Ex-V: I hope you like it!

"My lord-" Alciel, chopping vegetables, called out to the demon king. "What would you like for dinner?"

Silence.

Emi, reclining in Maou's stronghold, sighed, flipping disinterestedly through a fashion magazine. "He's not here, General."

"Why not-?" Alciel turned, eyebrow rising slowly.

"Why would I know?" She frowned, annoyed. "Don't you have any idea what he likes-?"

"He's got loads of options, though." Lucifer grumbled, frustrated. "How could we expect him to choose between dry cucumber and honeyed cucumber-?"

Alciel grinned, veins popping, threateningly, from his neck. "We also have carrots. Be silent."

A moment later, Maou burst through the door, smiling from ear to ear. "Hey, Everyone! I brought drinks-"

Emi, catching his eyes for a moment, found herself blushing faintly, feeling her heartbeat accelerate, just a bit. "N-no thanks-" She hissed, sitting up after a moment, furious with him and herself. "What makes you think I need your stupid iced cola-?"

Maou twitched, instantly aggravated. "Oh, It didn't seem impossible that you might be thirsty. Forgive my presumption-"

"I don't forgive you. What do I look like, a charity case?" She sniffed, haughty. He slammed a cola down in front of her anyway, scowling.

"It's tough to tell, actually, since you're here every day-"

She gasped, flushed, heartbeat hammering, standing up, suddenly, to get in his face. "That's…That's because I'm watching you! To make sure…To make sure-!"

Maou stared, smug, into her eyes, as she stammered, desperate to think of something, poking him in the chest.

"That your new…personality…isn't some ruse, Satan!" She screeched at last, blushing, and made to storm out the door. "Asshole!"

Maou shook his head, shrugging, grinning, when Alciel and Lucifer cast strange looks at him, confused, but made to get his shoes back on, following her out the door.

"What the hell do you want-!" She hissed, as he caught up with her, raindrops beginning to pour down around them.

Instead of answering, he opened an umbrella, and walked with her under it, matching her pace.

Maou was, suddenly, aware of a strangely intense influx of sadness…or despair, flowing into him, from her. The demon lord cast her a worried sidelong glance. "Emi…Is everything alright?"

He was shocked to see a tear cross her cheeks, as she walked, silent, staring down at her toes. A ghost of a blush played, faintly red, on her face.

"Why, Maou…?" A few minutes of awkward silence later, she turned to face him, desperate, as they neared her apartment. "You…You saved my life, and now…You're…always being…"

He chuckled, offering her the umbrella. "You're the mother of my child, so…Of course I'd try harder to get along-"

"Don't say things misleading things-!" She snapped, brilliantly red, heartbeat thudding in her temples.

"Oh-?" Maou smirked, eyes narrowing. "What are were you imagining when I said 'Mother of my child'? Perverted hero!"

"You wish! I fucking hate you-!" She stormed off, squealing, up the stairs to her apartment door, flushed. "I hate you so fucking much-!"

"I hate you too-!" Maou called up the stairs after her, grinning.

"You…You better-!" She turned around suddenly, radiantly red, trembling. "Don't…Don't get any funny ideas-!"

Maou sweatdropped. Huh?

But she had already slammed her door shut.

(The next day)

At work, Maou watched Emi storm into MgRonalds, grimacing.

After taking her order, a small fries, and handing it off, he stared, confused, at her, for a few minutes, while she sat, a few tables away, glaring at him.

"Is…Is everything alright-?" He asked at last, slightly unnerved.

"Fuck you." She snapped.

Maou grinned. Oh good, Everything's fine.

Instead of leaving, however, she sat, almost motionless, in the same spot, at the same table, watching him work.

The hours ticked by, and, to his intense bemusement, he caught her, sometimes, staring at him, with a strange look on her face. Whenever he did, she would flush, and stare away, furious, before swirls of demonic energy surged into his body, fed by whatever despair and sadness she was apparently feeling.

Disturbed, Maou decided to make some time for her after work.

"Can you come with me, Emi?" The Demon lord strolled up to her table, smiling warmly, still folding his apron. "Just for a little while."

She glared at him, suspicious, but nodded after a moment. They left together, in silence.

"No work today-?" Maou wondered out loud, at last, hoping to engage in some facsimile of legitimate conversation, when her silence and moodiness was almost palpable.

"I skipped." She didn't seem interested in continuing the conversation, he noted.

Why are you skipping work just to watch me take orders for six hours?! He thought, sweatdropping, but wisely determined that voicing his curiosities might not be for the best.

They continued to walk, together, in silence, and Maou was somewhat concerned to feel her despair once more, as demonic strength flowed unbridled into his body. They reached a small clearing, by an alley, in a sidestreet, next to a graveyard.

The hero took up a reserved, suspicious position at one end of the street, bracing herself up against a storefront, fifteen feet from the demon king. He watched her, clueless, eyebrow slowly rising.

"Emi…?" He rubbed his nose, after a moment. "Can you…come a bit closer?"

"I knew it-!" She exploded, suddenly bright red, furious. "I knew it! You brought me all the way out here to make a move-"

"…" Maou felt his eye twitch. "What?…Why the hell would I-?"

"Oh, I'm not good enough for you?! You don't like my body?!"

What…the fuck? Maou sweatdropped, suddenly extremely nervous, as she stormed on past him, crossing her arms, looking positively murderous.

"You like big tits, don't you! You don't think I'm worth your time!" She screeched, bright red.

Maou trembled, blown away. "E-Emi?"

She froze, suddenly, blood running cold. After a moment of silence, Maou felt a huge wave of despair wash over him, almost enough to fully restore his demonic powers, somehow.

Emi whirled around, face downcast, and stormed away, silently, but Maou caught what appeared to be tears in her eyes as she passed him. Tears?

Silence, once again, as Maou was left along in the clearing, trying desperately to process the night's events.

(Twenty minutes later)

Maou went straight home, replaying the conversation over and over in his mind. Unlocking the door, and ignoring both Alciel and Lucifer, he took a seat at the table, producing paper and a small pen.

For the next two hours, Maou scribbled out, word for word, transcripts of every conversation, every interaction he and Emi had shared since their return from Enta Isla, where he had saved her life. Since that day, he reasoned, something had changed.

Before long, he had a creeping, sneaking suspicion that he knew what it was.

Maou took another look at the conversation from today, ignoring his own accelerating heartbeat.

Maou looked over the conversation from yesterday.

The demon king struggled, in the darkness, in the night, to process what he was seeing. Emi….He thought, tapping the pen on his desk. Emi, do…do you…?

Maou felt his heartbeat pounding in his temples, just thinking about it. Emi...Are you…Actually in love with me?

(The next day)

Maou didn't sleep. In fact, as he worked, tirelessly, taking orders from the cash register, he wondered if he would ever sleep again.

He chided himself, almost unable to believe it, when he caught himself hoping that Emilia would appear today as well. He rubbed his head, stumped, when he realized he was becoming obsessed with finding the answer.

With finding out what her feelings towards him were.

But she didn't appear. Maou clocked out, and began walking home, lost in thought, in the rain.

Does she like me? Maou stared up into the gray sky. Does The Hero have feelings for me?

The thought felt so alien, so unnatural, that it was almost addicting. Somehow, imagining her blushing face, imagining her flustered, nervous, was so enticing as to be almost painful. Somehow, he couldn't think of anything but her.

Naturally, it was only because he was curious. He was so, so unbearably curious, and so desperate to know, that he was stuck thinking about Emi all day and night. He was so curious that his heart would begin to race whenever he imagined running into her, imagined her sitting in his apartment, alone, imagined them walking together, talking, under a small umbrella, huddled together…

Okay, wait. Maou sweatdropped, rubbing the back of his head. Is this feeling curiosity, after all?

The demon lord arrived at his stronghold, hoping in the back of his heart to find Emi there, the way she had generally been every day since Ente Isla, but she was not.

"Alciel…Hey," Maou leaned, hoping to appear unconcerned, against a wall, twirling a pen. "Have you seen Emi?"

"I have not." The demon general seemed uninterested. "Thank goodness."

Maou sighed. "Yeah. Good thing."

What the hell! It's not good at all!

"Do you think she's at her place-?" Maou wondered aloud, after a moment.

Alciel turned, slowly, and gave him a weird look.

Maou shut himself up at the speed of light.

(Thirty minutes later)

"Are you going to Emilia's?" Alciel watched, unimpressed, as Maou gathered his shoes and coat.

"Probably."

Alciel sighed. "After we finally got rid of her, my lord?"

"Who said I wanted to be rid of her, Alciel?"

The demon general's jaw dropped, And Maou was gone, down the stairs, out the door.

(Ten minutes later)

Maou did not, in fact, go to the Hero's place. "Of course not…" he hissed, whispering to himself, when his body threatened to take a turn that would lead to her. "What purpose could that possibly serve?"

The king of demons was terrified to find himself imagining some romantic comedy scenario, where he would walk to her place, embracing her when he arrived. Where he would approach her, tripping, and falling, so that his hand squeezed her breast.

Maou shook his head, feeling his heartbeat thud in his chest. What's happening to me…? He lamented. Thinking of touching…the hero?

Despite feeling very much like he positively had to know how Emi felt, Maou didn't turn, didn't head towards her apartment.

Without knowing his own feelings, what good could it do to approach her?"

My own feelings…

Maou struggled, taking a seat, dimly aware of his surroundings, on a park bench. What do I know about affection? What do I know about love?

Maou rubbed the bridge of his nose, deep in serious thought for a moment, soul searching.

What the fuck! I don't know shit about love! I don't know anything!

The demon king groaned, defeated, head in his hands.

Isn't it a lot like…possession? Like, mating, conquest? It's a possessive feeling. Do I feel like the Hero is mine?

Maou took a second to visualize Emi, holding hands with some guy, with some random man, some dude from her office. His blood pressure skyrocketed.

Maou thought of her kissing another man, wrapping her arms around some guy. Some human, some sorry human being. Some man, some average guy…Kissing Emi, the Hero of Ente Isla, who cut a horn from the head of evil, who drove Satan himself onto the face of planet earth.

His blood boiled.

He began to imagine Emi, and some guy, some anonymous man, climbing into her bed together.

He stopped imagining it instantly, when he realized demonic power was coursing up around him, enough to glass the city in an instant.

A ringing…a strange ringing filled his ears.

A strange heat filled his head, as he absolutely refused to acknowledge the possibility of it. The possibility that anyone, any other man, any other male, any other masculine presence, could approach Emilia the hero.

He didn't dare, he didn't dare imagine it, he couldn't stand the idea of it, so he refused to even acknowledge that he had begun to think of another man embracing the hero.

Maou walked, shutting his demonic powers away, forcing them down, despite them threatening to spill out of him. Where am I going? He thought, after a moment, unconsciously aware of his movements.

A moment later, he was standing at the front door of Emi's office building, and he realized he'd teleported. People were shrieking, screaming, around him, running, and he took a second to ensure that he was still wearing his human form, before stepping inside, waving the automatic doors open.

No man, no other man, would embrace the hero.

(In the break room)

Emi laughed, leaning on the water cooler, doing her best to forget him, to stop thinking of the demon king.

Her coworker, a relatively tall, friendly looking man with blonde hair, had initiated a conversation with her over break, and, hoping to distract herself from persistently thinking on Maou, she went along with it, engaging with him.

His name was Greg, it seemed, and he was full of funny jokes…

"So, I told him, what the hell are you even talking about?!" Greg grinned, delivering the punchline, and Emi chuckled. It really was kind of a funny story…

The blond put his hand on Emi's shoulder, and before she could react in any way, she heard a chilling, bonesplitting voice, full of the passion and hate found in the darkest, coldest circles of hell. "Get your hands off her."

Emi turned, blood running cold, and Greg stumbled back, staggering away. Maou, eyes flashing red, demonic power leaking from his every pore, was approaching, slamming the break room door shut behind him.

"M-Maou-?!" She stammered, unwilling to believe her eyes, trembling, but the demon king ignored her.

"She has a child, did you know that?" Maou's voice was like poison, dripping with terrifying power, as he stalked closer, approaching Greg, who found himself, white as a sheet, backed against the break room sink. "My child."

The blonde screamed, and took off running, out of the break room, into the office hallways.

Maou seemed to calm down, as Emi's face turned red, and veins twitched in her temple. "Satan…" She began, feeling fury boiling up in her.

Maou turned to her, suddenly almost cheerful. "Thank god, I made it in time-"

"What the hell are you even talking about?!" Emi screeched. "This is my workplace!"

Maou twitched, and took a second, looking around, seeming to slowly come to his senses. "W-Wait…" He trembled, watching Emi take a step towards him, murderous. "T-that guy…that guy was…going to come on to you -"

"Is that any of your business-?" Emi meant for her voice to sound intimidating, and furious, but somehow came off like she was asking a serious question.

"…D-Do…Do you really want to know if I think it's my business-?" Maou managed to say, as she took another step towards him.

She paused, and they stared at each other for a moment. Some strange, electric energy seemed to pulse in between them, and Emi felt heat rise in her face, unable to think of an answer. Her fury vanished, replaced by a pounding heartbeat, as she watched as Maou's face begin to grow red.

Maou felt outrageously vulnerable, watching her face, unable to look away, hoping she would say something, anything, to alleviate the odd atmosphere filling the room…

"Emi-?" Rika poked her head into the break room, snapping the tension in the room in half. "Break's over-oh?"

Emi flushed, putting her jacket back on, and rushed past Maou, out of the break room, past Rika, heading for her cubicle.

Rika and Maou stared at each other, in silence, for a moment; Rika grinned, mouth curling into a knowing smirk.

"I…I was just leaving…" Maou managed to say, at last, lamely, and Rika chuckled.

"Oh, yeah. Sure."

Maou, hoping to maintain even a shred of dignity, shut his eyes tight as he walked past her, down the hall, past Emi's cubicle, into the elevator, and out the door.

(Two hours later)

"What…the hell…" Maou sat on his steps, staring up into the clouds, despondent.

What the hell was that! What the hell happened!

Maou played the encounter back in his mind, dissecting it, hoping to find some clue, some idea as to what he should do next.

How the hell am I supposed to face her now!

(The next day)

Maou hadn't slept, again, and didn't eat either. Somehow, he felt almost sick.

"Can I…Can I take your Order…?" He almost mumbled, in a daze.

"Yes."

The demon lord's eyes focused, and his head snapped around, recognizing Emi's voice. They stared at each other for a moment, wordless.

"Yesterday…" Emi began, faint red hues rising in her cheeks, and Maou's thoughts raced, desperate to think of something to say. "What was that all about, Maou?"

"I…err…" Maou rubbed the back of his head, drawing a blank. "Here's the thing…"

Emi waited, hands on her hips, still blushing faintly.

"Can we talk about this after work-?" The demon lord winced, hoping to buy himself a few hours.

Emi, instead of answering, found herself a seat and sat down.

Okay. Maou struggled, taking the next customer. Think. Think.

(After work)

"I…I had a vision-" Maou began, immediately, reciting his practiced story, when he and Emi walked out of Mgronalds. "I saw that you were in danger…Uh…"

"That's not true." Emi was unimpressed.

He sighed. "Fine. It's not true."

"What really happened, Maou?"

He stared over at her, pained. "I don't want to tell you."

"Fine! I don't care anyway-!" She glared at him, furious, before storming off. "Why would I care?!"

(That night, In Emi's apartment)

He didn't want…He didn't want That guy touching me…The hero tossed and turned on her bed, lost in thought, flushed. Does…Does Maou…?

She sat up, grumbling, and pulled out her cellphone.

"H-hey…I was…I was just wondering, is there some kind of…Hypnosis I could…use, to get information out of a demon?" She drummed her fingers on the nightstand, impatient.

"Sure." The voice on the other end seemed to be in a good mood. "Try the 'Veritas' Spell-"

"Veritas…" She said, after moment. "…W-will it really work-?"

"Maybe. It depends on the demon."

Emi groaned. "Maybe…?"

"Give it a shot, why not?"

The hero sighed, rubbing her temples.

(The next Day)

"Can you…Can you Come to my place, after work?" Emi, arms crossed, glared across the cash register at Maou.

The demon lord didn't look excited at all, raising one eyebrow. "…Why?"

"D-Don't worry about it! Just be there!"

(After work)

"So…" Maou wandered around her room, aimlessly. "What's about to happen?"

She gathered her courage, focusing holy magic between the tips of two fingers. "J-Just go sit on the couch-"

The demon lord, nonplussed, found her sofa and took a seat.

She snapped her fingers in his face, unleashing the veritas magic. "Maou, King of Demons, lord in hell, you will divulge your secrets to me-!"

Maou sweatdropped. Does…Does she think she can hypnotize me?

Before he could reply, she said. "Maou, tell me…! Tell me what you think of me!"

Silence. Maou sat, shocked, for a moment, reeling. Is this…This is my chance…?

"Emilia…" He said, pretending to be caught in her powerful magic. "Emilia…Don't…Don't touch other men…"

He said, and heard her gasp, trembling.

He pumped the fist, internally. Hook, line and sinker. "Emi…." He muttered. "Emi…You belong only to me…"

He heard her barely stifle a shriek, and grinned.

"M-Maou?!" She whispered, shocked.

He thought for a moment about how to reply. "M-Maou?!" He repeated.

She sat, in silence, for a moment, thinking.

"Maou…?"

"Maou…?" He repeated, dreamily.

"Maou is an idiot-" She said, testing the waters.

"Maou is an idiot-" He repeated.

He could almost hear her evil grin.

"Maou is the stupidest man alive-" She said, savoring the moment.

"Maou is the stupidest man alive-" he repeated.

"Maou is a pervert, and the worst kind of man-" She cackled, delighted.

"Maou is a pervert, and the worst kind of man-" he repeated.

She seemed to take a moment, deep in thought.

"Emi…Emilia is amazing." She said, at last, blushing.

"Emi…Emilia is amazing." He repeated.

She felt heat fill her cheeks.

"Emilia is a genius."

"Emilia is a genius." Maou repeated.

She took a deep breath, flushed.

"Emilia is beautiful."

"Emilia is beautiful." He repeated.

She squeaked, delighted, bright red.

"Emilia is gorgeous."

"Emilia is gorgeous." He repeated, bemused.

"Emilia...Is sexy." She said, after a moment's pause, bright red.

"Emilia…is sexy." He repeated, smirking internally.

"Emilia has a great chest!"

"Emilia has a great chest." he repeated, struggling to keep from cracking up, overwhelmed by how cute she was acting.

She sat, soundless, blushing.

"I love Emilia." She said at last, and Maou felt his heart threaten to explode.

"I love Emilia." He said, feeling his desire for her building, rapidly, inside him.

She mewled, pleasantly.

"I'm…I'm in love with Emilia." She said, wringing her hands.

Maou's eyes snapped open, meeting her gaze.

Silence.

She froze, trembling, under his eyes, ice in her blood.

"M-Ma..Maou…?" She whispered, heat swimming in her cheeks, dizzied.

He stood up, and she backed away, stumbling, falling onto her backside, staring up at him.

"I'm in love with Emilia." He said, staring down at her, thoughts swirling, staring at her legs, her chest, into her eyes.

"Maou…?!" She tried to raise her voice, but couldn't; Heat poured unapologetically from her face. He took a step towards her, kneeling, setting himself in between her legs, as she made to desperately scramble away from him, backing herself against the bed.

"Emi." The demon lord looked into her eyes, heart pounding; seeing her, flushed red, trembling, on the ground was too much for him, and he leaned towards her, setting his hands on either side of her torso.

"You…Y-you tricked me-" She realized, horrified, blushing furiously. "You…You weren't hypnotized…?!"

Maou brushed her cheek, and she squealed.

"Sorry." He whispered, drawing closer to her, moving towards her, moving to kiss her. His left hand found her breast, and his right wound itself around her waist.

"A-ah-!" She gasped, feeling incredible heat in her face and body, as their lips just barely touched, trembling, for an instant, sending electricity coursing through her.

Maou had almost totally lost it, completely caught up in her scent, in her body, in her little moans and sighs, and moved to kiss her properly, pressing himself against her; his right hand reached up her skirt, between her legs, rubbing her crotch.

"EEP!" She yelped, kicking him square in the stomach, hurling him backwards across the room, slamming him into her bookshelf.

A moment passed, in silence, as Emi struggled to breathe, finding only shallow breaths, and Maou panted, picking himself up out of the ruined furniture.

"What the hell was that for?!" he hissed, rubbing the back of his head, sore.

Emi tried to get a grip, still blushing furiously, one hand wrapped around her breasts, the other covering her panties. "Huh?!" She seethed, after a moment, glaring at him. "Didn't you just try to rape me?!"

"As if-!" Maou crowed, cackling, before taking a second, evaluating the past few minutes.

He felt his blood turn to ice. Oh, shit…

"W-Wait…" He tried to speak, tried to insist on his innocence, that he had no such intentions, but…

I really was going to….?

Another moment of silence. Maou hung his head, in disbelief, staring down at his hands, wordless.

The demon lord held his head. I was going to attack Emilia?

Emi watched, breathless, Maou shiver, feeling extremely strange. After a moment, she realized he was crying; Noiseless tears dripping from his eyelids.

Her heart hurt watching it, and she slid over to him, slowly. "M-Maou…?"

He didn't answer. She reached out to him, but he smacked her hand away.

"D-Don't!" he looked up, and she saw fear in his eyes. She saw the fury there, a fierce self-loathing she couldn't stand. "Don't touch me-!"

He looked like he was still struggling, still overwhelmed by her. She grabbed his hand after a moment.

"H-Hey, Maou…Maou, Why…Why did you…?"

He stared over at her, wiping his eyes. "I…have no excuse. Forgive me…"

"N-No…I mean…Why would you…want -?" She blushed furiously, looking away to hide her eyes "…Me?"

He stared at her, eyes wide, for a moment. His jaw dropped.

"H-Huh?!"

"I-I mean…Why would you want to…" She mumbled, feeling her heartbeat race. "With me…?"

Maou seemed to consider this, snapping out of his stupor, before grinning. "Why would you want to hear 'I love Emilia' from me?"

She hissed, headbutting him. "Forget that! Forget all about that-!"

He cackled. "I'm not going to."

She shrieked, furious, producing her sacred sword, but he just stared at her, grinning silently.

She panted. "W-Why aren't you…running? Or…Fighting?"

"No, go ahead."

She trembled, lowering the sword.

"Go ahead. I deserve it."

She felt fury overwhelm her. "Stop that! Let me hate you!"

He laughed, shaking his head. "By All means."

She shivered, and dropped to her knees, sword vanishing in a flash of white light. When Maou looked up, she was sobbing.

"E-Emi?!" he approached her, and she covered her red face with both hands.

"I…I hate you…so much…"

Maou smiled, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close to him. She wept, openly, into his shirt, clutching him as if for dear life.

"I hate you too, Emi."

They sat there, entwined, for a few minutes, until Emi stopped crying naturally. Even after, they sat together, her in his lap, face pressed against him.

He was terrified to move. She twitched. Maou sweatdropped.

Fuck. Shit, shit. Shitshitshitshitshit….He tried to get a hold of himself, desperate to think of something to say or do. She's going to fucking KILL me.

But she didn't kill him.

He sat, holding her there, absolutely unwilling to move, waiting for her sacred sword to erupt out of his back at any time, waiting for his head to roll off his shoulders, waiting to die a horrible, brutal death. He waited for the end to come.

It didn't.

And still, he refused to move. Still, she pressed her face to his chest; her arms were still wrapped around him, and he was still holding her. What the fuck is going onnnnnn

He thought, desperate. Is this real life?! Did all this shit really just happen? Never mind that, what's happening RIGHT NOW?!

She moved, just a little, shifting her weight. He felt himself erupt in a cold sweat, but she still didn't kill him. The tension in the room was palpable, almost physical.

After what felt like an eternity, she looked up at him, trembling. Their lips were something like less than an inch apart…

"M-Maou…" she said at last, and he nodded, silent, disbelieving.

"Yes?"

"Do... You think I'm pretty?" She looked so vulnerable, so soft, so delicate.

"Do…Do I have to answer that-?"

"Answer." Her voice immediately turned frigid, and her expression was murderous again.

"Y-Yes. I think you're pretty."

Her features softened again instantly, and she sighed, happily.

"S-So…" Maou struggled to keep his cool. "Are you….comfortable?"

She glared up at him. "You don't like holding me?"

He suppressed the panic that threatened to overwhelm him. "No! No…It's just…Don't you…hate me?"

She shook her head. "Yes. I hate you. That's why I'm still in your arms, because I hate you so much, that being close to you is punishment. I'm punishing myself."

He laughed nervously. "I…I see…"

"That's not true." She sighed. "I'm in love with you, and I don't know how to admit it to myself, and I don't ever want you to let me go."

He felt his heart strain in his chest.

She stared up into his eyes. He look down into hers.

"I-I'm kidding. I actually just hate you. I was k-kidding…"

He laughed. "Right. While we're joking around, I'm also in love with you."

She rubbed her face on his chest. "You're just kidding, of course. We hate each other."

"Yeah." He grinned. "I was also just kidding. We hate each other."

She sat up, in his lap. "Y-you know…Since I hate you so much, and you're a scumbag…If you dated me, I would be really miserable."

"I can't imagine dating you." Maou agreed. "You would be an awful girlfriend."

"So…So, since we hate each other, and…Because I want you to suffer…"

He nodded. "Be my girlfriend. That's the best way."

"Y-yeah…I'll…I'll be your girlfriend…" She sniffed, happy tears leaking from her eyes. "How do you like that?"

"It's awful." He grinned, shaking his head. "I'm already depressed."

She stood up, slowly, and stretched. Maou got to his feet, looking around, dazed. What the fuck is happening. He chuckled. What's with this plot twist.

She turned to him, tilting her head, and he grinned.

"Would you…" She took a step towards him. "do anything for me?"

He nodded.

"Would you buy a huge diamond ring for me?"

"If you want."

"Will you get down on one knee for me?"

"Yeah."

She grinned, smug.

"What about you, then?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Will you do what I say?"

She tugged her hair, nervous, for a few moments, flushed "Y-Yes."

"Will you have my children?"

"Tactless!" She hissed, blushing furiously. "Jeez! What the fuck!"

"Will you?" He took a step towards her, grinning.

She put her fist in her mouth to keep from trembling, and then nodded, glancing sourly away, bright red.

He kissed her forehead, and she sighed. "There's no such thing as a Hero that dates the Devil. Is this my resignation?"

"No chance. This is part of your psychological terror attack on the demon lord's heart."

She grinned, haughty. "I'm going to tell Alciel that you love me. He's going to kill himself."

Maou sighed, eyebrow twitching, grinning. "Not bad. Won't you be embarrassed, though?"

She tilted her head.

"When I tell everyone that you give killer blowjobs."

She shrieked, bright red.

(Twenty minutes later)

Maou walked, marveling, down the sidewalk, appreciating the beauty in the clouds passing overhead. At his side, Emi was fidgeting, nervously, holding his hand.

"This…This is our anniversary." She said at last, blushing faintly. Maou glanced over at her. "What did you get me?"

He sweatdropped. "We've been dating for twenty minutes."

"You didn't get me anything?! Outrageous!"

A vein popped in Maou's forehead; he grinned. "Don't underestimate me. Look here-"

She stared up at him, hopeful, and he snapped his lips on hers. She put her hands on his chest.

"MY LORD!" Alciel Screamed, horrified, from the other side of the road, with Rika, Lucifer and Suzune.

Maou felt his blood run cold, and Emi cackled. "Gotcha." She whispered, on his lips.

The demon lord, twitching, grinned, pulling his lips off hers, and turned to greet his friends. "Yes, hi! Sorry, We're a little busy; on our way to get a bunch of condoms. We used our last one just now-"

Emi screeched, blushing furiously, as Alciel fainted and Rika shouted encouragement across at them.

Ex-V: I don't know what to say! I hope you had fun. This is my interpretation of a really great Idea, for Maou and Emi. I enjoyed writing it! Maybe It'll be enough to hold you over until I post the next chapter of Circle. Let me know what you thought, if you liked it or not! See you in the next chapter!