Rediscovering Passion

i. aftermath

Denji manages to find Power, and it barely takes him a month. Nayuta is left with Kishibe during that time, and he manages to explain enough of the situation to Power that the little girl isn't immediately torn to pieces by her (how Power retained her memories, he isn't sure, but he's grateful that she did).

Kishibe's 'welcome-back' gift to them both is a pair of tickets up to Hokkaido and back, and a set of directions. He tells them that the directions lead to where Hayakawa Aki's gravestone has been situated, and agrees to continue looking after Nayuta until after their second trip out of Tokyo is complete.

Power shouts a lot, when they get back to the apartment (theirs, now- it's not Aki's, not anymore). She yells about how it's a terrible welcome-back-from-hell present, about the fact that Denji has to take care of Nayuta, about the fact that there's only two tickets and the Angel Devil should have gotten one as well. They both ignore the way Power's voice cracks, or the way she looks at the shut door to Aki's room with something in-between hope and grief.

Denji knows that the Angel Devil hasn't been seen since the confrontation with Makima. He caught a glimpse of Angel, briefly, eyes wide and pained, and then nothing- the only trace of Angel found since then a white feather Denji found on the apartment balcony.

So, Denji and Power take the train up to Hokkaido, both of them subdued and quiet. Neither one has much to say, really. Power asks a few listless questions about what Denji's been up to, between the last time they met and him dragging her out of hell, but the conversation just... dies out. As Denji watches the scenery fly by, he can't help but think of a boy in the snow, waiting for his little brother so they can play catch.

Hokkaido is... pretty, Denji supposes. He can't really comment on it, seeing as they're both preoccupied with their own thoughts. The site that's been arranged is hidden in familiar woods, and Denji suspects it's located close to where Aki's family house used to be. As they make their way through the trees, Denji spots a flash of red hair and feathered wings, and can't really be surprised by it. As the Angel Devil turns to glance at them, he can tell the other isn't surprised to see the two of them, either.

Aki's gravestone is made from dark blue stone, his name carved into it with skillful precision. There are flowers planted around his grave, white ones that look like birds in flight, or a pair of spread wings- the flowers according to Aki's will, apparently.

"White egret orchids," the Angel Devil supplies, when he sees Denji gazing at the flowers, "Allegedly, they mean something similar to 'my thoughts will follow you into your dreams'."

Power opens her mouth, but shuts it as Angel turns back to the gravestone. If Denji were to guess, he'd say she was probably thinking something along the lines of 'You sure it's not just because they look like your wings?'. He might have asked that, to be fair.

They don't get the chance to say any more, as Angel moves forward until he's standing right at the gravestone, eyes unreadable.

"Two months," he says, and Denji's eyes widen as a blade falls into the devil's outstretched hand. A knife, like a dagger, light glinting off the blade. The hilt is a familiar shade of blue, marked with silver detail, and Denji can't quite place it. He watches Angel move forward, lay the blade at the gravestone, and whisper something to it before standing up and moving towards the forest, vanishing into the snowy trees.

Both he and Power know, somehow, that they'll never see the Angel Devil again- no one will. He won't stick around in this realm.

(They wouldn't have tried to hear what Angel said, that was strictly between him and Aki; but if they had managed to listen in, they'd have heard more emotion than either of them thought the Angel Devil capable of showing, words the devil never thought he would say. "You don't just get to leave me alone like that. Wait for me, Hayakawa Aki, until I find you again, and we can do it right this time.")

ii. epilogue

Not everything will end in tragedy- sometimes, it just takes a bit of time.

There is a laugh, and two figures walking down the street. The one with long, autumn-red hair swipes an ice cream cone from his taller companion, grinning at him as they hold hands.

"That's mine," the taller one says, though there's no real annoyance in his voice- just a quiet, affectionate tone, that he reserves specifically for his companion. Said companion blinks up at him, "It's my favourite flavour." "I know."

They continue walking, chatting along the way- their fingers interlocked. The taller one leans down to kiss his companion's cheek, smiling at him, "I'm glad you found me again."

"So am I. We'll do it right this time."

If they wanted something, why not just ask for it? And if they disliked it, why let it happen in the first place? Angel gave the already half-melted treat another lick while his thoughts refused to settle on the matter, too many questions unanswered.

The silence settling around he and his 'partner' didn't help the process of thought. Besides the distant, almost faded out laughter coming from the other side of the park, there wasn't much noise in the background to keep them company. Maybe that was part of the reason Aki came to this place so often, Angel figured — but that was a site note to the current topic inside his mind.

Before they would be left with nothing but the gentle rustling of leaves, Angel hummed out loud, just enough to get Aki's attention. "Human," he muttered, stopping to lick the ice cream again, "do you think those two over there like each other?" Angel asked, pointing at their direction.

Again, half a moment of silence lingered in the air before one of them broke it. Aki sighed, weakly smacking Angel's arm to force him to lower his hand. "Don't go pointing at people like that," he complained and quickly noticed how the scolding didn't ease the devil's curiosity. Frowning, impatient, Aki lifted his eyes and looked for whatever managed to capture Angel's attention.

He narrowed his sight, spotting the two people that Angel was probably talking about. Aki could see one of them resting against the bench and… gasping for air? Or something like that, while the other sat by their side, seemingly smiling as well. What was there to make them look like a couple?

"No," Aki answered bluntly, almost scoffing at the question. "They probably finished running or something—"

"They weren't running, idiot human," Angel interrupted, biting down at the ice cream cone with a bit more force. "They were tickling each other."

"'Tickling'?," Aki continued, now a little less intrigued by the two on the other side of the park.

"They must be in love to tickle each other like that, right?" Angel continued, back on eating his cold treat while focusing on the far away couple. "Is it considered a bad thing to do it in the park?"

"Well," Aki couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Angel's confusion. Those endless questions made Angel no different than a toddler. How troublesome. "Some people might feel offended if they see it like this."

"Humans are so weird," Angel answered as usually. He didn't feel offended. It looked normal, nothing extraordinary if anything. Why would it be offensive? "Do you like to be touched like that too?"

"I'm not discussing intercourse with you, devil," Aki muttered, eyes back on the little book he had at hand.

Angel hummed at the negative, his eyes darting back and forth between Aki and the couple. "I'm not talking about sex. And it looked fun, thought. One of them was even laughing."

"So?" Aki continued without any care for the conversation, barely grasping at whatever Angel was saying at that point. "Are you interested in it now?"

"Kind of?" Angel agreed much to Aki's surprise. The man lifted his eyes from the pages and turned around to look at the devil, the ice cream in his hand practically gone. "But I don't know if I see the appeal."

"I don't think you need one," Aki corrected, joining Angel and looking towards those two on the other side of the park. They were already leaving, making their way to the closest path and disappearing from Aki and Angel's sights. "It just works for some people and doesn't for others. Either you're ticklish or not. Simple as that."

"What about you, human? Are you ticklish?" Angel pried and leaned against the bench, eying Aki through the corners of his eyes. He didn't know why, but part of him expected a reaction at that question: a flinch, a shiver, a sharp inhale.

Aki, however, didn't give him anything. "I said I'm not discussing these type of things with you, devil," he answered without missing a beat, not even a shift in his voice tone.

Angel scoffed, disappointed again. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes moving from the tips of Aki's shoes to the little, weird top knot on his head. "Hmm, I think you are. You strike me as the kind who is," he nodded, confidently. "Don't worry, thought, your secret is safe with me."

"Whatever you say," Aki shrugged. Of all threats Angel could impose him, this wasn't one he felt like he should worry about. The idea was just mildly amusing, if anything, as the devil could, quite literally, tickle one to their death. How stupid. "We should get going—"

"Wait," Angel called, again, before Aki could even push himself off the bench.

The man furrowed his brows slightly, not really willing to buy another cold treat for the devil. "What now? We need to get back to work."

"Can we try it before we go?" Angel asked, his eyes seemingly avoiding Aki's. "Just once."

"I'm not letting you tickle me," Aki hissed, his eyebrow arched up at the request. However, instead of stubbornness, Angel remained quiet. Too quiet.

"Then," the devil muttered, "can we try the other way around?" He asked and finally looked at Aki, his hands clenched by the sides of his legs.

Now that was a surprise. A small part of him kept telling Aki the answer anyone in their right mind would think of: absolutely not. The idea was just as, if not more, dangerous than Angel's first request. Besides that, Aki wouldn't really call himself fond of Angel — he'd say he just put up with him better than the rest.

Still, something about the silent plead in Angel's eyes, in the slight pout and the expectancy in his look… Aki pressed his lips into a thin line, hesitating. "Are you even ticklish to be asking me that?"

"I don't know, that's why I want to do it."

"And do you know how risky is that for me?"

"I'm not asking you to touch me, pervert. Just don't touch my skin," Angel added as if he wasn't the one asking for it just now.

'As long as I don't touch him', Aki repeated inside his head before shifting onto his side on the bench to face Angel. "Do as I say, understood?" Angel nodded. "Put your hands behind your head and hold them there."

"Like this?" Angel asked, his fingers intertwining with each other and some strands of his hair. He looked up to Aki, something about this… pose making him feel off.

"For once you're actually listening to me," Aki chuckled, his eyes lowering to look at Angel's torso, to look for an opening. "Tell me when to stop. I will cut off your hand if you touch me."

"You're so unnecessar— hhgh!"

"Oh?" Aki mused, unable to stop the sly smile from showing in his face. His hands, latched onto Angel's sides and carefully placed over his shirt to avoid any inch of bare skin, moved again and a surprised giggle came out of the devil again. "You're actually quite ticklish, huh?"

"I-it feehels ohohoff!" Angel whined, pressing his eyes tightly shut while his mouth curled up in a crooked smile. His fingers dug into the back of his head and holding his hands there was starting to prove more difficult than he anticipated.

"You haven't been tickled before? Is this a first for you?" Aki continued, one hand pinching at Angel's hip, making the devil jump and nearly flap his wings open in a laughing fit.

This was weird, Angel thought in the back of his head. His body was telling him to flee, to make whatever this feeling was to cease. However, his body also… craved more of it. He could faintly feel Aki's touch through his clothes and it felt comforting, even when each poke and prod made him laugh stupidly loud. Did that person earlier also feel like this?

Angel shook his head, both dismissing the thoughts and denying Aki's statement. "H-huhuhuman— ahahah, d-dohohon't make it weheheird!" He complained through the laughter, his elbows pressing down as much as they could, trying to push and stop Aki's hand from tickling his ribs. "T-this feels ahahawful!"

"Is it? Have you had enough?" Aki asked calmly, contrasting the loud squealing in front of him. Groaning and laughing as much as he was, Angel neither answered nor asked for it to stop. Was he having that much fun? 'Who is the weird one now', Aki wanted to say and ignore the fact that this was amusing him as well. "Fine for me, then."

"Hehey— ahahah, yohohou're dohohoing it t-too hahahard!"

"At least try to sound like you're complaining, freak."

As Angel fought the feeling and his own sense of self preservation and Aki tried to tickle the devil to his limits, the scene quickly drew up attention from passersby, strolling on the other side of the bark.

"Hah," one of them smiled at the faraway scene, nudging at the other person by their side, "I told you there was someone else in here."

"Right," they nodded, continuing their walk while still staring at the two, "they look cute together. Do you think those two like each other?"