Proper mythology would tell you that devils were supposed to be deceptively beautiful; they made sin look delicious, made it look irresistible. So the fact that most people thought Hiruma Yoichi was a demon was... actually a little comical.
What was the point in a demon flaunting his nature like that? Mamori could understand their sentiments, but at the same time she didn't agree. Hiruma Yoichi was a diabolical bastard, no two ways about it... but he wasn't a 'demon'.
I think I might be more a demon than he is, she thought blandly, untangling yet another string of Christmas lights. It was no secret that she could smile just as sweetly while threatening someone as she could when commenting on their shoelaces being untied. Her little black book was no thinner than Hiruma's, and her proficiency with his arsenal no less impressive. Her facade as a model student and teacher's pet, on the dean's list, etc. etc. was an impressive show, but mildly inaccurate considering her "outside activities" as the rather infernal manager of their college football team. They did such and such in high school, and these pansy frat boys couldn't pull it off? No way would she stand for that, now. Hiruma could threaten them with machine guns all he wanted, but only Mamori had the gall to say "I'll turn you over to the police for underage drinking if you don't get your ass on that field and show some results. Mmkay honey?"
Ah, the freshman. They thought they saw hell the first few weeks, and the ghastly looks on their faces were one of her secret pleasures.
"This isn't something to think about while putting up Christmas lights..." she muttered, a grim smile twisting her lips as she held up the strand to check for more knots. "Even if it is sort of funny..."
"What's funny?"
She glanced up, blue eyes nearly crossing when she discovered how close his face was to hers. "Just thinking about the new recruits, Hiruma-kun. How was practice?"
"It's no Devil Bats, but I'll whip the hell out of 'em in time," he cackled, moving around to sit on the ottoman just a little ways off. There was, as usual, a large weapon of one make or another propped against his shoulder as he watched her untangle yet another string of lights. "Y'gonna share what's so funny?"
"I was remembering their green faces from the beginning of the semester," she stated, smiling nearly to her ears. "They thought they'd been walked through hell's gates and back a few times before they got used to it, and it was cute."
His evil grin was back. He completely agreed, she could tell. They weren't bullying the newbies, they just weren't going easy on them, either.
"You have enough of these shitty Christmas lights yet?" he asked, toeing the pile in front of him.
"Last string," she replied, dragging the awkward ball of wires from the box beside her. This one was yet another impressive show of tangles, but thankfully not as bad as a few of the others. "In a hurry?"
"A hurry to avoid the worst of the cold and the early AMs. Move your ass."
He wanted to sound grumpy, but Mamori got the feeling it was a bluff. He was probably planning something dastardly and couldn't wait to get her caught up in it. She was already mentally taking stock of how many cough syrups and throat lozenges were still stocked in her medicine cabinet, because if precedent was anything to go by she would be needing them. Maybe she should pack some hand warmers in her purse and a change of clothes...
Or maybe she was being over cautious (not nearly as likely, but still possible) and her boyfriend was actually going to do something nice for once. Maybe this Christmas was cold enough for Hell to get a little frost on the ground.
With a final huff of satisfaction, she untangled the line of lights, laid it out carefully next to the rest, and got up to straighten her sweater and grab her purse. Hiruma beat her to the door, smirking his usual unnerving smirk, swinging the keys around by a finger as he waited for her to decide she was ready.
"You look like you're planning something," she commented, casting him a sidelong glance as she exited her apartment; his grin widened just the slightest bit more as she locked the door and headed for the stairs. "Should I have packed that extra set of clothes after all?"
"You think I'm gonna tell you?"
"Of course not. That would be too easy," she deadpanned, which seemed only to further his amusement.
No, he wasn't a devil, or a demon, or a vampire (despite the sharp teeth and ears). He was just a bored genius afflicted with a sadistic personality. She couldn't quite decide which was worse.
it's even creepier when he pulls of these semi-gentlemanly moves... the thought, noticing the way he opened the car door for her... even if he didn't stay to close it behind her. He was behind the wheel almost before she could get herself settled and the door closed, and the car was already cranked and backing out of the parking space before she could get her seat belt on. To any god who's listening, please spare me from dying before Christmas Eve.
She was still half-sure that Hiruma's insane driving would be the death of her one day. The fact that it hadn't gotten them killed already was a miracle in itself. Like a devil bat out of purgatory, he pulled on to the freeway and nearly ran over a puttering grandma or two in his race for the fast lane, brake pedal all but forgotten. Not wanting to see her death coming, the manager closed her eyes and willed herself to do something besides worry over the revving engine and the gravitational force pushing her against the seat.
"Do I get any hints about where we're going?"
"Hell no."
"Didn't think so." She sighed, trying not to unconsciously tear her purse apart. The car was quiet, save for the normal white noise and a CD playing some forgotten sonata quietly. He must've been in a terribly good mood, because the demon quarterback was humming lightly along with the music, almost but not quite out of hearing. He was neither a good singer nor a bad singer; he wasn't off key, but he wasn't a particular brand of 'special,' and rather than be disappointed, Mamori found she liked to hear him on these rare, blue-moon occasions where the mood struck him. It wasn't anyone but him being himself, as usual... just a little happier, maybe.
It was a minor point of pride that she'd been hearing it more the longer they dated, but setting that aside.
They honestly drove a long way- just by guessing and keeping track of how many songs passed, it was nearly an hour before her lead foot driver slowed down, eventually pulling to a stop somewhere where traffic noise was nonexistent. With the engine off, she couldn't hear much of anything, in fact; the white noise was down to nothing, aside from... the sound of leaves?
"Keep your eyes closed."
She did as she was told, setting her purse aside as she reached for the door handle. It surprised her when he opened the door for her, lever slipping away from her fingers with surprising speed before he towed her up from the seat, bag left tumbled and lonely on the floorboard as he slammed it shut behind her. Mamori could hear his signature cackle again, his hand leading her in some direction that was uphill by way of stone steps. The air was fresh, filled with the warm scent of pines despite the below-freezing temperatures. "Hiruma-kun...?"
"Not yet."
It was getting to be an impressive hike; her breaths were getting shorter as they went, and she could feel the air getting thinner. It seemed almost impossible to imagine where they were, because no place like this was coming to mind; high, possibly a mountain, surrounded by pines. There wasn't anything like that near enough for her to be familiar with it... and knowing just how fast Hiruma had been driving, or something in the ballpark, they could've been anywhere up to two hours away, time and speed limits aside.
Though of course leave it to Hiruma not to warn her that the steps were ending. Naturally when she lifted her foot and let it down for the next expected stone step, the lack thereof nearly sent her face-first to the ground.
It happened just that quickly, though.
Her eyes flew open as he caught her, arm wrapping around her waist and drawing her up against his rock-solid body so fast it nearly knocked the air out of her. The vice-like grip didn't lessen any; instead, it tightened, and he whispered quietly, "Look up, dammit. I didn't come here to show you the fucking ground."
No. What he was showing her was most certainly not the ground. They were on a mountain, obviously; they were above the treeline even, with the pine forest a softly murmuring wave beneath. There was snow everywhere but where they were standing, a well-trodden path for visitors to see the beautiful view that spread up and out into eternity. The gusting wind couldn't shake her attention from the millions of stars that ate up the sky with light, turning inky black into a sensual, silk-like blue. It almost made her heart break to see the burly clouds move in and cover them up, their little fires winking through the mist until it was simply too thick for them to see through any more. The wind whistled and keened as it shoved the heavy clouds across the sky, so big they looked almost reachable...
Yet like a command it slowed to the barest of breezes, and snowflakes began to drift down from the ceiling of the world.
The murmuring trees, the blowing wind, the world all over seemed to hush as those first icy pieces of lace began their descent, curling and fluttering before one, their first, finally landed on the tip of Hiruma's nose, his face upturned to the blanketed sky. It was shocking to see his face so relaxed, the barest of smiles tilting the corner of his lips as another flake fluttered and caught on his eyelashes. At that moment, it didn't matter if he'd brought her out to the middle of nowhere to see the stars or the snow.
Right then, the demon actually looked like an angel to her.
AN: Because pictures of Mamori as an angel and Hiruma as a devil are really common? (and if you change the kanji of Hiruma's name it can be read as "demon in broad daylight" lol) So I wanted to flip the concept on it's head and tease it upside down. Or something like that. 8D; One of the Christmas Advent pieces for a dA group~