I had an idea of this 'what if' situation, set somewhere during the public who were in hiding. What if Miki's death was more prolonged until much later into the original storyline? What if Akira managed to confess to her just how important she was?

*WARNING, CHANGES IN CANON AND PLOTLINE. ONLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. MOST OF WHATEVER HAPPENS IN THIS FANFICTION IS NOT CANON WITH THE ACTUAL ANIME*

The World was slowly crumbling. Left and right, in every country, death was blooming everywhere like red, crimson Camellias.

But no matter what, Miki would not partake in all of this bloodlust fighting. All she could do was run. She had to survive.

The rest of the mob had managed to track the two down. As the Demon girl 'Miko' was shot, Miki was lurched forward with sudden force, tossing the girl onto the hard concrete ground. Her ears were ringing from the impact, that everything for a moment seemed like a blur. Only one word had cut through the cold night air, yelling in a desperate plea.

"RUN!"

Miki Kuroda's words snapped her back to reality. It was her words that acted like fire, fuelling the green eyed girl. She had looked back just one more time, before turning to run forwards. She had to keep running. She needed to pass the Baton to Akira. He was the Anchor after all.

It was while she was running that a van had suddenly cut into her line of vision. As the door opened, a wave of relief had washed over the girl. Wamu was there. She had thanked God that he and his gang managed to make it out of her house alive.

But then… something wasn't right.

He wasn't moving… he was just-

The rapper suddenly fell forward, limp and motionless. Miki's eyes darted to Wamu's fallen form, her eyes widening in horror at an ice pick that was lodged deep into his back.

"No… No, it can't be…

They…

They killed him!" was all that rang within her mind.

As she attempted to recover herself and swerve the other way, she saw another man run out after her, a knife in hand. From within the vehicle, she had caught sight of Hie and Babo, alive and well. Both had held knives, glinting with unforgiving coldness, all smothered with blood. It was at the horrifying realization, that Miki realized she had been betrayed. Miki Kuroda had died because of them…

And now, she was going to die.

As she pushed herself past limits with her injured leg, Miki tried to ignore the searing pain that cut sharply through her, stifling a yell. No, she can't die now. She needed to reach Akira. He promised that he would be back for her…and she was determined to be alive and well to see him once again.

He promised.

"Akira-Kun… The Baton…"

Suddenly, she felt a violent rush of air blindside her, yet she was not hurt. Was she dead? Did someone attack her from the side so quickly, she couldn't even feel the pain? No, it wasn't even any of that. It took a few seconds to register large, clawed arms that wrapped around her. She wasn't on the ground anymore. She was being whisked away, flying into the night with whomever, or whatever caught her.

"I got you Miki-Chan, I got you!" was what came through a distorted, rough growl. From that moment, it felt like a string had tugged at the emotions in her heart, something all too familiar. In an instant, Miki knew who it was.

"Akira-Kun?"

As she braved to look up, she saw a sight that took her breath away. Up close, Akira was the epitome of a demon that she occasionally pictured during her bible sessions with her father. They were always written in history as winged, dangerous and ruthless monsters of sin. But Miki knew that Akira Fudo was anything but a monster at heart.

"You're injured… Hold on, I'll find somewhere for you to rest!" He yelled through the rush of wind, the constant beating sound of his wings now shot forward into a supersonic glide.

As Miki held onto the Devilman, Akira had immediately sought for a safer place to lie low. He had then found an area that was far from the place she was almost killed in. The neighbourhood had been cleared out, most likely from the paranoia that Ryo had caused. Human corpses littered the streets, battered, shot, beaten, stabbed, sliced, decapitated. Their blood splattered against ever surface imaginable, like the paintings of war and death. It was a literal Hell.

Finally settling on the ground, Akira had begun to walk toward an abandoned house that settled literally a few metres away. The closer that the two got to the house, Miki noticed that Akira was shrinking. His wings retracted back into his body, his greyish-blue skin turned back into it's familiar tanned complexion. By the time he had made it to the front door, Akira was fully human once again. After shifting a little push the locked door back with his strength and closing it shut, he looked down at Miki. He looked utterly concerned, an expression that seemed almost out of place from his strong, brooding looks. His mouth parted as if he was going to speak, but closed shut, looking forward again.

Akira couldn't say anything, his mind still racing from the adrenaline of leaping in to save her. He had rushed to the Makimura household earlier, but found it abandoned. Words couldn't describe how much panic he felt, knowing Miki had been out there defenceless. God, if he had been too late…

He quickly found a bedroom out of multiple others upstairs, a king sized bed residing near the corner. Laying Miki down on the surface of the sheets, Akira had headed for the bathroom, for any type of first aid material. He had shoved aside perfume bottles, soaps and medicine to find a small plastic basket of band aids, gauze and other things he needed to tend to Miki's injury. Carrying the entire basket, Akira had settled it on the floor beside the bed, before placing himself next to Miki. He reached over to examine the bullet wound on her leg. Fortunately, whatever shot her narrowly passed anything vital. However, it would steal give her great pain, even an infection if not treated immediately. The raven haired teen Rummaged through for anything that would deem useful to her for the time being.

"Okay, this will sting. Just hold onto my shoulder if you want to, it won't hurt me…" Remembering basic knowledge that his parents had taught him, he started rubbing disinfectant on her lower leg. The girl had one hand gripping his shoulder tightly, while the other clamped over her mouth to stifle a cry. Akira immediately stopped when he thought it would get too unbearable for her. However, the girl nodded, telling him to continue. As Akira tended to Miki's wound, he attempted to talk to her, in hopes in creating a distraction to make up for her pain.

"I'm glad you're alright… what happened to the others? Did they manage to escape too?"

He was met with silence from the girl. For a brief moment, she was looking down, deep in thought. However, Akira could see that tears were forming in her eyes. She was struggling to hold herself in, to be strong in his eyes.

"Wamu and Gabi are both dead… Hie and Babo turned against them. And Miko...She died trying to protect me…" Miki realized that her voice was shaking, her throat aching for her to cry out. Akira could feel himself sharing her hurt and sorrow, with tears threatening to well on his own. With all of those close to her dying one by one, Akira couldn't believe how Miki managed to have the strength and will to keep on living. His thoughts were cut off from a sudden warm feeling wrapping around his being, the girl that he cared for so deeply enveloped him in a warm embrace.

"I'm glad you came back…everyone…everyone else is gone. You're the only one who I have left…" the girl whispered through her broken sentences, choking back in her tears. Akira had pulled her closer against him, gently stroking her back to calm her.

"And I'll stay with you. I don't care what happens to me, but I made a promise to protect you until my dying breath..." Akira wished that he could say he'll find a way to stop this, But seeing how bleak their future would be, it would take a one in a million miracle to win this war, to end all chaos.

He finally finished tending to Miki's wound pulling away from her embrace. His hands receded down to hold hers, squeezing them gently. "Alright, that's done. How is it? Are you able to stand?"

The girl had stood up at his response. She winced for a brief moment, but the pain had subsided quickly. She shuffled her way around the room, slower than usual, but she was able to walk on. As she stumbled a bit, Akira was already up on his feet, catching her. Just like what he had done last time.

"Get some rest Miki; I'll keep a watch out for the time being. This area had already been wiped out in this mess. The news had covered the destruction, so it would be the last place that anyone would come looking for us for a long while." He assured her, leading her back to the bed. The girl nodded, shifting her body as she lay down. She could feel exhaustion taking over her, and didn't object to his request. As she found sleep rather quickly, Akira had gently draped the blankets over her. He found himself unconsciously watching her sleep, before shaking himself to reality. As gentle as ever, he reached over to gently move strands of her soft brown hair out of her closed eyes, before standing up and walking out of the room.

It seemed like only a few hours had gone by, until Miki had woken up. She felt a little disorientated as she sat up, almost forgetting that she had survived a night of an apocalypse. Looking around, her eyes caught the time on a clock on the wall. She was surprised that she had slept throughout the whole night of yesterday, and all throughout the morning. It was well way into the middle of the afternoon.

Miki gingerly swerved her legs to the edge of the bed, dangling her tiptoes over the floor. The twinge of pain was still there, but she was beginning to get used to it. She shuffled her way to the balcony door, which she had manage to spot Akira sitting on the floor outside, gazing ahead into nothingness. The sound of Miki sliding the door open had managed to bring him out of his thoughts, gracing her with a sad smile.

"How are you holding up?" She managed to speak first, crouching down to sit cross legged beside him.

"I'm alright, that's good enough for me…" He tried to chuckle, but it immediately died down. Even if he did manage to get rest earlier, he felt like he didn't have the energy to even laugh. He suddenly felt a soft weight on his shoulder, craning his neck to see that Miki had rested her head against him. He scooted closer to her, leaning into her touch more. All the pair could do was just gaze into nothingness together, both connected to each other in their deep thoughts.

"You're going to have to confront Ryo again, are you? Nearly the only surviving population of Japan that's against you is still trying to look for you… and me… "She trailed off a bit, her heart heavy at the thought. "But I know that there are just as many out there who have a heart just like yours, Devilmen and human alike. The ones who still believe that there is hope in this world, the ones who will fight for peace again…"

Akira couldn't agree more. He would forever hold such high respect and admiration for Miki to stand up for him, no matter the cost. She was brave, a kind soul who would even put her life in the line to save others if given the choice. Throughout the most of his childhood, he would always say that he was glad to have a friend like her, a diamond in the rough. However, Akira couldn't deny that through their friendship, he had developed such a close bond that was more than that. She was always there to support him, caring for him, taking her in. It was something else entirely, that even he almost wasn't entirely sure what it was, or what to even feel.

"One way or another, I would have to confront him anyway. I can't avoid him." He looked up, gazing at the sky.

"It's ironic isn't it? All this damn time, one of my closest friends was destined to be my enemy. Sure he was crazy, but I never saw any of that because I really did think he was genuine…" His expression hardened slightly, a steely glint brought forth within his eyes. "That's in the past now… When I see him, I'm going to beat him over and over again, never giving him rest. And Then… I'll… finally kill him."

Miki noticed how Akira was hesitant to mention of defeating Ryo. Even if she did not know him for much long, Miki could tell how much Ryo meant to Akira.

"I'm sorry it had to happen that way to you…" Was the only thing Miki could say. She really could feel his sorrow on a deeper level. It really was unfortunate for Akira to have to experience all of this.

"Don't be. I still have you here. You're the only one I can trust." His expression softened once again. A soft smile appeared on the green eyed girl's expression, greatly understanding and accepting of what he said.

"Thankyou…" She whispered softly, turning back to look at him now. For a moment, their gazes connected, both filled with undying emotion. For a moment, Akira had forgotten where he was. Time seemed to stand still, and it was just the two of them.

Did Miki feel a spark? It felt like something jolted in her heart. It was only through the aftermath of that feeling, that she was brought her out of her reverie.

"Uh… I'm going to use the shower… it might make relieve my stress..." She trailed off slightly, moving to stand up. With another smile, she laid a hand on his shoulder for a while, before walking off. The thought of Miki showering briefly flashed across Akira's mind in a more…perverted sense, but was quickly pushed aside.

"Damn it… I would have to watch over her again…no, she's fine, there's no one around here for miles! I'll just stay here then, just in case…"

Miki had wandered around the house a bit, searching for clean clothes that she could temporarily use for the time being. She had managed to find a room that looked to have belonged to an adolescent girl. After rummaging around the drawers, she had found a simple pair of shorts and tank top. They were slightly billowy for her size, but she would have to make do of the situation.

After taking her shower, Miki felt like she had washed off most of her stress away. She felt calmer, more at ease. It was a pretty long time since she had felt that way. After folding up her clothes, she left them hanging on spare coat hangers in the bedroom closet. As she closed the closet doors, she suddenly felt strong arms gently wrap around her shoulders. The sudden touch surprised her. She had never experienced such forwardness from Akira at this level. The last time she had experienced it, was when he had caught her from falling.

Akira on the other hand, seemed to have his Demon side tempting him from the dark corners of his mind. Just the announcement from Miki of her taking a shower earlier seemed to work at distracting his mind during the time. His mind hadn't been able to think for itself without drifting to the sweet 'delicacy' that was Miki. It seemed like his mind was also fairly beginning to get cloudy, his instincts moving him at full force.

"A-Akira-Kun! What are you doing? How are you so… affectionate all of a sudden?" The brunette's tone of voice was gentle, but all was to hide her inner embarrassment. It was just so sudden…and somehow, she wasn't even objecting to it at all. Miki would no matter what, always the type to appreciate and love her friends. She wouldn't have it any other way. Sure it did catch her off guard to see her long time childhood friend as a confident, brooding individual, yet she knew him for so long to see past all of that. His tender, affectionate, yet playful action was what's keeping her at peace within this rapidly changing world, one that filled warmth in her heart. She felt safe, protected.

"I'm just hugging you. Gotta repay with how much you've done for me after all…" Akira murmured, resting his chin on her shoulder. She was not expecting for him to give a kiss to the bare skin of her shoulder, which then turned into more. She could feel as if there were tingles spreading throughout her body, Goosebumps forming on the surface of her skin. It felt like a fantasy, like every girl's distant dreams of romance. Miki might have been faithful back then, but she still had interests and a curiosity that was normal and unavoidable for girls. She did admit to having read a romance novel before. She had let him to continue his embrace, as she thought all he needed as some comfort. She did not judge that at all.

However, Miki was starting to realize that the feeling of safety slowly faded away, replacing it with a more fervent nature. Those strong, toned arms wrapped around her waist were slowly starting to wander up her body. As one hand lingered under the beginning swell of her soft, perked breasts, she could not hold back another shiver, expelling a soft breath from her lips. His touch wasn't even in contact with her bare skin, yet she still felt a wave of warmth so powerful, it flooded her entire body. It wasn't a feverish fire, but more to a subtle heat, a spark. A spark that if set continuously, it would bound to turn into a flame.

"A-ah, Akira …"

Miki Makimura was not the promiscuous type. She can't even imagine herself ever fornicating with men like some girls do. Of course like every individual would go through within some point of their early adolescence, she would know the concept of sexual education. Even so, she was still honestly inexperienced. Even Miko would sometimes jokingly refer to her as being " To pure for this world". Not that there was anything wrong with that. Although, she cannot deny the thoughts that were beginning to surface at the back of her mind, the thoughts that a girl like her would have found very difficult to resist.

As Akira continued to let his hands gently wander over her slim, athletic figure, all words that she tried to say had died from her lips. She lifted a hand up to the side of his face, attempting to find a way to push him away gently. However, the moment that he had laid a kiss back below the nape of her neck, her brief moment of resistance instantly disappeared. The pressure of her right hand pressing against his cheek weakened, slowly wandering up to his head. Her fingers met the soft, black, rugged mess.

Although subtle, the man's demon instincts running through him could definitely sense every change within her at this very moment. The beating of her heart, which was gradually picking up its pace, coupled with the sounds of her soft breathing that grew prominent with every touch. As his other hand finally found its way under her shirt, he finally felt the true softness within the curve of her waist. How he didn't completely lose himself to his carnal instincts already this time was a mystery. He could already feel the Demon side, a part of Amon within him clawing its way in hopes to get out, to ravage Miki until his heart's content. He couldn't deny the fact that ever since his transformation, he had acted more than once upon his intense sexual desires. Just the fact at gazing at any attractive female was bound to bring up the feeling full force, as shameful and lewd as that sounded to anyone.

However, the sounds of growing arousal from someone so innocent and pure as Miki Makimura, those sounds of moans trying to be restrained, leaving with sighs and soft gasps of bliss made up his attraction to her increase tenfold. He may not be able to control his lustful, but he was sure as hell that the sexual desires he had felt during those intense impulses back then couldn't even begin to compare with what Miki was doing to his mind. The one girl that cared so deeply for was taking it all to another level. Miki was driving him wild.

Miki on the other hand, felt all kinds of emotions within her being. This wasn't like any of those horror stories that she was raised to be wary and careful of. Miki was the one who very much is an understanding girl. She would see and understand things on another level, which some people might fail to comprehend. It was how she managed to see past Akira's horrific form, because she truly believed him. Right at this moment, she felt heat, closeness, genuine passion, intimacy.

Akira's train of though was then cut short when the brunette could not restrain herself from that one moment any longer, letting a soft moan escape from her.

At that moment, he felt something within him just… snap.

The male immediately placed both hands on her hips, quickly turning her around to face him before gently pushing her back up against the wall. Feeling all control slipping away from his grasp, he leaned in to capture her lips in a deep kiss, one that conveyed every being of his fervent nature. Miki's eyes widened as she felt his tongue push itself against hers without any meanings of permission, her hands automatically placed themselves on his shoulders as she felt his body press against hers. If he was to do this to her back then, she would have felt shocked, fear, the sense to push him away… but she couldn't. There was something about the way he kissed her that pushed all uncertainty and fear away, filling her heart with an unimaginable arousal that she never knew was within her. Akira's touch gave her a thrill that would have left her feeling bare and empty without it.

The intensity and raw passion from the kiss slowly became too good to resist as the girl felt her eyes fluttered closed, her hands then weaving it way up to run through his hair again. The kiss felt like it could have gone on forever if it could. However, both needed air, breaking away from each other. With their foreheads touching, Akira had noticed a thin fine trail of saliva connecting from the edge of her lips to his. He had resisted the urge to lick his lips.

"I've… I-I've never kissed anyone before…that was my first kiss…"

The girl's face was coloured with a warm pink blush, caused from the heat that was created between them, her vibrant green eyes looking up at him. Damn it, she was getting even more irresistible with every passing second. He was definitely not holding back for sure. He dove back in again.

Miki could feel herself submerging into the after effects of bliss, like a numbing effect. She had never encountered the feeling of so much wrong within her, yet it felt just so right. She was left in a daze. However, there was that one core thought that rang in the back of her mind. This was enough to remind her again what exactly she was doing, bringing the will to place both hands on his chest. This had stopped the Devilman, although he looked confused at first. However, her hesitance had reminded him of what he had been through. What he had done to Silene…

Akira had sinned. Biblical or not, he was already corrupted. However, he did not care of whatever history the Amon within him had in regards to the relationship with Sirene. While his demonic side back then would have descend into maddening lust after the demoness, his only shred of remaining humanity and control that he had left now said otherwise. He would have actually rather died than inflict any physical carnal intimacy of any kinds towards the lewd female avian creature, or anyone that was not Miki. Something within him couldn't help but become extremely concerned for the girl. She had a pure heart, the concept contrasting highly with his slow descent into chaos, dirty and bloody. His hand reached up to hold hers, gently caressing the palm. "Sorry…I shouldn't be doing this. I know how faithful you are to your own beliefs… and then there's me… a sinner… I've already done-"

Akira stopped his sentence. He didn't want her to hear such lewd things that he had committed. He loved her too much to ruin her entirely, body and soul. All the emotion bottled up of the things he had felt, but never told Miki were aching at his heart. It was overwhelming.

Love… He is feeling love.

Akira had gulped a bit, to swallow a pain that had risen to his throat, his voice shaking slightly as he spoke. "… I don't want to hurt you, Miki…"

The girl was lost for words, yet equally confused and concerned at his change of mood. "Akira …"

He had to speak up. All these years, he never fully understood love. Even a long while back, he thought that it made sense that Demons could never feel love. It was just how it is. Akira found it ironic that he, no longer human, was now beginning to fully understand what it feels to be in love.

"This world, in the state it's in…it's hard for me to tell just how long we will all hold up. Because of that, please listen to what I have to say…before it may be too late to ever tell you at all." The raven haired male had loosened his hold on her slightly, his body language changing from that of a hunger for lust, to a gentle, affectionate caress. The Akira back then would have never believed that he'd be able to do this sort of thing at all.

"I've never got the chance to tell you back then… you were always so gentle, sweet and kind, always looking out for others and being brave. Even outside of the track, you were always one step ahead of the others. You wouldn't let any corruption of any kind influence and taint your views…." He spoke in a soft whisper, his golden brown eyes gazing into the depths of her soul. He was silent for a moment, before gathering enough courage to speak. It was ironic, as he would have thought that he had already gotten over his nervousness at this particular thing. Even more so when that small trace of his former self had decided to affect him in this particular time.

"… I honestly was either too nervous to tell you, or I never could have found the right place at the right time. But now that you're here alone with me, right now… Miki, I love you… I always have."

Miki's eyes widened at the confession, a small audible gasp fell from her lips. Did Akira really just say that? All this time… if she had known sooner, she wouldn't have had cold feet like she always did. She would have gotten past the doubt that would always hold her back. Truth be told, she would have never thought of falling for him. Sure, a girl like her wouldn't be able to deny that he was cute and sweet, while now brooding and even more handsome. She never took in the consideration that something like this would eventually happen. Miki then came to her senses that she was already being drawn to him from the beginning without realizing it. She cared for Akira so much through her actions and always welcomed him into her life and always supported him, with him doing the same. How did she never see this?

The fact that he said those three words filled her with warmth unlike anything she had felt before. The feeling brought immense joy to her heart, causing a smile to appear on her expression, a gaze of adoration towards the male. She spoke softly to him.

"…I never was able to tell you myself either. At first, I only thought of you as my closest friend. But the longer I've known you…I began to realize that you were always there for me. You knew of your weaknesses, yet you would try to go for them anyways. You were caring, kind and I have every reason to believe that you still are that kind of person even now. The fact that you are a demonic beast doesn't faze me at all. I know that there is more to you than that, that you are still Akira… the Akira who I grew to love."

The fact that Akira Fudo was stunned at this really did show how much that her confession had affected him. So much that he had never felt so much affection within him, he could feel tears beginning to form in his eyes, his mouth still slightly parted. Miki had chuckled beneath him, bringing her hands to both sides of his face. The soft, warm touch of her palms had instantly calmed the Devilman's heart, as he leaned into her touch.

"Still a Crybaby… but you're my Crybaby. " was spoken in a soft whisper by Miki, before bringing his face closer in for a kiss. The touch of their lips had ignited that same passion again from before, with Akira wrapping an arm around her waist, while the other had been placed at the back of her head, pushing her in closer.

I do not intend to make profit off of any of the characters of the series. This is solely fan made content

Devilman (C) Go Nagai