Hello, loves! This is a companion piece to my fic All of the Pieces. If you haven't read that, you might be a wee bit lost. This act takes place between Episode Seven and Episode Eight! Enjoy...

Little Pieces

[ Act One ]

Wherein Mukuro plays with her food.

"Hey, Mukuro, If I ask you a terribly personal question will you kill me?" Lyra's voice came out in a low, smoky whisper.

I dipped my chin in consideration as I locked the door behind me. We had just finished preparing the mimics for their guerrilla music bomb on Yomi's territory, a process that I would never openly admit to finding obscenely hilarious. The human had been pleasant and respectful enough company thus far, and I hoped that whatever was about to sprout out of her mouth wouldn't ruin that.

I'd almost be uncomfortable with ending her life now.

"Perhaps, but you already know my stance on fear, so out with it," I replied flatly. If the girl had any sense of self-preservation, she wouldn't ask about my scars.

"What does eating humans do for you?"

A light puff of air escaped my nose at that one. Of all the things I'd expect a human to be brazen enough to ask, that hadn't been high on the list. My experience conversing with humans had been greatly limited, however. I hadn't done it in nearly 700 years, back when I used to cross over to Ningenkai to hand pick my dinner. Since the kekkai was erected, I had opted instead for one of my followers to bring me an unconscious one when the time came to feed. The last one I had actually heard speak couldn't stop sniveling about their gods coming to protect them.

It hadn't worked out in their favor.

"I am unsure of what you mean. It provides me sustenance, just as eating does for your kind," I informed, mildly curious where the woman was going with her odd question.

Lyra tilted her head as if she was searching for the proper words to continue. "I mean, like... what makes humans biologically important for consumption, more so than say, a cow or a fruit? You guys have food here that isn't made of people meat, but Yusuke told me that his ancestor died because he stopped eating humans, so we obviously have something essential in us that nothing else has."

She was an observant and curious thing. It struck me as odd that her voice carried no waiver of judgment as she spoke of her species being consumed. Surely this had to strike an emotional chord, humans were not the most rational of beings. I decided to push, to test the limits of this human's desire to understand. It seemed that we both now had an enigma to solve.

I reached out and grabbed her hand, spreading her fingers wide, my eyebrow raising in askance. She seemed uncertain but nodded for me to continue, her inquisitiveness outweighing fear. I produced a small knife from my hip pocket and cut a thin line at the tip of her little finger. She jumped slightly but did not pull away.

"Demon cells and human cells are very similar in their structures, our biological differences coming largely from the influence of our energy harmonics, both from our auras and from our environments," I explained, cutting a line across the top of the one forearm of mine that still bore flesh. I lifted my arm for her to see, and she watched carefully as the small wound had already begun to heal itself. Her eyes flit back and forth between her own blood and mine.

"We heal faster, as we understand our energy on a deeper level and meld it with our very DNA. Humans have to train and focus to find the same synergy, and that means that the average human has not imbued their cells with their own spiritual power," I said as I took the blade once more and placed a second cut on my arm, as the first one had nearly faded.

The human blinked at me curiously as I took her hand and held her bleeding finger over my arm. Small beads of scarlet dripped down over my fresh wound and it traveled with unnatural fervor into the cut, my body drinking in the nourishment. The thin line of red began to stitch over with fresh skin much faster than the first had.

"So you humans are full of regenerative cells that closely match our own, but your cells are raw, without any protective energy, and easy to absorb," I said with a small smirk as I watched the healing process carefully. "Your biology has already begun to align with your energy, it seems. That should have been nearly instantaneous."

She frowned, holding her bloodied finger up to her face, going nearly cross-eyed as she glowered at it with intense effort. "Now I just need to figure out how to heal like you."

I paused and pinned her with a hard stare, quickly snatching her finger and bringing up to my lips. I licked away the crimson from her dusky skin, her eyes shooting wide with a mix of shock and embarrassment. "Indeed," I hummed, "you keep dangerous company now."

"Uh... y-yeah. I guess I do," she stammered, entirely unsure of how to read my actions. I had nearly forgotten how much fun it was to baffle humans.

Releasing her hand and suppressing a laugh, I turned to walk down the main hall. "Now I have a question for you, Ms. Beaumont."

Her feet hurried to follow after me and she fell in step at my side. "Sure, shoot."

"Why are you not bothered by the idea of demons eating your kind?" I inquired.

Her steps slowed for a moment, her eyes darkening by a mere hint. "Oh, I'm bothered, but it would be like getting mad at a lion for eating a gazelle. Nature doesn't give two shits about human morals," she shrugged. "Besides, if Enma hadn't been screwing with us for so long, we would have evolved to protect ourselves better. Psychics wouldn't be so rare... and maybe you'd have a little more competition."

Her smirk wasn't vindictive, it was more of a friendly provocation. A spark that reminded me of Yusuke's tenacity. I found myself chuckling, low and measured, but genuine nonetheless. "One day, I look forward to facing that competition. I expect it to come from you."

"I don't know about that..."

"You have until the next Makai Tournament, or I will eat you alive," I affirmed before slipping into my personal quarters, leaving the human slack-jawed by herself in the hallway.