. He never thought anyone would see him in a positive light at all.

“I don’t understand how?” He told her honestly.

“When you and Marie saved me, I had already accepted my fate. Mainly because I didn’t have much to live for, but when I saw you and Marie. It made me wonder what else it could be.”

At this point the part of Gauche had finally convinced him to ask.

“You’re scared of fire, yes? Is it connected to why you ran away from home?” He waited to see if she would answer.

“yes…I…I.” She wanted to tell him why, but it refused to come out. Like she was afraid of the consequences that could happen. And Gauche seeing this decided to speak up.

“You don’t have to tell me now or ever, if you don’t want to. But if you do, tell me when you’re ready.” Most would never assume Gauche could be soft and reassuring, but after all he was a big brother. He had to make sure he could reassure and calm down his sister, but it was a side most never got to see due to his cynical exterior towards the world. But now to Grey, it was all on display.

“I want to tell you, I do. But…”

“The fear hold onto you?”

She nods. And Gauche figures she must have come from an abusive household, if she’s this scared of talking it must have been hell.

“That’s okay, like I said before once you’re ready you can tell me. Until then you don’t have to say a thing.”

For once in her life since her parents' passing, Grey felt calm. It felt nice, not even the fire seemed to scare her at this moment. Right now everything felt…right.

“You know, since we’ve met this is most clear you’ve spoken. You haven't stuttered for a while.” Gauche pointed out.

“I guess I feel…safe right now.” She confessed.

Now both sat in silence once again, only this time it was a comfortable silence. And they stayed like that until Grey tried to stifle a yawn.

“Grey, get some rest. I’ll wake you both up tomorrow. Okay?”

“Okay, good night Gauche.” She said before quickly falling asleep.

“Good night, Grey.”

The early light of morning came, beaming through the trees waking Grey. She slowly got up and rubbed her eyes, once she opened up her eyes she realized her and Gauche were face to face. She let out a high pitch shriek of surprise, shock, and embarrassment that immediately woke Marie up.

“Is it morning already?” Marie asked with a yawn, as she looked at the scene in front of her. “Huh?”

Marie was confused at the sight in front of her eyes. Grey was crouched down, turned away from Gauche, her face red as a tomato. Gauche all the while just looked down on her confused.

“What the hell is wrong?” He asked her.

“I-I just wasn’t expecting to be face t-to face.” Grey responded, with her voice slightly muffled by her hands.

“I was going to wake you up, I told you last night I was going to.” Gauche said, all the while he had an annoyed face. “So why the hell are you acting like this?”

“I-It’s just e-embarrassing.” Was all she could say.

“How is that embarrassing?” Gauche sighed. He didn’t have time to deal with this. “Come on already. It’s time.”

“T-Time? Time for what?” Grey asked as she slowly got back up.

“You’ll see, now let’s get going.”

The three walked into town, Marie opting to walk by herself up ahead. In the short time Grey had known the two siblings she never thought she could see someone so excited, yet Marie seemed to be over the moon. As she kept rushing up ahead only for Gauche to tell her to slow down, Grey could see that the young Adlai was so excited it looked like she could blow up any second. Yet Grey still wondered why Gauche had made such a big fuss about getting here early. She almost asked Gauche until they walked into this big courtyard, where the biggest church Grey had ever seen resided. It was beautiful and Grey couldn’t help but stare in awe. The doors of the church then opened and out walked an older lady who appeared to be a nun. She saw the three and made her way to them.

“Well look who came on by.” The lady said. “It’s good to see you decided to visit again.”

“Tch, quiet old hag, I only came by because Marie wanted to visit.” Gauche said as he turned away, refusing to look at her.

“G-Gauche, you can’t say that!” Grey reprimanded him.

“Now you’re new,” The lady directed to Grey. “I don’t believe we’ve met before dear.”

“N-No we haven’t, to be honest this is my first time being in this town.” Grey answered, looking down at her feet to avoid eye contact.

“Dear, are you here willingly?” The lady asked, causing Grey to immediately lift her head up and Gauche to turn to her. “Blink twice if this brat made you come with him.”

“H-HE DIDN’T!”

“I DIDN’T, OLD HAG!”

Both responded at once in a mixture of embarrassment and in Gauche case fury.

“Just making sure. My name is Sister Teresa.” She extended her hand to Grey to shake, to which the blue-haired girl shyly took it.

“P-Pleasure to meet you, my name is Grey.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you traveling with them?” Teresa asked, despite not openly saying she is traveling. Though Grey reasons that it was the only logical answer why she seemingly was in Nean.

“W-Well, um. I owe Gauche and Marie my life.” Grey replied.

“Hey, I never said that. You don’t owe us anything.” Gauche told her.

“I-I do! I have too!”

“No you don’t!”

Both bickered for a bit till both were brought back by Teresa’s quiet chuckle.

“My my, if I didn’t know any better. I’d assume you two were a couple.” Teresa said, her words causing the two to go red. With Gauche yelling at her and Grey seemingly malfunctioning.

“I’m only joking, now come you two. Marie is probably getting antsy and the food must be ready by now.”

At the mention of food Grey realized just how hungry she was, and she blushed a bit not wanting to admit it. Teresa led the three into the dining hall, as she opened the door Grey saw it was filled with children who noticed them. A good portion flocked to Marie, and that’s when Grey realized why Gauche wanted to get here on time.

“They’re her friends?” Grey asked Gauche gently.

“Yeah, a year or two ago we stumbled across Nean. They gave us food, and Marie eventually befriended some of the kids.” Gauche responded.

“But if they know you, why didn’t you stay?”

Gauche didn’t respond, almost like he didn’t want to. Grey was curious as to why they didn’t stay especially with how welcoming the church was, but she also didn’t want to push into somewhere she shouldn’t. Luckily Teresa intervened.

“I’m sure you’re both starving, don’t be shy, take a seat and breakfast will be out soon.”

“T-Thank you sister.” Grey thanked her.

“You're welcome. You could learn a thing or two about manners from her Gauche.” She told him before walking off, leaving him to mumble to himself. Grey blushed but giggled a little bit to herself. Soon both took a seat and sat in silence for a bit, Grey, after finally building up some courage, decided to break the ice.

“S-So the reason you wanted to get here early was for Marie?” She asked.

“Well, um. Yes, I wanted her to spend as much time as she could with her friends. Before we have to go again.” He told her.

“But why? It seems like they don’t mind you two, so why not stay?”

“It’s complicated Grey, alright? So just leave it be.” He was getting irritated, so Grey decided to change subjects.

“Um, last night…”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you anything, it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just…”

“Grey, I told you I understand. No need to push yourself into something you’re obviously not ready to tackle yet.”

“B-but what if I never tell you?”

“Then you don’t, I don’t understand why you’re so adamant on telling me. Before last night we were strangers.”

“But you saved my life, I guess I want you to…” before Grey could finish that thought the bells of the church chimed, and soon the food for them and the orphans came out.

“Look, we’ll talk about this later. Let’s just enjoy some warm food for right now.”

“I…okay…” Grey sighed as a plate of food was placed in front of her.

Why was she having such a hard time telling him?

Was it that hard to tell him?

Chapter 2: Earning trust.

———————-

The walk was long and tiresome. At one point Grey thought she would just straight up drop dead, especially with how it seemed Gauche didn’t get tired like she did. All the while Marie slept in his arms, and Grey was both in awe of how adorable she was, but also jealous that the Young Adlai was fast asleep.

“H-How much longer until we get to the town?” Grey asked.

“Quiet, you’ll wake her.” He simply told her.

“Could we stop for tonight? It’s later.”

“No stopping, we don’t have time to waste.”

“Why? Why do we need to be in town so early?”

“Don’t question it alright, we just have to be there early. If you want to stay I’d be more than glad to leave.”

The air began tense as Grey began to look down and fidget with her hand.

“I-I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry.” She simply said. She waited for a response back that never came, and she decided to just power through it.

As they continued to walk, Grey looked around, she realized this was her first time walking in nature in a while. Ever since her stepfamily took over she had never had time to simply enjoy the outdoors. Despite it being dark, Grey was able to admire her surroundings. The way the moonlight gleamed through the tree branches, the faint sounds of crickets chirping in the distance, and the beautiful sight of fireflies flying around. It was incredible, she was so entranced by the forest's beauty that she didn’t realize Gauche had stopped. Not until she bumped into him.

“Watch where you’re going, I could have dropped Marie!” He scolded her.

“I-I’m sorry!” Grey quickly apologized as her face grew red. “B-But why did we stop?”

“That’s why.” He then pointed to a large river, and if Grey had to assume it was deep. Neither of them could possibly swim in it since the current was fast. Not to mention they had to account for Marie.

“Is there a bridge we could cross?”

“There was a bridge, but it looks like an accident happened. Maybe it was the freak storm a couple days back? All that’s left is a few planks of wood.”

“How will we get across then? A-Are there any other routes?” Grey asked.

“There are some, but they take longer and we don’t have the time.”

“Why d-do we need to be there so early?”

“It doesn’t concern you, now let me think.”

“B-But if you let me know, I-I could help figure something out.” She knew why he didn’t trust her, she had quite literally only met them a few hours ago. Even then she wanted to help, and if getting to the town was that important to him she wanted to help. “M-Maybe I could transform the river into something we could walk on?”

Gauche actually stopped and turned to her.

“That’s not a bad plan, but can you do that?”

“U-Um, I’m not too sure. So far I can only change my appearance.” She told him as she looked away as her face burned.

“Pull out your grimoire.” He didn’t so much as asked, more so commanded. But Grey complied nonetheless. Once she took it out Gauche grabbed it with one hand and opened it, all the while he held Marie in the other.

“I-I can hold her for you, if you’d like? That way you can look at my grimoire better.” She suggested.

“No.” short, simple, and to the point.

“O-Okay…”

Gauche flipped through several pages until his eyes landed on a specific page, he then handed her grimoire back to her and pointed to a spell on it.

“This spell should allow you to change anything nonliving into anything you can think of.”

She read the spell, and her face showed signs of conflict.

“What’s wrong?” Gauche asked her as he saw her expression.

“It’s just…I’ve never tried it before, w-what if I accidentally turn it into lava or spikes? W-What if it turns back into water while we’re on it?”

“Would you stop worrying so much? You’re overcomplicating it, it’s simple. Focus your mana on the water and think real hard of turning it into snow.”

“B-But, I…”

“Don’t let the other thought get to you, if they do then you will turn the water into lava.” Gauche tried to reassure her. Key word tried. If he could be honest he wasn’t used to giving others pep talks. But right now they need to get over that river, and Grey was, as far as he hates to admit it, their only hope. And while he might think he’s doing a shit job Grey actually takes his words. So she mustered up both courage and mana and began to perform the spell.

She walked up to the river and took a deep breath. “Transformation magic: Water to Snow!”

As her mana glowed she didn’t see any change and started to falter, but then she saw it. The water started morphing, freezing, and started turning into snow.

“Come on, keep going!” Gauche encouraged her as he saw the same thing.

Soon Grey started putting more mana into the spell, as Gauche and the newly awakened Marie watched. And eventually the river was turned entirely into walkable snow. Once it was done Grey dropped the spell and breathed heavily, the spell having taken a lot out of her. She felt like she could collapse at any moment.

“That was amazing Grey!” Grey turned back to see Marie in awe at what she had witnessed.

“I-It wasn’t that impressive.” She tried to brush it off.

“Give yourself some credit.” Both girls were caught off guard by Gauche, though Marie smiled at her brother while face had turned red. “Now come one, let’s keep going.”

Neither argued against it, but both Adlai’s noticed Grey’s struggled to keep up. The spell took up a lot of mana from her, and with how big the river was it must have taken a lot of energy to cast the spell. A small part of Gauche told him to just leave her, but another part denied that. Telling him how she just helped them, not to mention she’s in the same boat as them, they couldn’t just leave her when she too had been dealt a bad hand. Gauche didn’t know where this part of him came from, but he wasn’t disagreeing. He looked at Marie and they seemed to talk with their eyes as he sighed.

“Grey, come here.” He simply, and while she was confused she still went over to him. What happened surprised her and made her go red. He managed to, with one arm mind you, pick her up and carry her.

“G-Gauche! W-what are you!?”

“Quiet down will you? Just thought you could use the rest after that spell.” he told her as he continued to walk.

“B-But aren’t I too heavy?” She asked him as she covered her face from embarrassment.

“Grey, just rest up okay. Get some sleep, you need it.”

“A-Are you sure? I-I mean what if something like a bear o-or wolves.”

“Don’t worry Grey, Brother is very strong. You can sleep!”

“Exactly, now sleep before I change my mind.”

“I-I…Okay. Thank you.” Despite not being too sure, Grey still decided to try and sleep. And soon enough she had completely clocked out. Leaving the two siblings awake.

“You carrying her was very nice.” Marie told her brother.

“Marie, don’t get any ideas. I’m only doing this so we don’t owe her any favors, besides…she did really help us.” he said that last part quietly, but Marie heard and she couldn’t help but smile.

“If you say so brother.” Marie then followed Grey’s lead and snoozed off too.

Gauche kept on advancing while carrying the two. He kept glancing at Grey as she slept.

‘Maybe bring her along was the right choice.’ He thought to himself as he saw the town they’d been traveling to.

Chapter one.

————————

The Adlai family were a respected noble household, who were known for their vast wealth. Sir Adlai being a well renowned businessman, and Lady Adlai being a highly educated Scholar. So as the son and heir to the Adlai fortune, Gauche had a lot of expectations placed on him at such a young age. None of which he cared much for. Since only a few short months ago his baby sister was born. From the moment he saw her, Gauche knew he wanted to protect her from all harm. He decided he was going to be the best big brother she deserved. As such he developed an over protective nature, one that his mother nagged him for, since he hovered over Marie constantly. Gauche’s mother knew he meant well, but she also understood that Marie would need freedom and that Gauche needed to focus on his own needs as well. So began Gauche’s studies on the history of magic, to the fundamentals of magic, even just how to form constructs with magic, all of which Gauche excelled at.

It wasn’t hard for him to get into the subject, since from a young age Gauche always had an interest in magic. He was curious about just how it worked, and it helped that he also had a love for reading. From an outside perspective it seemed like Gauche had everything figured out. He had a loving family, a love for knowledge, and an inheritance that would set him for life. But it was the latter that would cause his fall.

But before we can talk about that, first we must put our attention on another noble household. One not as wealthy as the aforementioned Adlai household. But a noble household nonetheless. The Greyson household was well known enough to have some merit. For Sir Greyson was a well respected lawyer, and Lady Greyson was a locally famous florist. So for their daughter, Amara, she didn’t have too many expectations placed on her. But instead she was given time to dream of what she wanted her future to be. And while she didn’t have many options like others around her, the options she did have she was okay with. For she could either join her mother in the florist business, or study law like her father. But for right now she was fine with taking things slowly and enjoying the small moments with her family.

One might wonder just how these two would end up joining the squad that many consider to be the worst. Especially since these two have everything they could ever want. Well dear reader, one thing you must understand is that life always has something up its sleeve, and for these two it made no exception. For the young Adlai his other relatives were alway greedy as well as envious of his family’s wealth. Oftentimes they would visit only to ask for some money. Many of Gauche’s birthdays were just an excuse for them to ask for handouts. But when Gauche’s father denied them any more, they took drastic measures.

One day Gauche was waiting for his parents to return from an associates office, not knowing the dark truth to be told to him.

“What!? Mother and Father can’t be dead. That’s impossible!” Gauche said distraught at the news.

“It’s true, I’m afraid they were attacked by bandits on their way home from my office.” The man said to the young Adlai. “You won’t have to worry about any of the pesky financial details though, since they left everything they had to me.”

The world shattered around Gauche, they took everything that rightfully belonged to him and Marie. And he had the strange feeling that not only was the will fake but so was the cause of their parents death. But he couldn’t focus on that now since he and Marie were kicked out of their home, and Gauche now had to figure out how to fend for him and his sister. And so often they went, away from the people who murdered their parents, away from the people that stole everything from them, and away to the unforgiving world they lived in.

As for Amara, tragedy would also strike for her with the death of her mother years before the death’s of the Adlais. Amara was only five when her mother passed due to her deteriorating health, she would grieve and slowly began to keep to herself. The once extroverted girl soon began to develop self esteem issues. Luckily for her, her father was still around and while he tried his best he knew she needed a mother in her life. From that moment forward Amara would have a new mother and two older sisters.

From the outside it seemed like they were a functional family. They would spend time together, eat dinner, and all the other things families would do. But underneath this jolly exterior there was a darker truth, one that Amara's own father didn’t know. Far away from the public eye her stepsisters and stepmother treated Amara horribly anytime her father went out. Insulted her, neglected her, and even gave her severe punishments for the smallest of mistakes. Yet when sir greyson came back they looked like a happy family, and Amara never said a word to her father out of fear of what her stepfamily would do to her, and for the sake of her father who like her deceased mother health was ever deteriorating. And soon tragedy would hit Amara who had now lost her father. And now she was reduced to nothing but a servant for her stepfamily, and any semilence to the young energetic Amara was gone, replaced with a shy, self conscious, broken girl that her step family insultingly refer to as Grey. One final insult to her and her family’s name. But there was one shred of hope left for her.

Since the time had come for her to finally receive her grimoire. Both her stepsisters had gotten theirs, and Grey would watch secretly as they practiced their fire magic. All the while her stepmom would praise them, so part of Grey hoped that maybe if and when she received her grimoire she would also be praised. Possibly be accepted by her stepfamily.

So when the day finally came she ran back home with her new grimoire and began to practice in secret. Her magic was transformation, just like her mother, another thing she inherited from her mother. And it gave her the ability to change her appearance, and subsequently other inanimate objects. She decided she would train herself to change her appearance, and for weeks on end whenever given the chance she would practice. She would change her form to look like her stepsisters, things seemed to be going well until she was discovered by her stepsisters. They dragged her into the living room and forced her to show them her magic. This was the moment of truth, she’d been practicing for this it was now or never, and so she used her transformation magic and turned into a copy of them. For a moment there was silence. A hopefully maybe more naive side of her thought, maybe they were in awe, maybe they’d finally accepted her, maybe, just maybe she could be happy again. But that hopefulness was shattered when she heard the words.

“HOW DARE YOU!” and soon fireballs followed. Screaming and yelling filled the house, as one after another fire balls were thrown at her. They demanded that she turn back, that it was an insult to their beauty she tried to emulate them. Unfortunately for Grey she hadn’t figured out how to transform back, relying on the form draining her mana to return to normal. And when she didn’t transform back they just kept throwing fire, for the rest of her life from the moment Grey would grow to fear fire. Soon she ran out of the house, the house that had been her home ever since she was a baby. But now she just wanted to run as far away from it as possible. And so she did just that, she ran and ran until she stopped. She didn’t know how far she had run, or where she had even ran off to. All she knew was that she was lost, both oh so literally, and metaphorically. What now? How could she possibly go on? She had no one left in this world, what possibly could she do now? Soon when she heard the bandits who asked for something that she couldn’t give, she watched them approach and simply accepted her fate. Yet once again life had other plans. For at the same moment Gauche was traveling with his sister to the next town, for the past couple of years he and Marie had been surviving on the streets. He’d done everything to keep his sister safe, via stealing food, clothing, and anything they could need to live. They would travel at night to avoid anyone who could cause them harm, and that’s how they came across what appeared to be a noble woman about to be mugged. Gauche could have cared less what would happen to the woman, he’d much rather keep moving to ensure he and Marie made it to the next town. But while he was cynical of the world, Marie still had innocent hope in the world and believed in helping others. So she asked for her brother to save the woman, Marie knew Gauche was strong, he’d always practice his mirror magic to protect her so she knew he could easily defeat the thugs. Unable to deny a request from his sister, Gauche complied and saved the girl.

Grey was shocked at what happened and looked up to see who had saved her. She was greeted by a young man with brown hair and eyes, who seemed to be carrying a young girl who, like him, shared his brown hair and eyes. Yet her hair was a lighter shade of brown. Grey immediately realized she was staring, and soon tried to take her saviors. But then the young man spoke. He said he only saved her because his sister asked him to. At that point Grey just looked at them. Was this what siblings are supposed to be like? They actually seemed to care for each other, didn’t insult each other, they looked like any actual family. The man asked her if she was running away from home, after a moment's hesitation she nodded. Once he got confirmation he said something that would stick with her forever.

“You should be ready to do everything if you commit to running away.” He told her, the words lit a fire in Grey. A flame that would allow her to keep going, to survive. He would turn away and was about to leave, but Grey called out.

“W-Wait!”

Gauche, against his judgement, turned back to look at the girl.

“I-I never thanked you.” she said in a nervous tone now that he looked at her. “H-how could I repay you?”

“Don’t, just go on already.” He told her simply, yet she didn’t seem to get it.

“But you saved me, you’re my savior, I have to repay you somehow…” Grey then noticed smoke surrounding her. ‘My transformation must have drained my mana already. I’m transforming back.’

As her transformation faded the Adlai siblings saw her true form. A relatively short girl, with blue hair cut in a bob cut having two heart shaped cowlicks on top, and two Gray eyes.

‘A transformation mage? So the form she was in wasn’t her real form. Tch should have known, with how quickly her mana was getting lower.’ Gauche thought as he saw the real form of the girl. He noticed her attire, how dirty and ragged it was. And he wondered if she was really a noble or just a commoner. Regardless he had wasted enough time standing there, he and Marie had to go and they didn’t need this girl bothering them. He was just about to tell her to scram, until Marie spoke up.

“You’re very pretty, lady.” Marie complimented the girl, and Gauche was slightly jealous that his sister complimented a stranger. But soon he noticed how the girl grew flustered, almost embarrassed at the compliment. Almost as if she wasn’t used to getting praised, yet at the same time didn’t feel worthy of being praised. But, once again, before he can say anything Marie asks him something. “Big brother, can she come with us?”

“What!? No Marie, absolutely not!” He and Grey were shocked at the request. “We don’t even know her, let alone her name.”

At that Marie turned to Grey.

“Miss, what is your name?” She asked innocently.

“M-My name?”

“Yes, please tell us.”

Grey pondered for a moment, part of her wanted to tell them her real name. But part of her told her not too. Regardless of them saving her, that didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t dangerous. She just witnessed the young man take down three bandits at once. So she had to be cautious.

“My name…it’s Grey.” While she may have hated the name her stepfamily gave her, it made for a good cover name. Especially since she isn’t entirely lying. Her last name is Greyson after all.

“You really expect us to believe that!?” Gauche yelled.

“W-well what’s your name?” She asked in return. Gauche immediately shut up.

“None of your business…”

“My name is Marie!” Marie said, much to Gauche’s chagrin.

“Don’t tell her-”

“And this is my brother Gauche.” Marie smiled sweetly.

“Don’t-”

“It’s nice to meet you both, Marie.” Grey tried smiling back.

“You have no right to say her nam-”

“Can she come with us now big brother?” Maries asked again. And at this point Gauche just gave up trying to argue, even still he wasn’t going to let this random lady they just met travel with them. He didn’t know what she could do to them. But her magic, the ability to change how she looks, could come in handy. Especially if they needed to steal food, or run away. He weighed the pros and cons. Finally with one last heavy sigh, he spoke.

“Fine, you can come.” He said as Grey smiled, she quickly walked up to them. “But.” Gauche started getting close to her, causing her to blush. “Try anything, and I mean anything. Then you’ll end up like those bandits. Understand?”

Grey quickly nodded as she looked down.

“Good, now come on. We’ve wasted enough time already.”

“Quick take her with the rest of the injured!”

“Don’t you give up on me now you brat!”

“Grey, we’ve already won! Don’t die now!”

The battle against spade was won.

But

At what cost?

Clover Kingdom

Owen had never been this packed before, hundreds of wounded clover knights had returned thanks to the help of the kingdom’s spatial mages. Yet that was the easy part, that hard part was tending to them all, as it stood they were spread thin with healing mages and so many were in critical conditions. So they devised a plan to begin with the patients with the more life threatening conditions, and work their way down. But more knights were still coming in, each looking worse than the last.

“Someone! Please help her!” Owen looked over and saw Gauche Adlai of the black bulls holding one of his comrades, it was grey but he almost didn’t recognize her. For her entire face was covered with blood, her own blood.

“Gauche, bring her over here!” He called out the mirror mage as he rushed to them. “Take her with the rest of the critical injuries!”

“Owen, will she survive?” Gauche asked him, with a look of a lost child.

“I don’t know, but she’s strong.” Is all Owen could say to reassure him before he had to tend to other patients.

Hours later

After several cruel hours they were able to save who they could, sadly not everyone survived. But for the most part enough lives were saved, and that was something to at least be proud about. Yet there was still one patient who needed Owen’s attention, for Grey was still not okay. She had received a blow to the head, causing some brain damage. Not to the point of being life threatening, but Owen feared it may lead to something else. But for now she needed rest, so he’ll contact the black bulls tomorrow to come visit her when she wakes up.

Black Bulls base

Gauche hadn’t slept at all that night, for his mind was running with all the ways something could go wrong. He was worried for Grey, worried that he may lose her. But why did he care?

“G-Gauche, I just want to tell you that I don’t know what will happen during this battle. B-But just know, I-I love you!”

She confessed to him, she told him how they actually met years before the Black Bulls, and that ever since the battle with Dante she’s been wanting to finally confess to him. And Gauche guessed that’s when he finally realized that for the first time, he was in love. And just when it seemed the battle was over and he would be able to reciprocate her feelings, it was if the world had other plans. For when they believed the battle was over, Lucifero appeared. Almost ever hit the ground due to his gravity magic, and Grey hit the ground the hardest. Her head slammed right into the ground directly, and Gauche saw her body go limp as blood began to leak from her head. And all Gauche could do was yell out her name.

Once Asta had defeated Lucifero, Gauche immediately went to her body as the other members made their way to her. Finral, with the last of his mana left, made a portal for Gauche to enter through with Grey. Leading to him taking Grey to see Owen. And now all any of them could do was wait, and that wasn’t something the bulls were known for. Only a couple hours after Gauche had arrived at Clover the rest of the squad had arrived, using the raging bull they made a beeline to get there. Every member was worried, even Nacht showed concern despite only meeting them so recently. Yet they were told to wait since there was no telling if she would even make it, but they all held out hope as they were powerless to do anything but rest up at the base. And as they tried to comfort themselves everyone did their own way. Finral decided to go visit Lady Finesse, Charmy eat or at least tried to, Henry and Gordon went to read with each other, uncharacteristically Magna nor Luck wanted to spare, Zora decided to try nap, Vanessa instead of drinking actually snuggled up with Nacht who didn’t seem to mind as they seem to gotten close, especially with the current situation, Asta, Noelle, and Nero (in her bird form) decided that a walk would be best, and Yami seemingly vanished, where? Who knows.

As for Gauche, he sat in her room. He didn’t sleep a wink, so he wandered around. Until he came across her room, he decided to enter and sat down on her bed. He looked around and saw her room was neatly made, probably Asta and Vanessa’s doing. They probably didn’t want Grey to return to her room in ruins.

If she returned.

He didn’t know where that came from, nor did he want it to come back. For now he waited.

And waited.

And waited

And waited.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

“GAUCHE!!” Vanessa yelled as she entered the room. “There you are!”

“Vanessa what’s wrong?”

“It’s Grey.” Vanessa said, Gauche immediately got up prepared for what she has to say.

“Did something happen?”

“She woke up.”

Both quickly ran down to meet up with the rest as Finral opened up the portal.

Clover kingdom: Medical Ward

The bulls tried their best to be quiet since there were many other knights trying to recover too, but they weren’t known for their quietness. And it showed as they arrived like a hurricane, destructive as they rushed to where Grey was being held. So much so that Owen had to threaten them that if they continued they’d be thrown out, now he would never do it but he just said it to calm them down. But he did tell them only three could enter at a time, so they had to decide who would go in first. In the end they choose Vanessa, Zora, and Gauche. Since Grey was closest to them, they thought she would want to see them first.

“Before you three enter, I need to let you know something” Owen told the three just as they were about to enter. “Grey took a serious hit to the head.”

“We know that Owen, that’s why we were so worried.” Gauche said in response.

“Yes, I know. But because of it she may not…recognize you.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Zora asked.

“Just…be prepared when she sees you.” was all Owen could say as he allowed the trio to enter.

As the three enter the room they see their comrade laying on a hospital bed, as she sensed the three enter she opened her eyes. They expected her to be embarrassed yet happy to see them, but instead she just stared at them like they were strangers. And to them it seemed strange, but nonetheless they greeted her. Vanessa being the first by going to her and hugging her.

“Grey, we’re so glad you’re okay!”

“Um, thank you?” Grey said in an awkward and uncomfortable tone. “Who are you?”

The room went silent.

“W-What? C’mon Grey, it’s me Vanessa. Don’t you remember?”

“I’m sorry, I-I really am. But I don’t remember you at all.”

“You’re just messing with us right!?” Zora got close to the bed, making Grey jump back a bit. “It’s us! Don’t you remember!?”

“I really don’t!” She began to try to move away from them, and who could blame her. she was obviously scared by their reactions.

“No ... .no no no no no no no no no, Grey please tell me you’re joking, It’s me Gauche, don’t you remember me? You confessed to me before we found spade!” Gauche

“Spade?” It seemed to ring a bell for her, but before they knew it Grey began to hold her head and soon she started screaming in pain.

As soon as her screams started Owen burst in, he told them to go back out and wait as he began to use his healing magic. Outside the three began to be questioned by the other members, yet none of them could answer after their encounter. After a few moments the screaming stopped and Owen exited her room.

“She’s back asleep.”

“Owen, what the hell is wrong with her!?” Yami all but roared at the medic, who just sighed with a remorseful face.

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way but, with the blow to her head, Grey…has amnesia. She doesn’t remember anything besides memories before her parents death, and just the memory of Yami asking her to join his squad. Anything beyond that is gone.”

Now the whole squad was stunned and distraught, and now the three who entered before had finally processed everything. Vanessa broke down into tears, Zora actually looked devastated and seemed like he was going to break down too, and Gauche…Gauche’s whole world was shattered. The girl he had fallen in love with just days ago now didn’t even remember him. Was this some kind of cruel joke the world decided to play on him?

“Owen please there has to be a way to get her memories back!” Asta pleaded with the medic, and Owen simply placed a hand on the anti-magic boy’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry Asta, I don’t know how we could. I had Marx here last night to see if we could find any of them, but it seems like they’ve been all erased from her mind.”

“NO! That can’t be it, there has to be a way!” Gauche yelled and grabbed Owen by the collar.

“Gauche calm down.” Finral tried to comfort him.

“You shut up!” Gauche snapped, and subconsciously he scolded himself knowing Finral meant well.

“Gauche, I’m sorry but there’s nothing we can do. Not to mention, if you try to remind her of anything from her past it’ll give her a severe migraine. There’s no telling what it could do to her if you try to force her to remember.”

“What are you saying?” Noelle spoke up as she hugged Vanessa.

“I’m saying, you might just have to accept this.”

“Like hell we will! If you can’t help then we’ll find someone who can.” Gauche finally let Owen down.

“Gauche.” Yami stopped him, and he looked at the rest of the squad. “I know this is bull shit but…we have to accept it.”

“Not you too captain!” Asta said.

“Well do you want to hurt her more than she already is!?” Everyone shut up before they could begin to argue. “I know we want to help her, make her remember us. But we’ll just hurt her more in the end, do it for her please.”

One by one, despite themselves almost all the squad agreed. Yami was right, it would only harm her Vanessa and Zora knew that after her reaction to just the word spade. But while almost everyone was in agreement, only one wasn’t.

“Are you all crazy?” Gauche began. “You’re just going to let her forget herself? If we’re really a squad we have to help her!.”

“Gauche you heard Owen, nothing good will come from trying to make her remember.” Zora told him.

“But what if it does, and she just has to push through the pain.”

“And what if it doesn’t? You’ll just be hurting her for nothing!”

“I’m not going to hurt her!”

“Well it sounds like you are!”

A full on fight between Zora and Gauche would have broken out, if it weren’t for Yami grabbing both of them.

“That’s enough you two, fighting between ourselves won’t do anything to help. So Finral you stay here with me until Grey wakes up again, as for the rest of you go back to the base and try to relax. We can’t have her return to see you all fighting, am I clear.”

With a unanimous yes sir from everyone Finral opened the portal back to the base.

Black bulls base: Three hours later.

After what happened at the medical ward everyone tried to relax, and a hopeful sentiment went around. That while Grey may not remember them, that at the very least she was finally returning home. And it seemed to offer some comfort to the Black bulls, all but Gauche. It didn’t comfort him at all, for to him she wasn’t truly returning home. Only a shell of her former self is coming back, and maybe he was being pessimistic. But he couldn’t live with that idea. So while everyone was trying to relax and make the base as neat as possible for her, he was planning on how he’d help her remember. But for the time being he, like the rest, had to wait. And once the portal opened everyone held their breath. And out stepped Grey with Yami and Finral by her side. She began to look around, it seemed like the place was familiar to her, and while it seemed she had forgotten the place her body remembered. To Gauche it was a sign that she could remember, he just had to figure out how to help. Grey then walked forward and addressed everyone.

“Um hi, Captain Yami. That's your name right?” She turned to Yami as he nodded before she continued. “Explained everything to me, I’m sorry I don’t remember anything, but I’m sure you are all good people. And I’m sure we were all great friends, and if you’d all accept me again I’d love to be friends with you all.”

She was vastly different, she was more confident, less shy, yet obviously a bit awkward. But to all the others it didn’t matter, for they were all just happy to have their friend back and they embraced her. Soon the entire squad was in the mess hall chatting while Charmy and her sheep cooked up a storm, saying that Grey needed as much nutrients as possible. All the while Finral and Vanessa reintroduced everyone to Grey. Gauche watched as she smiled, giggled, and shook hands with everyone. She seemed to be doing much better than she was hours ago, Zora and her even began to talk with each other showing that even now their friendship was still there. Yet something seemed to irk her, and normally Grey would just stay silent, the old Grey would. But the new Grey actually spoke her mind.

“Why do you all call me by my last name?”

Everyone turned their heads towards her.

“What?” Asta decided to ask.

“You all call me by last name, or part of it at least.”

“If Grey is your last name?” Asta said.

“What’s your real name?” Noelle asked.

“Did I never tell you guys my name?” Grey asked, as most of the members shook their heads no. “Oh wow, well my name is Amara Greyson.”

To many of the members they would have never thought they’d know Grey’s real name, and some wondered what they would call her now?

“Oh, um if you want you can all continue calling me Grey. I guess that’s what you’re all used to, and I also guess it could help me assimilate back into the squad better.” Grey compromised.

“Only if that’s what you want, kid.” Yami spoke up, taking another drag of his cigarette.

“I’m sure, I want to make this easy for everyone.”

After the bombshell that was just dropped about Grey’s name, most of the day was dedicated to showing Grey around again. Showing her to her room, and the works. Now Grey was in the common area as everyone chatted, yet she didn’t sit too comfortable. Mainly for the fact that while these people knew her and had memories that she no longer had, it felt off. It felt like, despite what she’s been told, like she didn’t belong here. It didn’t help that one of the guys, Gauche, if she remembered correctly, had been staring at her for the last hour. It made her feel awkward, not embarrassed as the others said she used to be. And she didn’t know if he had something against her, but she decided to wait until the celebration was over to talk to him. So as the night went on everything started to calm down, most of the members decided to call it a night. Vanessa, Nacht, Zora, Yami, Gordon, Finral, Gauche, and Grey were still awake. All of them had started drinking and were pleasantly surprised how much more confident Grey was, as she was drinking more than she usually before, and she wasn’t too afraid to speak up.

“I gotta say kid, it’s good to have you back.” Yami told Grey as he patted her on the back.

“Thank you captain.” She smiled.

“Hey captain, been meaning to ask. But are you going to let Grey go back on missions?” Finral asked.

“Well currently, no. I think she still needs time to recover besides, for right now she should train to relearn her magic.” Yami told them.

“Well I do remember the basics of my magic, but I wouldn’t mind training.” Grey said.

“I volunteer to help her train.” Zora said and Grey turned to him and smiled, he smiled back at least that’s what they assumed he was doing under his mask.

“While I would say yes, I actually have a job for you to do tomorrow.”

“I’ll do it!” Vanessa said before passing out.

“Maybe some other day.” Nacht said as he picked her up to take her to her room.

“I’ll do it.” Everyone turned to look at Gauche.

“You sure?” Yami asked.

“I am.”

“Just thought you would want to see Marie after everything that has happened.”

“I said I am sure.”

“Fine, have it your way. You cool with that Grey?”

“Um…” She looked at him for a moment. Sure she felt awkward around him, but she thought maybe this would be a good opportunity to have a one on one with him. To sort things out between them. “Yeah, I’m okay with it.”

“Alright, now it's time to hit the hay.”

Everyone got up and went to their rooms, Finral went with Grey so she wouldn’t get lost. And Gauche tried to follow them but was stopped by a certain mask wearing member.

“What do you want, Zora.” Gauche asked as he glared at the trap mage.

“Just wanted to tell you, try any funny business with her and you’ll be hearing it from me.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I wouldn’t do anything like that to her.”

“That’s not what I mean, I mean trying to force her to remember. You know what Owen said.”

“And I still say that’s bullshit.”

“Well whether you like it or not, he’s the expert and all you’re going to do is hurt her in the end.”

“Fuck off, just you wait.” Gauche stormed past him.

“You’re so damn stubborn.”

Next morning

The base was lively as ever, with the return of Grey despite her amnesia everyone’s spirit had been lifted up. And they continued as usual and started getting back into routine. All that was left for Grey was to begin training again as she recovered, so she started her morning by eating a filling breakfast and studying her grimoire to see what spells to start with. A good majority of her spells are simple enough while others would take time to relearn. But she was willing to do the work so she could go back to helping the black bulls out.

“Grey.”

She looked up to see who had called her, and found Gauche standing next to her as she sat down.

“Once you’re done meet me outside the base, there we’ll begin your training.” he said as he made his way out of the mess hall. He seemed to be carrying a bag with him, what did it have inside it? She had know idea, but she assumed it must be things to help her train. Once she had finished her breakfast she made her way outside, the morning view of the forest was absolutely stunning. The way the sunlight shined through the tree branches, the slight breeze flowing through the air carrying leaves with it, flowers spread out with different colors meshing together to show the beauty of mother nature. It was simply breathtaking.

“There you are.”

Grey looked over and saw Gauche standing next to a large stone, on it were several random objects. A book, a weird looking doll that seemed to resemble her, and finally a seashell. All three seemingly random choices, and seemed impractical for training.

“Today we’ll start your training.” Gauche told her.

“Okay um, how should I start? What spell should I use first?” She asked, and mentally she reminded herself to speak with him after they finished training.

“No spells required.” he said, much to her confusion.

“What but how will we…”

“This shell is from the water temple village, you grabbed it when we were recovering after our fight with Vetto.” He told her, and at the mention of the names that seemed familiar to her yet so unfamiliar caused a pain in her head to emerge.

“Water temple, V-Vetto, w–what?” Her brain tried hard to remember a memory that has been forgotten, and it caused a splitting headache. “I-i don’t remember anything.”

“That’s why I’m trying to help. If you just push past the pain you’ll remember everything, I just know it.”

“N-No, it hurts.”

“Come on, just push through. Remember? You were transformed as Gordon, then a crab, and then you transformed into me and saved my skin. Then you saved us again by turning that rock into a piece of meat to wake Charmy up.”

“P-Please, I don’t”

“This doll of you, it’s creepy as hell but Gordon made to show your friendship with him. Don’t you remember how you reacted when you first saw it?” He asked, desperation evident in his voice. A part of him was yelling, screaming at him to stop as he was obviously hurting her. But he couldn’t, no he needed Grey back.

“I don’t remember!” She yelled out as she held her head.

“O-Or this? This book I bought for you as a thank you after Asta, Henry, and Gordon saved me and Marie when we were possessed by the elves.” He asked her, the look on his face mirrored how he felt after he learned his parents had died. The fear and despair of a lost child was shown, as now he was desperate for her, the girl he had fallen in love with, the girl who no longer remembered him, was gone. “P-please, this can’t be it. Please tell me my Grey is still there.” He almost cried.

“P-Please.” Grey let out a weak plea, and Gauche saw her fall to her knees. And it dawned on him of the horrible mistake he made.

“Shit, shit! YAMI, ZORA, ANYONE! HELP!” he yelled out, and soon the other members ran out to see the commotion.

Outside of Grey’s room

Gauche sat there in shame, regret, and in disgrace. He did this, he’s the reason they had to call Owen to come check up on her. He’s the reason she’s in pain. How could he be so stupid?

‘You did this you screw up, now she’s going to hate you, despise you, as she should.’ The voice in his head told him, and he agreed. How could she ever forgive him? Answer she wouldn’t.

“Hey, quit beating yourself up.” Gauche just glanced up at Zora before looking back down at his lap. “That’s my job.”

“Just say what you’re going to say, this is my fault, I should have just dropped it.” he sighed “I just hurt her more in the end.”

“Good, you already know.” Zora pulled up a chair some of the other members brought when they first brought Grey back in. “so you fucked up, what you gonna do now?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“Hey, look at me.”

“Why, didn’t you say you were going to talk to me if I did any funny business with her?”

“Well what am I doing now?” Zora chuckled slightly as Gauche scowled at him. “In all seriousness, I understand how you feel. The want to help her, and how powerless I feel not being able to. But we have to accept this is how it is, and help her adjust to this.”

“But I…I don't want to forget her, I just realized my feelings and…”

“I know, but you don’t have too. Sure things have changed but, as long as you remember the good moments you had with her, she’ll never truly disappear. And maybe this could be a new start.”

“One that I already messed up.”

“A small hiccup, all you need to do is talk it out like adults.”

“And if she doesn’t want to talk to me anymore?”

“She’s still Grey, and Grey is a kind and understanding person. I know she’ll forgive you.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

Just then the door opened, and out stepped Yami and Owen.

“Hey Gauche, Grey asked to see you.” Yami told him much to his shock.

“No, I couldn’t.”

“She personally asked to see you, something about walking to talk.”

“Gauche go.” Zora encouraged him.

“But what if I mess up, or ruin it further.”

“Or you could fix things, you’ll never know if you don’t go talk to her.”

Gauche thought for a moment before hesitantly entering the room. Entering the room he saw Grey sitting on her bed looking out the window. Slowly he walked to her.

“Grey…I…I.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What? Grey I…”

“Please, let me finish.” She said, never turning to look at him, “the others had told me of our relationship, or what was supposed to be. And all I can say is sorry. Sorry for not being the same person.”

Gauche shuddered as tears threatened to spill out.

“If anyone should be apologizing, It's me. I should have never done that. Because of my stubbornness I caused you more pain.” Gauche told her. “It’s just that, when you confessed I never realized I could feel such love for another person, and then…”

“I…I bet we were fun.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” He sadly smiled, as the memories of him and her popped up. From the underwater temple to the elf invasion.

“Gauche, I know things didn’t start off well, and I can’t ensure anything but…if you’d allow me. I’d like to start off slow, become friends again, and if possible try again.”

“Grey…nothing would make me happier.” He smiled and she returned in kind. “Um, I should go.”

“Stay a little longer, will you?”

“Of…of course, anything for you Grey.”

It was rare for the black bull’s base to be quiet, but whenever it did most of the members took the opportunity to relax, sleep, or in Grey’s case, get lost in her own mind. And today Grey seemed to be lost in memories. Some were clear as day, others were blurry, after all some memories tend to fade away with time. Even then she found herself lost reliving these fading moments. Such as those of her family, before running away from home, before her stepmother and sisters, even before her real mothers death. And how Grey longed for that past.

Grey remembered how her mother looked as if she just saw her yesterday, with long light blue hair that Grey Inherited, a soft tender face that could calm even the most frightened of souls, and a voice that could only be described as angels singing. To most it would be obvious that Grey inherited most if not all of her traits from her mother, with her only really inheriting her father’s gray eyes. She even inherited her mother’s height. Yet she’s glad she did, in a way it was something to remember her mother by.

But the sad truth was that Grey didn’t have too many memories left of her mother, in her defense she was only a child, 5 years old she thinks, so most of her memories aren’t too clear. But what she did remember was her and her parents being happy together, going for walks with them, eating dinner together, and them allowing her to sleep with them when she was scared. As well as the comforting words her mother used to tell her when Grey felt insecure. Good memories indeed, yet she felt as if a memory was missing. She thought and tried remembering until she uncovered a suppressed memory, and she learnt why it was suppressed real quickly.

For it was the memory of her mother on her deathbed.

It was a scary day especially to a five year old Grey, who didn’t understand what was wrong with her mother. To a child it’s hard to comprehend the concept of death, and even while her illness slowly took her life Grey’s mother never once showed fear, she acted like herself even as the illness confined her to the bed. Grey’s mother was strong and promised she would be there for Grey’s sixth birthday.

But that was a promise she never kept.

The house was silent the morning of her passing, and Grey never saw her dad so heartbroken before. He wept and wept for days on end, and their home felt empty. Grey’s father did his best to be the best dad he could, cutting his time at work to spend time with her, being there to laugh with her, cry with her, her highs, and her lows. Even still he knew they both missed her mother, and that nothing could ever fill the hole that was left after her death. Still he tried, and it cultivated with him remarrying four years after Grey’s mother’s death. At first Grey was distraught that her father was remarrying, and almost yelled at him for trying to replace mother. Yet he told her that no woman could ever replace the angel that was her mother, and as hard as it was to remarry he was doing it for her. For he knew that she needed a mother in her life as she got older, to teach her the things he couldn’t. Grey was still split on the marriage, but understood that her father was doing it for her sake.

And so Grey had a stepmother and two older sisters, and at the time things went well. Though she believed in part that it was because her father was still around, even then her stepfamily seemed cold to her even when they smiled warmly to her. Her stepmother didn’t give off the same comforting aura her real mother did, and when she was made to spend time with her stepsisters they would ignore her as if she wasn’t important. Yet Grey never told her father any of this, for his health slowly disintegrated much to Grey’s fear. She wanted to give him the idea that she was happy so he could pass on in peace, should she have told him? Yes. Would he have done something? Yes. And yet she didn’t say a word, because for everything he has gone through and sacrificed for her this was the least she could do.

So as he laid on his deathbed, the same bed her mother passed on, Grey held his hand. And she would never forget his final words to her. “Don’t ever regret who you are, you’re our pride and joy.” tears fell from Grey's face as she watched the life vanish from his eyes. The only thing that brought her some joy was the idea that her parents would finally be together again, and how she longed to join them too. Sadly at the time it seemed she had to wait. For soon after her father passed, her stepfamily showed their true colors. They no longer tried to fake affection for Grey, and instead treated like a piece of trash.

She was made to wash their clothes, fix their beds, and make them food. And while Grey used to live a relatively normal life her parents gave her, she was thrown into awful living conditions her stepmother forced her to stay in. And her nights were often spent dreaming of what her life could have been if her parents were still alive, and at times dark thoughts would plague her mind. But she remembered what her father had said, and it was enough for her to ignore those thoughts.

But it was never enough to stop the words her stepfamily told her.

“You useless girl!”

“I can’t believe I have to take care of you.”

“Ew! Look at dirty Grey!”

“Your hair makes me want to puke.”

“Oh don’t blame her, not her fault her mother didn’t have pretty hair.”

It was never the first time they insulted her mom, and it never hurts any less each time. The constant insult to her dead parents and too her started taking a toll on her, her self esteem began to decline and eye contact was impossible for her now. As much as she told herself that their words meant nothing it didn’t stop their words to affect her, with her now ashamed whenever someone ever looked at her. But even still she had something to look forward to, for her fifteenth birthday was coming meaning she would soon be receiving her grimoire. She thought maybe if she got one she could show her worth to her stepfamily, and make her parents proud.

Oh how wrong she was, instead of her stepsisters seeing her transform into one of them as a compliment. They saw it as an insult and soon came the fire. A little known fact about Grey was that she was afraid of fire, and her stepsisters were the reason for that. Obviously she slowly had gotten over her fear, especially thanks to Magna. Yet at that moment Grey was terrified for her life, she ran out of the house, her childhood home where she was born and raised in, and she ran and ran. For how long? She didn’t know. But once she stopped she found she was lost, not just in the forest, but in her life. What now? She had no home, not anymore, no family, she had nothing, she was nothing…

As she stood there lost three shadowy figures emerged from the forest, bandits. They were asking her for money, but she didn’t have any, she told them. That didn’t stop them from approaching her, even as she backed away. For a moment she thought she was finished, thought this was it. Was a sad way to go, a nobody killed in the middle of nowhere to be forgotten. Would anyone care? Would anyone cry? On the bright side, she would at last see her parents again. That was the only comfort she could give herself. And so she closed her eyes and awaited the cold embrace of death.

Yet, nothing happened, except for a flash of light and the bandits hitting the floor. She opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of a young man holding a young girl in his arms as they were both looking at her. A storm of emotions filled her, she was scared yet grateful, confused yet relieved. And so she went to thank her savior, only for him to tell her that he only saved her because his sister asked him too. So they were siblings? She was shocked at how well he treated his younger sister, nothing like how her stepsisters treated her. It made her somewhat jealous in a way, but then remembered that she wanted to thank him. But she was instead asked if she had run away from home, and with a simple nod he told her that “you should be prepared to do everything yourself if you commit to running away.” He didn’t know it, but those words sparked her will, her will to live, to keep going, to make her parents proud. So as the siblings turned and walked away, Grey dropped her transformation and with new found determination began her journey to be someone her parents will be proud of.

Her journey was hard, she needed to figure out how to earn money to eat, where to sleep, and how to protect herself. Yet she took them as chances to learn and made her stronger. She learned to use her magic and make disguises, with her favorite being a giant man with smoke coming out her mouth as a way to prevent people approaching her. And while things could have been better they were by no means worse than her stepfamily. And one fateful night she would be found by none other than her captain Yami Sukehiro. He laughed at her, but not how her sisters used to, he didn’t show any ill will and then offered her a part in his squad. She was of course hesitant but as he talked to her, she found herself feeling safe in his presence. He didn’t treat her like a nobody, he treated her like a real person. So she joined and she couldn’t have been more happy she did. For she felt truly at home, no one ever judged and treated her like she was always a part of the group. She remembers her first night there, she was given food that was warm, her first proper baths in a month that was in a river, and an actual bed. She wanted to cry tears of joy, she had found her new family. And when she thought things couldn’t get any better, the same man that had saved her all those years ago had joined the squad. And now she had the chance to thank him, not just for saving her, but for being the one to relight her spark.

Even though her life didn’t start the best she’s glad she made it this far, for she would have never have found her family, her lover, her purpose. And she is sure she’s making her parents proud,

“Grey?” Grey looked over to see Gauche, her fiance, the man who saved her, enter her room. “You okay? You’re crying.” asked with worry.

“Y-yeah, just…happy.” she responded, wiping her tears away.

“About?”

“Us, the squad, everything.”

“Is that so?” He asked again.

“Yes.” she said with a smile, and Gauche smiled warmly back at her. He then walked to her and kissed her.

“Come on, let's go out, captain already said we could go visit Marie.”

“Okay, you go wait for me at the entrance. I’ll be down in a moment.” Grey told him.

“Okay.” he kissed her again before leaving.

A Fragora Fic

A Lahar is when ash and snow mix together, typically when a volcano erupts and the ashes mix in with water or mud. But there are other ways to create lahar, such as a harsh battle in the snow. And for the residents of a small village of Clover, this was sadly the case. A group of criminals was tracked down to this village, where their headquarters was found and raided. But these thugs didn’t go without a fight, and soon the whole village was a battlefield. Luckily there were no fatalities and only minor injuries, still the village itself was ruined. Home destroyed, lives possibly ruined. If it weren’t for the magic knights, who shortly after the battle immediately began to rebuild and offer food, temporary housing, and medical help to those in need. And as for Zora, he felt a great duty to help out. Since this village reminded him so much of his home village, and it’s what his father would have done. So currently he was scanning the area, seeing if there was anyone caught under the rubble.

So imagine Zora's surprise when he found a young girl, who could not be any younger than ten, on the ground crying with a scraped knee. It was obvious she had gotten caught in the middle of the battle, and the poor thing was frightened. Zora did what any good knight would do, and went to make sure the kid was alright before taking her to the medical mages.

“Hey kid, you okay?” Zora kneels down, he knew his appearance wasn’t exactly the friendly looking type. So he made sure to talk in a calm tone, so as to not scare the girl.

“M-My knee i-it hurts.” The girl sniffled, she had a bad scrape on her knee. And by the looks of it, it could get infected if he doesn’t take her to the medic in time.

“Alright, I’m going to take you to some nice people. They’ll heal you up.” He went to grab the girl, but she flinched back and Zora couldn’t blame her. Again, he wasn’t the most friendly looking person, and after the whole criminal fiasco, she was probably traumatized. Nonetheless Zora was set on getting this girl some help.

“Hey kid, I know I might seem scary. But see this robe?” Zora pointed to the Black Bull design on his robe. “This means I’m not one of those mean guys, I’m here to help.”

The girl, while still hesitant at first, soon allowed him to gently pick her up, and soon they were making their way to where the camp was set up.

“Once we get there you’ll be seen by a medic, and then they’ll find your parents.” Zora told the girl in an effort to comfort her. They’d been spending a lot of time reuniting families that had been split up in all the chaos, and so far they’ve been very successful.

“Y-you think so Mister…”

“Call me, the awesome super knight Zora.”

The girl looked at him a bit confused.

“Or just Zora,” He gently patted her head. “And as for your question, I don’t doubt it. They’re probably worried sick about you, ya little twerp.”

The girl smiled slightly, and hugged him a bit as the cold winter air flowed.

Once they arrived at the camp Zora walked to the infirmary, while walking there he saw Asta, Liebe and Noelle playing with the kids, Charmy cooking up food for the residents of the village to eat, and Nero reading some book to the kids who didn’t feel like playing. They were doing their part to help out where they could, it wasn’t just the black bulls, members from the Crimson Lions like Leo were out doing patrols in search of other victims, Golden Dawn members such as Mimosa were helping with the medical field, and even the Aqua deer were helping out by providing accommodation such as beds, blankets, and clothing.

Inside the infirmary Zora’s eyes landed on a familiar looking blue haired lady.

“Hey Grey.” Zora walked over to her as she finished healing a man with a broken arm.

“Z-zora.” She greeted him, he and her had been getting along recently after a mission they’d been placed together. In a weird way they enjoyed each other’s company, and have this very odd sibling relationship to the point where sometimes they’ll accidentally introduce themselves as siblings, and after a while just stop bothering to correct themselves.

“I got a little twerp with a scraped knee, think you can help?”

“O-Of course I can.” Grey began to heal the girl's leg.

“Thanks, and you don’t mind if I leave her with you for a bit?”

“Not all Zora,” She responded and smiled at him. “Going to go see her again?”

“What of it?”

“N-Nothing at all.” She giggled, causing Zora to scoff.

“I knew I shouldn’t have taught you how to tease someone.” He then turned to the girl. “My sis here is going to take care of you, I’ll be back with someone to help find your parents. Okay?”

“O-Okay mister Zora.” The girl answered.

Zora made his way out of the infirmary and directly to a few members of the Aqua Deers, currently they were helping people find lost family members so he knew they could help. More specifically one certain member.

“Look, it’s a snowflake in her natural habitat.” The voice of a certain redhead made Fragil turn to his direction.

“Hello to you too Zora.” She walked up to him and planted a kiss on his lips, causing the trickster to turn away, surely blushing under his mask.

“I told you, I don’t like kissing in public.”

“I know, but it’s nice seeing you flustered.” Fragil smiled. Zora didn’t hate kissing her, more so he liked to keep his whole ‘brute’ act up and it was hard if he kissed his lover openly. But when they’re alone together he’s the one who gives the most kisses. “Did you need something?”

“Yeah actually, I found a young girl. She’s currently with Grey getting her knee healed up, mind helping find her folks?”

“Of course, will you take me to her?” Fragil asked.

Both made their ways to the infirmary to find the girl all better.

“Good to see that you’re all better, twerp.” Zora made his presence known, while Fragil nudged him.

“Zora.” She said to him, even though it was just how he referred to people.

The young girl looked at Fragil in awe, she thought she was beautiful and to the two knights they knew.

“Oi twerp, this beauty is Fragil. My future wife.” Zora introduced the girl to a now scarlet Fragil.

“Zora!” Fragil practically yelled.

“What?”

“You don’t say stuff like that!”

“Why not, it’s true isn’t it? We’re gonna get married, find a nice place in the woods to live, and have lots of kids.” Zora said knowing it would make her blush madly, though he meant everything he said. He wanted to marry her and start a family, and Fragil knew that which only made her blush even more. As well as her heart beating rapidly.

“N-nice to meet you, lady Fragil.” The young girl said. This made Fragil come back to the real world, and she kneeled down to the little girl’s level before addressing her.

“Hello darling, mind if i ask for your name?” Fragil asked, she would need a name to be able to find her parents.

”J-Julia, Julia rainer.”

“Well Julia, I promise you as a magic knight that we will find your parents.” She reassured Julia.

Together the three exited the tent, they made their way back to the other aqua deer’s. There were groups of people asking for them to find their loved ones, with the knights writing names down and assuring them they’ll do everything they can.

“Alright dear, you wait here and I’ll find your parents.” Fragil told Julia before turning to Zora. “No funny business.”

“Aw, but that’s the best kind of business.” Zora chuckled at his own joke. “But alright, but expect some tomfoolery.”

Fragil rolled her eyes yet still giggled softly.

“Mister Zora?”

“Yes, twerp?”

“Are you really going to marry lady Fragil?”

“Of course I am, didn’t you hear what I said before? I’m gonna marry her, and have kids just like you.” He booped her nose making her giggle.

Zora smiled warmly under his mask, Julia reminded him of a younger him. So curious and full of life, something he doesn’t have now, since he spends most times napping after doing night patrols. But still, it fills him with hope for the future of clover. And all it takes is them making the right decision today.

“Zora!” He was dragged out of his thoughts by Fragils voice.

“Yeah?”

“Bring Julia, her parents are here!” She called out, and at the mention of the girl’s parents they made their way immediately.

“Julia!”

“We’re so glad you’re okay!” Both her parents hugged her and held her closely. Meanwhile Zora and Fragil watched, with the latter having a warm smile on her face. As they watched the small family together Zora wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him for their own hug.

“Lovely family aren’t they?” Zora asked.

“Yeah, yeah they are.” She responded.

“Want one?”

The question got her flustered.

“Again with the marriage thing?”

“Well?”

She huffed but kissed him.

“Soon, my love.” She told him before kissing him once again.

“Mister Zora, Miss Fragil.” Both turned to see Julia looking at them. “Thank you, so very much.”

“Hey, don’t mention twerp.” Zora told her.

“Will I see you guys again?” Julia asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“Of course dear, as long as we are alive we’ll always make sure to protect you guys.” Fragil assured her.

“Okay!” She chirped happily. “Hope I get to go to your wedding!” She said before running back to her parents, leaving a cackling Zora and a scarlet Fragil.

“Well we have to invite her now, wouldn’t you say?” Zora looked at the tomato.

“Q-Quiet you!” Fragil said before burying her face in his chest.

“I love you snowflake.” Zora said as he rubbed her back.

A Greyche oneshot

Gauche wasn’t necessarily known for being gentle, only a few people he was ever gentle with. Those being his angel Marie, and goddess Grey. But just for today he made an exception. For today he and Grey offered to take care of Vanessa and Nacht’s daughter, Sophia Faust. Normally he wouldn’t do such a thing, but since Vanessa made them her godparents, they had an obligation too. Moreover Grey wanted to, she loved Sophia with all her heart. It almost made Gauche jealous, but he had to admit, he also cared a lot for Sophia. And it took almost all his being not to spoil her like he used to do to Marie, and most recently Grey.

Luckily, Gauche is an older brother. So he has experience caring for children, and it showed. He was currently rocking Sophia to sleep as Grey came in with a warm bottle of milk. Grey smiled at the sight of her beloved acting all fatherly, as if Sophia was one of his own. It filled her with adoration and love. If they were to have their own family, which they planned too, Grey has no doubt Gauche would be an amazing father. But that was a thought for another day.

“G-Gauche, here’s the milk.” She hands him the milk, and as if sensing it Sophia wakes up. “Oh my, someone’s awake?”

“It seems that way, now the question is did she sense your mana or just milk?” Gauche questioned, he wouldn’t be surprised if she could. She was Vanessa and Nacht’s kid after all.

“R-Regardless, a growing girl needs to eat.” Gently, Grey takes Sophia from Gauche’s arms, and begins feeding her.

This time Gauche was the one smiling at the sight of his beloved holding Sophia, and just like Grey Gauche knew she would be an amazing mother someday.

“So how long will they be gone?” Gauche asked, taking a seat next to Grey on the sofa.

“Vanessa said they’d be gone for a week, they wanted to enjoy themselves at the beach.” Vanessa and Nacht wanted to go on vacation by themselves, so they opted to have someone from the Black Bulls look after Sophia. They chose Grey and Gauche since Nacht didn’t trust Yami enough while Vanessa did, Zora was busy with his own thing, also Nacht didn’t trust him, and either most of the other members were either busy, or Nacht didn’t trust them. Luckily Grey and Gauche were both people the couple trusted (Grey more than Gauche for Nacht at least), both had skills for taking care of children, and in Gauche’s case, actually experience taking care of a child. Safe to say, they were the most qualified, second only to Asta, but he and Noelle were currently visiting Yuno at Spade.

“Well, what a pain.” Gauche said, but Grey knew he didn’t really mean it. He didn’t mind taking care of Sophia, not in the slightest. But he wasn’t going to let anyone know that. “Either way, we should get her ready for bed.”

“I-I don’t think she’ll want to go to bed at the moment.” Grey told her lover, Sophia seemed to be full of energy.

“But she was just dozing off?” Gauche stood baffled at Sophia’s newfound energy.

Grey giggled softly, once Sophia finished her bottle she began to coo. It melted Grey’s heart, it made her long for a child of her own, to hold, love, and give everything to them.

“Oh you’re just the cutest thing ever.” Grey cuddled Sophia, who responded by cuddling Grey back.

“Don’t you dare steal my girlfriend.”

“Aww, is someone threatened by this adorable face?” Grey snuggled with Sophia more, Gauche blushed slightly.

“Not at all, why would I be?”

Sophia started babbling a bit at Grey.

“I know, he’s so jealous it’s cute.” Grey spoke back to Sophia.

“Am not.” Gauche retorted.

“What, cute or jealous?”

“I…Touché” Gauche at this point accepted he wasn’t going to win this discussion.

“It’s alright Gauche, you know I'd never leave you.” Grey cuddled up against Gauche as he did the same with her and Sophia.

“I know Grey” He kissed Grey’s forehead gently, who began to yawn. “Maybe Sophia isn’t the only one who should go to bed.”

Grey pouted at him, causing him to chuckle a bit at how cute she looked when pouting. Until he started yawning as well, and this time Grey was the one chuckling.

“It seems like someone else should also go to bed.”

“How about we all go to bed?” Gauche compromised

“What do you think, Sophia?” Grey asked, and Sophia yawned seemingly burning off all the energy she had already. “I believe we agree.”

A Greyche one shot

Musicals were much different from many forms of entertainment. They were performed on stage in front of a live audience, and the audience knew it was just a stage practice yet, it didn’t take away from the experience of theater. Maybe that’s why Grey loved the theater, because never once does she remember that she’s surrounded by people, never is she nervous, or embarrassed. The performance was enough to pull her in and block out the outside world, truly her paradise. Ever since she was young she had loved the theater, her father before his passing would take her to see any shows that were live at the time. Now, after ten years since her father’s passing, she is twenty five years old and still in love with theater. It also reminds her of her father and all the wonderful times they had, it was one way they bonded together. But she was never alone when going to a show, for now she had her fiance with her. Gauche first started going to shows when he first met Grey. After a year of dating Grey had managed to convince Gauche to go see a showing of Natasha and Pierre and the Great comet of 1812, while reluctant at first Gauche was shocked at the story that took place in the sung through musical. And he understood why Grey loved musicals, because behind each amazing musical number, choreographed dances, and detailed sets. Was a story wanting to be told, and told they were. For tonight the couple were making their way to see a showing of Hadestown, yet on the ride Grey seemed to have something on her mind.

Gauche took note of this.

“Grey?”

“Yes, Gauche?”

“Is everything alright? Usually you’re really excited to go see a show.” Gauche mentioned.

“Oh, just…thinking.” Grey responded, albeit hesitant.

“You sure? It seems like something’s on your mind.”

“Well…Gauche, say someone you know wants to do something. Something they’ve loved since they were a child, what would you tell them?” She asked.

Gauche in an instant knew what she meant with her question.

“Well, if they wanted to do it. I would tell them that they should, you only live once, they should make the most of it. But only if they feel comfortable enough, don’t do it for anyone else except for yourself.” Gauche directed the last part to her, he knew what she wanted to do. And he would support her, only if she was doing it for herself and not to please anyone else. He wanted her to have fun and express herself, for she had always to but due to her anxiety it always shackled her. But theater may help her, for yes, she is on stage in front of hundreds of thousands of people, but she would be with other actors.

“You think I-They could do it?” She asked.

“Sure, they just need to try.”

“O-Okay.” She looked away, but Gauche was sure he could see her smile.

—————————-

3 Years.

It’s been three years since the Zogratis incident took place in the lives of Gauche and Grey, or more so Gauche and Carli Greyson Adlai. After the events of the Zogratis the two’s relationship bloomed, and they entered a new era. Shown by Grey changing her name from Amara to Carli, and more importantly Gauche and her getting married. It was a relatively small ceremony with their friends and family attending. Vanessa anointed herself as Carli’s bridesmaid, and she somehow managed to convince Gauche to allow Zora to be his best man, much to both males' chagrin. Yet it was still Carli’s happiest day, especially with Yami walking her down the aisle. As for Gauche, he had to try hard not to get a nosebleed from how stunning Carli looked in her dress. To say he felt like he was the luckiest man alive was an understatement, words alone could not describe the joy he felt being able to marry the woman he loved. And their lives after their wedding only continued to grow for the better, they soon bought a home together and lived there together alongside Marie, who was ecstatic that Carli was now her sister. The three lived happily, though Gauche and Carli still kept their jobs as spies and continued going on missions. Due to their chemistry and relationship they were a great team. But If you had told Carli years ago she would be happily married to the man of her dreams, with a family she could call her own, she would have called you insane. But now, sitting in the living room watching Tv with her family, Zora and Nebra letting Marie show him all her drawings, while Vanessa and Finral hugged each other on the sofa, as well as Yami and Charlotte just enjoying the mood, And Gauche being her foundation, her light, her everything, and knowing she was everything to him.

Well.

—————————————

The Zogratis tower, a tower filled with unimaginable terror, and Gauche was breaking in. As he found an air vent to sneak through he began his ascent, but since the building was nearly fifty or so stories high he needed to find an elevator quickly. Luckily for him, he just had to climb a couple floors before he found an empty room, jamming the security cameras he made his way to an elevator. Pressing the button for the tower’s suite he prepared himself for what’s to come, since all the guards and goons left with Zenon and Vanica it was practically just Dante and Grey. Or so he thought.

Dante and Grey were currently in the living room awaiting the news of what happened, yet neither of his siblings responded to his calls and the situation looked dire. Yet all the while Dante couldn’t shake the feeling that his Amara had something to do with it, how? He didn’t quite have an answer yet he couldn’t ignore the possibility. But for the moment he didn’t have much to worry about.

“Amara, dear mind fetching me a cup of coffee,” He asked, yet Amara felt more like a demand. “Waking up at such an early hour does quite affect one’s mind.”

“Y-Yes Dante.” Amara quickly gets up and quickly makes her way to the kitchen.

Dante noted that Amara had started acting less rebellious, which in his mind was a good thing. Soon everything will be just as it was once before, now if only his siblings would respond to his calls.

As he waited around for either one of his siblings to respond or for Amara to return with his coffee, he had a feeling that something was wrong, as if something was off, that there was something or someone here in the very building they lived in. It wasn’t Kira that’s for sure, he had been staying there with them since they rescued him, and though he was annoying he was also smart enough not to get in the Zogratis family’s way. So why did Dante feel as if someone was creeping around? To be sure he decided to ask the guards if anything seemed out of place, even then they told him everything was in order, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling. Soon Kira emerged from his room saying since they were awake he might as well be too, Dante watched as he made his way to the kitchen ‘he better not make any trouble for amara’ Dante thought, not being afraid to teach Kira a lesson if he does.

All of a sudden Dante feels as if he isn’t alone in the room, looking around he scans the area searching for the presence he felt. Yet nothing there, no one there, but he knew better so he took out a gun that was hidden in the room for an emergency.

“Whoever is there, show yourself if you value your life.” Dante called to whoever would be foolish enough to even think of breaking in. As he scanned the area Dante saw a moment at the corner of his eye, he turned and opened fire then looked but saw nothing but some furniture. “I know someone is here.”

Dante then heard a gun click behind him, he would have turned around but something told him if he did he would be a dead man.

“I would assume I know who you are?” Dante asked.

“You damn better.” The voice said, and Dante immediately could tell who it was.

“So it’s you, you’re that man who dared challenge me for my Amara.”

“Don’t you call her that name.” Gauche said in an aggressive tone.

“What do you care?”

“I care a whole damn lot, especially about her.”

“Well then you shouldn’t, she’s fine here, here she has everything you could ever want.”

“Cut the shit, I know very well what you monsters did to her.”

“It was a simple mistake.”

“Mistake!?” Gauche was now furious. “You call abusing her a mistake!?”

“I do regret it, I never meant to hurt my dear Amara.”

“You don’t sound like you regret it.”

“Well to each their own, so what are you going to do now? Shoot me?”

“Of course, once you’re gone Grey can finally live in peace.”

“You truly believe you can give her true happiness boy?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you think getting rid of us can ever truly free her? She’s too far gone now, just face it boy, the girl you know as Grey is gone and dead, now she is only Amara, she is only my wife.”

“You shut your goddamn mouth!” Gauche yells.

“What? It’s true, did she never tell you?” Dante asks, and Gauche doesn’t know what to say or think. “Her and I never got divorced, so by law she is a Zogratis.”

“You’re lying.”

“I am many things but a liar, now that’s not true.”

Being fueled by rage Gauche gets ready to pull the trigger, but then he hears someone click another gun.

“Throw the gun away or she gets it.” Kira held a gun to Amara’s head, who was terrified as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I will do it!”

Gauche was in shock, he nor anyone knew he was freed from prison, the Zogratis must have freed him and covered up the escape.

“THROW THE GUN AWAY!” Kira yelled, and Gauche had no other choice but to comply to save Grey’s life. He threw the gun close to Kira’s and Grey’s feet. “Good, good” Kira’s breathing became shaky as a crazed smile spread across his face. “H-Haha I could kill her right now, I could finally get revenge for how you two RUINED my life, and all it takes is a flex of my finger.”

“W-Wait don’t!” Grey pleated.

“Don’t do it!” Gauche said, and he wanted to rush to save her but he knew one wrong move and Grey would be dead.

“What’s stopping me?” He laughed. “I could do it now, in fact I might!”

“Wait!” Gauche yelled out as Grey shut her eyes accepting her fate.

Bang

The shot rang out throughout the room and yet Grey opened her eyes, not understanding what happened. She should have been dead, so then what happened? She looked at Gauche and saw his shocked expression, but it wasn’t towards her, it was towards behind her. She looked around now noticing she didn’t feel Kira’s grasp on her, and saw Kira dead on the ground with a bullet hole on his head. As soon as the realization hit of what just happened Grey stumbled to the floor, trying to get away from the body.

“What a shame Kira, you could have lived longer,” Dante said, being the one who shot him. “But you just don’t know when not to touch others' possessions.”

“Y-You’re a sick fuck.”

“I just did what any man would do, protect what’s mine.” Dante said as he pointed his gun towards Gauche. “Don’t pretend you wouldn’t have done the same.”

“Everything you say and do just makes you look more like a monster.”

“So what if I am? Doesn’t change that I am more powerful than you will ever be.” Dante then gets ready to fire. “Now, any last words son?”

“Grey, please I know you’re still there,” Gauche said to Amara. “You’re not Amara, no you’re Grey, the Grey who is strong, the Grey who isn’t afraid to fight for what she believes, the Grey who everyone can talk to, the Grey won’t let anyone walk over her, the Grey that I love.”

Those last words seemed to reawaken something dormant in her, the person she used to be. Not Amara, not the girl who lived with her stepmother and stepsisters, no Grey had reawakened, and with her the memories of everyone she loved came with. Vanessa and her going shopping, Zora and her talking about anything and everything that came to mind, the nights where Charlotte and Yami would comfort her, and the moments where she and Gauche spent together, while short, made her happy.

“Enough of you pointless babbling, this is goodbye you pest.” Dante went to pull the trigger.

Bang

Just like before the shot rang out, and just like before the person holding the gun was shot. Dante stumbled down having been shot, both he and Gauche looked to see Grey holding the gun Gauche had thrown to the ground. And as she got up the situation started falling on Dante.

“A-Amara?” Dante said in a weak voice.

“I’m not Amara! That’s not my name anymore, and I am not your wife anymore.” Grey said.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m no longer going to be afraid of you, it’s time I move on, and learn to live my own life, with the people I choose to love. And you, you aren’t one of them.”

“Y-You little.”

“This is goodbye Dante, this is goodbye to Amara. And this is Hello to Grey.” Grey pulled the trigger and shot Dante dead, it was freeing to her. The man, the family that had caused her so much pain was gone. She felt like a chain was off her wrist, and noose was no longer around her throat. She turned to Gauche and smiled at him, tears rolling down her cheek.

“I love you too Gauche.” She said as she went to him, she wrapped her arms around him and wept, but not tears of sadness but tears of joy.

“It’s over Grey, it’s finally over.”

After a few they made their way down the building, and once at the bottom they found Yami, Vanessa, and the others having already rounded up the last of the Zogratis family’s goons.

“Yami, Vanessa.” Grey called out.

“Grey!” Both called out as they went to her, Vanessa throwing herself on the blue haired woman.

“I’m so happy you’re okay, don’t ever leave us again!”

“I promise I won’t Vanessa, never again.” Both women broke down in tears, and Gauche and Yami couldn’t help but also break down and cry.

“Kid, you don’t know how much of a headache you caused me.” Yami said as he continued to break down.

“I missed you two.” Grey hugged Yami, as both of them continued to cry.

Soon after everything was settled, and everyone was given proper medical attention, they all got on their way back home.

“Need a lift?” Finral pulled up the car, having been given medical attention for the bullet he took.

“We would love that, thank you finral.” Grey thanked him.

“Anything for you Grey.”

Vanessa, Grey, and Gauche got in the car, with Vanessa in the front chatting with Finral, and Grey and Gauche in the back. Both of which were holding hands with each other.

“How do you feel, Grey?” Gauche asked gently.

“I feel…rejuvenated, if that makes any sense?” Grey responded just as gently.

“That makes me happy to hear.”

“Yeah, although I know it will take me much longer to fully heal.” Grey squeezed his hand a bit.

“That’s true, but you have us to help you.” Gauche used his thumb to rub her hand gently.

“That makes me happy, thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.”

“Then let me give you this.” Grey leaned over to Gauche and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Gauche blushed but he only smiled warmly.

“Thank you, Grey.”