This was a bit of a shorter chapter. Chapter 3 and chapter 4 were meant to be one but it got too long. Enjoy!

Makima

"Please..." He begged. "Help me..."

The man groveled, unbothered or uncaring of the bloody pool that soaked deep into his knees, gripping Makima's legs with surprising strength for a man with a foot in the grave.

"I prayed to God for help… But you're not God, are you? Then you must be the Devil."

"And if I was?" She asked, unmoved by the man's desperate pleas. "You would ask the Devil for salvation?"

"God never answered, but you did. If you truly are the Devil, then make a deal with me."

"How greedy you are. Have I not done enough for you? Have I not saved you from a death you rightfully deserved?" Asked Makima, gesturing to the four bloody stains coloring the walls as she contemptuously kicked the man away and turned to leave.

"If you're just going to leave, then just kill me!" He screamed, gagging and retching from the blow.

Makima paused.

"Be careful what you wish for," she advised.

"I'm already a dead man walking," he laughed. "And I would rather die than live another day as I am. I don't care what it takes. I'll give you my soul. If that's not enough, I'll bring you others. So please, give me power. I don't care if I must trade my life away. If I am allowed to make my own choices for the first time in this fucking world, one day of life is enough."

Makima opened her eyes. Clothes still damp, she laid on the hardwood floor while lifelessly eying the lights above. She had not bothered to dry herself or change from her rain-soaked garments from the previous night.

Since she had yet to furnish her home, the only place to sleep was on the floor. The apartment management had offered to bring in a spare bed, but she had refused. None suited her tastes. For ordinary humans, sleeping without proper accommodation was the gateway to pain but a Devil's physique was a bit sturdier.

If she were to allow herself, Makima would have remained as she was, without thoughts, watching the twinkling lights of the glass candelabra while relishing the silence.

But she did not. Such acts of sloth were beneath her. She rose from her rest, every action methodical like that of a machine's and lacking the graceless motion of someone who had only recently awoken.

Rising to her feet, she headed to the shower. While she did not possess the biology necessary to produce odor, her wet clothes were a breeding ground for mold. More importantly, she refused to be seen with such indignity. Professionalism was a necessity, not an option.

Upon reaching the bathroom, she stripped away the damp clothes that clung to her flesh like a second skin and gently placed them on an empty rack, neatly folding them piece by piece so they would not wrinkle.

Entering the shower, she twisted the handle for hot water to its very limit without bothering to balance the temperature with the cold. Water sprang forth, first cool but moments later, scalding enough to scorch a person's skin. But to Makima, it was but a comfortable warmth. In seconds the enclosure was filled with dense steam.

Makima stood silently, letting the water flow down her form.

Makima stood silently, patiently waiting outside the apartment's front entrance for Matsuda to arrive.

Even immobile as a statue, she attracted the gazes of passersbys, residents and staff alike. While most were satisfied with taking a glimpse, others possessed more courage than sense. A mute stare was enough to drive them away.

In her life, she had two regrets.

The first was losing to Denji.

The second was never learning how to drive.

It was never necessary until now. She was a ward of the Japanese government as a child and had subordinates as an adult. There was always someone who would escort her to wherever she needed to go.

She had thought she could manage with the well-developed public transport system of her new home, but as it turned out, buses did not come to this area due to most of its residents possessing their own method of transport.

She briefly considered hiring a chauffeur, but such a thing would be a needless drain on her resources. Furthermore, she did not need her colleagues to start investigating just how she could afford such luxuries with the wage of an officer.

Fortunately, she did not have to wait long as she sighted the familiar second-hand grey car driving up.

"Good morning Makima-san!" Greeted Matsuda enthusiastically, leaning in from the driver's seat. "Looks like the weather took a 180-degree turn after that freak storm."

"Good morning to you too Matsuda-san," she replied with a smile as she entered the vehicle.

"Man, it looks like getting settled really boosted your spirit," Matsuda commented.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Well… You just seem a lot happier today."

"Oh, did I seem sad yesterday night?" Makima teased.

"Nothing like that!" Matsuda replied hastily. "It's just that you seem less tense."

Internally, Makima was surprised.

Have the past few months been so hard that I slipped, or is this man more astute than I thought?

Neither option was pleasing to the thought.

To lose control of herself to the point where others could read her emotions was an absolute embarrassment for the Control Devil.

On the other hand, if Matsuda could differentiate her mood despite her internal discipline, then that would mean that he was far more perceptive than she had imagined.

It would mean that she had underestimated him. The latter was almost as humiliating as the former.

After all, she had lost everything due to that same mistake.

Makima was arrogant. It was something she knew and understood was a flaw. She was not deluded enough to ignore that the same arrogance was the cause of her defeat.

She had underestimated the Devil Hunters, she had underestimated Power, and most of all, she had underestimated Denji. Each mistake had prevented her from reaching a victory that should have easily been hers.

This was a small matter, but one that could butterfly into something more significant in the future.

She would not make that mistake again.

"I'm just teasing Matsuda-san. Yes, taking care of all the meddlesome business in my life has put much off my shoulder. Oh, and I recently got a dog."

"Huh? How did that happen?" Matsuda asked in surprise, staring at her in confusion instead of watching the road for long enough to make her nervous. "I'm pretty sure shelters don't operate during those hours. Did you find it running around in the apartment building? If so, it's probably someone else's."

"Nothing like that. I was walking to the mart to get something to eat when-"

"Makima-san!" Matsuda interrupted with a shout, worry and dismay coloring his face. "It's not safe for a young woman like you to walk alone at that hour, especially in this area! I did some research and learned that there were multiple high-profile kidnapping incidents around here!" He scolded before abruptly freezing.

"Uhh… Not that I'm trying to tell you what to do of course… I'm sure you can take care of yourself… it's just that…." Matsuda continued as he tried to explain, although the words seemed to disappear before they left his mouth.

"It's all right, I understand what you are trying to say, and I will keep it in mind. In hindsight, it was silly of me," Makima admitted.

"I… Ugh… If you need something, please call me even if it's late. I would rather wake up than let you go alone like that."

"I will keep that in mind Matsuda-san."

"…"

An uncomfortable silence passed.

Matsuda subtly opened and closed his mouth, as if he wished to say something but could not gather the necessary courage. Bothered by the current mood, he turned on the radio as if to break the quiet.

In the meantime, Makima gazed out the window allowing the spring breeze that flowed through the slight opening to brush against her face. As Matsuda said, the weather had changed for the better. As winter passed and spring followed, trees grew their lustrous leaves as flowers of various shapes and colors bloomed. With the rebirth of nature following its death came its scent, so sweet and cloying that it was enough to mask the foul, pungent odor of the city. Her keen sense of smell was both a gift and a curse. She had been exposed to these smells for so long that she had begun to think of them as normality. But here? Here she could finally breathe.

This was a peace she could rarely experience. She savored every moment of it.

"Anyways, about the dog?" Matsuda asked, unknowingly breaking the tranquility she had been enjoying.

"Ah, yes. On my way to the mart, I ran into a small litter of puppies with their mother," said Makima.

"Awww. That's cu-,"

"They were dead."

"-te. Ah…"

"They seemed to have died rather violently. The mother was missing a limb and the lower half and face of one of the puppies was badly mauled."

"That's horrible!" Matsuda exclaimed, appalled. "Do you think it was from the wildlife? Didn't know we had any so close to the city."

"Most likely. This place is quite isolated from the rest of the city, so I wouldn't be surprised if some predators lived here. Fortunately, one survived," Makima mentioned fondly. "He looked badly injured and was even missing an eye, but I found him struggling to survive when his family couldn't. I was going to take him to the hospital, but I had to turn around when it started raining. Fortunately, the apartment had vets among their staff."

"Oh, that's good to hear! It's a relief you took him in. They probably would have euthanized him if you brought him to the pound. Man, your apartment has vets? Talk about luxury."

"You would be surprised at how many own pets but are unprepared to care for them. They desire the joy that comes with companionship but not the responsibility it requires. The residents typically leave them for the staff to maintain," Makima explained.

"You know, I've wanted a dog since I was a child, but my mother was allergic. I was planning on getting one after I left the house, but I've been so busy lately with work that I don't think I'll have the time to take care of one."

"That you considered your limitations already puts you leagues above most others," complimented Makima.

"Hahaha, thanks Makima-san. But still, it's sad what happened to the little guy. I wonder if he will miss his family."

Makima did not respond, her eyes dimming as if staring at a far-off memory. "All living things want a family, whether you are a dog or a Devil."

"Hmm? Was that a quote from the bible or something?"

"It's nothing Matsuda-san, just my own babbling."

"This is random, but did you see any celebrities last night?" Matsuda asked out of curiosity

"Unfortunately no, everybody seemed to be asleep at that hour."

"Aww, that's a shame. I'm a huge fan of Akita, you see. Her living location isn't publicized, but I did some digging last night and I'm pretty sure she lives in the same building as you," said Matsuda.

"Should you be using your investigative skills to search for the home of a young woman?"

"Well, if you say it like that I sound like some kind of stalker," said Matsuda before pausing as if coming to a realization. "Holy crap, that is what a stalker would do!"

Perhaps I misjudged him. Maybe he is just an idiot

"Against all expectations, Prime Minister Hashirama has narrowly won re-election. Due to their subpar performance in the past years, his party, the Jiyu Minshut-to lost so many seats in recent elections that they have now effectively lost majority control of the Diet. It was the consensus of experts all across the country that with his Party butchered, a second term would be impossible for the Prime Minister. But in a shocking turn of events, several members from the Nationalist Party and the Komeito defected to the Jiyu, giving the Jiyu Minsut-to enough of a majority to win Hashirama a second term. The reasons for the defection are still unclear."

"When my father learned the election results, he totally flipped out," Matsuda commented as he listened to the radio. "He was so angry that nobody wanted to be around him, and he spent days ranting that there must've been foul play."

"Do you think there was any? Foul play I mean," Makima questioned.

"I personally always liked the Prime Minister. He seemed like a good honest man, and I found it admirable how hard he tried despite the opposition so I find it hard to believe he would resort to background dealings," said Matusda before growing suddenly nervous. "Please don't tell anyone I said that. My father will kill me if he learns I said anything good about the Jiyu Minsut-to."

"No worries, Matsuda-san. My lips are sealed," said Makima with a small laugh.

"Although it is rather suspicious, don't you think?" She asked. "He had been deadlocked in politics for years, but all of a sudden in the last few months of his terms, the Diet starts passing legislation after legislation? The very same legislation they had rejected in the past?"

"True, but I still don't think there was anything scandalous. I thought it was some kind of campaign strategy," Matsuda replied.

"Oh? Do explain."

"Uhh… That's actually all I've got," Matsuda admitted with a laugh. "But if you consider the fact that he didn't even have the support of his own party, Hashirama would have needed to blackmail more than half the diet, all within a few months. My theory isn't good, but I think it is more realistic.

"Hmmm, I can admit that there is no good explanation."

A smile grew on Makima's lips as if she had thought of something amusing. "Perhaps he used mind control."

Matsuda laughed, clearly amused by the joke. "Hahaha. That would be any politician's wet dream. I bet some of those old geezers would sell their souls for something like that."

"Indeed," Makima agreed.

As Usual, I would love to see reviews, esp. on the plot and writing style. If you can, please leave a review.