Chapter 21: Finding The Strength

For the first time in a couple of weeks, Akira woke up on a comfy bed. Having become accustomed to sleeping on whatever surface he could lie down onto in those 20 years of war or in his own cartshop, he had forgotten how wonderful it was to just lie your back on a soft and comfortable foam bed.

After letting out a yawn, stretching and rubbing his eyes, Akira took a look at his surroudings and realised that he was on a bunk bed. In fact he slept on the upper bed a good 1.5 meters off the ground.

And after taking a look around, he remembered.

"Jun…" he spoke in realisation that he had in fact slept on the same bunk bed Jun used to share with Kazumi. He then remembered what happened the last night. How Jun broke down in tears after recalling and revealing what happened to Kazumi. How he also broke down in tears at the realisation that Kazumi went through the same ordeal that befelled Miki. How he comforted her. How they finally confessed their feelings for each others. How their lips met each other for the first time, in a kiss so powerful and so full of love and passion that it momentarily took away all the sadness in their hearts.

But Akira still coudn't believe it. It felt too good to be true. It was almost like he was in a dream.

But as the Devil with the heart of a human dressed himself and left the room, heading for the kitchen, he spotted her, wearing a purple long sleeved shirt and house pants, cooking breakfast for both of them. As soon as his eyes landed on her, his heart began to beat faster in joy. It was all true. The beautiful event that happened the night before was no dream.

"Jun….." was all Akira could say, while smiling soothingly. The beautiful woman in front of him, turned towards him, before flashing a cheeful and utterly beautiful smile before saying "Darling, you're up! I thought you might have been hungry so i cooked these for you!" her voice as cheerful and as angelic as her appearance before showing him some Tamagoyaki omelettes.

Akira's eyes widened in excitement before exclaiming "Awesome! I love those!" earning a cute giggle from Jun at his excited reaction as they both sat at the table and enjoyed their breakfast.

The young woman smiled cheerfully as Akira happily ate all the omelettes before he spoke, "Wow, they tasted so good!" he then turned towards Jun before continuing "I didn't know you were such a good cook, Jun!" in a casual and disbelieved tone.

Jun then replied "Oh it's nothing really. My mom taught me how to cook. Of course, my cooking is nowhere near as elaborate as yours but i'm happy you enjoyed them." while getting up and taking the now empty plates off the table before taking them to the sink in order to wash them.

"Are you kidding? Those were some of the best omelettes i've ever had! And don't worry i'll cook everyday for you whenever you don't feel like it!" spoke Akira, earning another cute chuckle from Jun at how happy and cheerful he sounded.

Jun still coudn't believe it too. She thought all of this was a dream. After everything she had lost, she had found happiness again. She had found her second chance at love, a man who always carried himself with a smile on his lips, who despite everything he went through moved on and hid his pain to bring happiness to others. And now they were both living together in the same house.

After several minutes of silence, while cleaning the dishes, Jun spoke "Akira…. About yesterday….." her voice hesitant and at the same time somewhat hollow.

"Yeah?" asked casually the half-devil before noticing Jun stopping due to the emotions that were building up in her.

"I still can't believe it happened…" she began weakly, her voice getting heavy with each word "When Kazumi died….. I had nothing left to live for…. I thought happiness would have never returned in my heart…"

Noticing Jun's voice quickly filling with sadness and sorrow with every word, Akira immediately got up and began to walk towards her.

"Jun…" he spoke soothingly, saddened to see her like this while the woman he loved began to hug herself due to the pain and the grief of her first love's death coming back to her "When she died, my humanity died with her… But then you came… And-"

"Shhhhhhhh" hushed Akira while gently wrapping his right arm around her upper abdomen, beneath her breasts and putting his left hand on her shoulder, causing her to gasp in astonishment and surprise. He was comforting her again, like he did the first time he met her.

"Don't worry, Jun….. I'm here….. I'm here for you….." he spoke in the most reassuring and soothing tone he could manage, causing Jun's eyes to begin to shake in passion, her heart beginning to beat faster. It wasn't a dream. It was all real. The young man that pulled her out of her depression….. was the same man she confessed her love for after he cried for her.

"Akira…." she weakly let out while Akira slowly wrapped his left arm on her shoulders and rested his left hand on her lower left cheek "Remember what i told you…. I'll always be there for you…. To bear all of your grief, all of your pain….." he continued, his voice becoming more passionate and warming with every word that left his mouth. As Akira tightened his warm embrace Jun finally turned her head towards the slightly taller newfound love of her life, while resting her right arm on Akira's arm around her chest.

As her eyes met Akira's own, once again all of her sadness, much like the night before, dissappeared from the heart replaced by the love and the passion she felt towards him.

She then rested her left hand on Akira's left cheek before she called out his name once again "Akira…..." her voice just as passionate as Akira's own before the latter captured Jun's lips in a gentle and loving kiss. They both closed their eyes as their lips met each other. They remained like that for a few moments before deepening the kiss, adding their tongues to the mix, weaving them around each other in a playful dance.

At the same time, they both began to rub their bodies on each other with Jun moving her hand along Akira's left arm, feeling the well-defined muscles of his upper arm. But as Akira was doing the same, moving his right arm down Jun's left arm, feeling her smooth, soft skin…..

He stopped as soon as his hand landed on a rough, rugose surface, which crudely stood out in the middle of her soft skin in the middle of her upper arm.

Slowly withdrawing from the kiss, he gasped in shock upon noticing a circular scar that ran along the entire circumference of Jun's upper arm, mid-bicep.

"Jun….. your arm…" was all he could manage, taken completely aback by the scar that stood out in the beautiful woman's soft, milky white skin.

Jun's eyes began to fill with sadness upon recalling the memories of her battle against Asuka as soon as she took a look at the scar on her left arm. Sadness returned in her eyes before her eyes left Akira's own and she turned her head away from his slightly before saying "These are not my original arms. I lost them in a battle three months ago." in an equally saddened and gloomy tone.

"Then why…" Began Akira only for Jun to cut him off by saying "I was given these new arms by a beast surgeon….. he was kind enough to do the surgery without asking anything in return. I guess that saving his kind was enough for him…." her voice taking on a detatched tone.

Akira watched in disheartenment as Jun began to recall the painful memories of how she came to be. Having been told by Takae and Takeshi about what Lan Asuka, "The God Child", Ryo's counterpart from this world had done, he had a strong feeling that it was because of her that Jun had become what she was.

"It was that woman, wasn't it? Lan Asuka?" asked Akira, his voice becoming serious but at the same time concerned, causing Jun to gasp and turn back towards him, her eyes shaking in shock and disbelief.

"H-how did you….." she began her voice full of bewilderment and surprise before Akira cut her off and replied "Takae and Takeshi told me everything. How the Human Alliance was nothing but a facade. How that woman was behind everything. How she manipulated and orchestrated all sorts of crimes, conflicts and lies, in order to lock the beasts in concentration camps so as to remove all competition the moment she would show her true colors and take over the world."

Jun could only listen speechless at what Akira said and her heart sank. He knew. He knew what Asuka did. Not only that, but in his voice she could clearly hear anger and outrage. Jun quickly figured out that it was because it reminded him of what his former best friend, Ryo had done.

"Akira…" weakly called out Jun upon hearing the anger and the outrage present in his voice, before her eyes once again shifted downwards towards the floor, her face filling with even more sadness as all those traumatic memories came back.

(OST: "Elegy" = Devil Lady soundtrack (the track that plays from 3:21 to 5:31) = watch?v=urPG62zXTUM )

As Jun turned around due to the grief that was forming inside of her, Akira came to her from behind and spoke soothingly "Jun….. i know what it feels like…. To be manipulated….. to be used as nothing more than a pawn in a larger game….. To fight believing you're doing the right thing only to find out that it was a lie all along…. To become somet-" while putting his hands on her shoulders in order to comfort her.

"No Akira, you don't." bluntly replied Jun before suddenly taking a few steps forward, distancing herself from him, catching Akira completely by surprise and causing his lips to part away slightly in surprise due to her sudden reaction and the blunt and dead-serious tone of her voice.

"You didn't deserve what happened to you and what your friend did was wrong….." she spoke again, her voice becoming drier and drier with each word. Nothing could prepare Akira for what Jun was about to tell him.

"But what you and i went through is not the same. You may have become accustomed to your new nature quickly, but it wasn't the same for me…" Continued Jun, her voice getting somber and somber.

"Jun…" was all Akira could say, disheartened at the state she was in before Jun spoke "You don't know what it was like…. To live your life in peace and quiet only to suddenly lose your humanity, to be turned into a monster against your own will. To live every single day with the fear of losing control of yourself, with the fear of hurting those you care about, having to live with the actions that your other self can cause….." her voice filling with grief due the memories of her awakening, to the people she had to put down, of the times when she thought she would lose herself came back. It dawned on Akira at that moment. Overcoming the demon that tried to possess you with your willpower, gaining his power and his appearance in the process was not the same as suddenly transforming into something inhuman, monstrous against your own will.

"Jun, that's not true. You are not a monst-" tried to reassure Akira only for Jun to turn back towards him, scowl on her face, teeth slightly bared, taking him completely aback.

"YOU THINK?!" she yelled at him, interrupting Akira mid-speech and causing his face to fill with dismay and concern due to her reaction before Jun continued "Then what do you think i felt when i found out that i could enjoy hurting others?! What do you think i felt when i found myself with primal, animalistic instincts i coudn't control?! What do you think i felt when the people i cared about ended up getting hurt BECAUSE OF ME?!"

Akira's heart began to fill itself with sadness and sorrow the more Jun yelled at him. He quickly understood that she wasn't mad at him. She was mad at herself. Her self loathing had returned. No matter how much she had come ever since she first met Akira, she still blamed herself for everything that happened back then.

After the last words left her mouth, Jun lowered her head towards the ground as tears started to fall from her eyes. She then spoke weakly "You….. you don't know what it was like….. to kill all those people…. People who hadn't done a single thing wrong in their entire lives but whose only fault was not having been strong enough to control themselves!" her voice cracking completely, cries mixing up with it, upon recalling all those poor unfortunate souls she had to put down. Remi, Tachibana, Hitomi, Aoi… and many others.

Akira's eyes began to shake in sorrow as Jun recalled all those people she had to put down. Up until now he had no idea of what becoming a beast truly meant for those who weren't strong enough. It wasn't like a demon erasing a person's soul before taking over it's body. It was the same thing as becoming a werewolf: a curse. Once you had become afflicted by it and if you were not strong enough mentally, there was no turning back. You would be forever cursed to live the rest of your life as as an animal, driven only by primal animalistic instincts.

"You don't know what it was like…. To be manipulated… To be treated like a pet… to be used as nothing more than a means to an end and then being tossed away as soon as you had outlived that usefulness!" wailed again Jun, upon recalling the moment Asuka raped her while telling her that she was only born for her and that she would die for her.

Akira's heart sank as those last words left Jun's mouth. What Asuka did to Jun was even worse than what Ryo did to him. At least Ryo, for all his evils, genuenely loved Akira and wanted him to be at his side once humanity had been dealt with. At that moment, in spite of having never met this Asuka, in his heart Akira felt nothing but pure anger and hatred at what she did.

Akira then in an attempt to comfort her, put his hands on her shoulders and spoke soothingly "Jun….. please….. it wasn't your fault….." only for Jun to suddenly remove Akira's hands from her, causing him to take a few steps backwards and his face to fill with shock at her hostile attitude towards him

Jun then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and screamed in grief "OF COURSE IT WAS ALL MY FAULT! IF I HAD LET THAT WOLF BEAST DEVOUR ME THAT NIGHT, IF I HADN'T AWAKENED, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED! KAZUMI WOULD STILL BE ALIVE! CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!" her brown eyes meeting Akira's own once again, tears flowing even more than before.

"Jun…. Please… Stop…" called out Akira, tears beginning to descend from his eyes as well, due to the pain he felt upon seeing the woman he loved like this. He could no longer bear to see her blaming herself for what happened. It got to a point, Jun wished she would have died that fateful night.

"No, you stop! Stop trying to pretend you know what i went trough! You don't even k-" began Jun once again, outraged at Akira trying to comfort her when in her eyes he knew nothing of how she felt. But then…

(Soundtrack Ends)

"ENOUGH! STOP BLAMING YOURSELF! IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT!" Finally screamed Akira in a mix of sorrow and angst, having finally reached his breaking point, shutting Jun up and causing her to let him go. She gasped in shock upon noticing how much Akira was crying to the point she momentarily stopped crying.

A deafening silence befelled the room before Akira walked towards Jun and put his hands on her side shoulders before exclaiming "Look at me! You think i asked to be like this?!" causing Jun's eyes to shake upon seeing that Akira's teeth had in fact become sharp.

(OST: "Loneliness" = Devil Lady Soundtrack (the track that plays from 1:56 to 3:15) = watch?v=urPG62zXTUM )

"You think i asked to fight all those scumbags i had to face?!" asked Akira again while Jun could only listen in shock and sadness "No! I didn't ask for any of this! My life was just like that of any other kid! I had a home! I had a family! I had friends! WHAT DO YOU THINK I FELT WHEN ALL OF THIS WAS TAKEN AWAY FROM ME BY THE VERY SAME HUMANS I SWORE TO PROTECT?!" he finally wailed, crying even more than before while lowering his head towards the floor, recalling all the horror, the pain and all the suffering he witnessed and experienced, while Jun's lips began to quiver in sadness, shock and guilt.

"A….. Akira….." was all Jun could let out, her heart overcome by guilt for having yelled at him earlier, upon remembering of the rampage humanity went on in Akira's world.

"You haven't seen what it was like… how all those people butchered each other without a second thought! How not even children were being spared, how some were impaled on stakes, how others were tortured to death without a shred of mercy! HOW MOTHERS AND FATHERS WERE GUTTED IN FRONT OF THEIR OWN CHILDREN SIMPLY FOR BEING MISTAKEN FOR DEMONS!" exclaimed yet again Akira in despair and sorrow, while tightening his grip on his girlfriend's shoulders, causing Jun to cover her mouth with one of her hands in horror while her eyes once again became blurred with tears

"You haven't seen what they did to Miki's parents….. To my parents…. The ones who raised me like a son they never had….." muttered once again Akira before wailing "THEY HANGED MY MOTHER UPSIDE DOWN ON A MEATHOOK! ON A FUCKING MEATHOOK! AS IF SHE WAS NOTHING BUT A PIG!" while slowly sliding down towards the ground, hanging himself on Jun's clothes. And as his knees hit the floor he wailed once again "THEY TORTURED MY FATHER TO DEATH! AND I COUDN'T EVEN SAY HIM GOODBYE!" overcome completely by grief and despair, to the point he could no longer speak. Sobs and incomprehensible cries were the only things that left his mouth.

Jun coudn't take it anymore. Overcome by guilt and sorrow, she dropped on her knees, closed her eyes and pulled the man she loved in a deep embrace, burying his head on her chest while breaking down completely in tears. She was wrong all along. No matter how different it was from what she went through, what Akira had been through was just as horrifying, as traumatizing and as harrowing as the ordeal that befelled Jun. At least Jun got to hold Kazumi in her hands before she died. Akira coudn't even say goodbye to his parents. They had been murdered for the same reasons Kazumi's parents were. Being associated with someone who was no longer human. How could she have done this? How could she have been so selfish? How could she pretend that Akira did not understanding her pain?

The two lovers remained like that for what seemed like an eternity, their cries falling on each other's bodies. Never before had Jun seen Akira so broken, so devastated, so anguished. It was like seeing yourself in a mirror. The pain, the grief and the sorrow she witnessed from her lover was the same she felt. And she was just mere minutes ago trying to cut her ties with him, just like she did to all the people she cared about.

"A-Akira… F-Forgive me…" weakly let out Jun, between cries, causing the half-devil to gasp as soon as that beautiful voice returned, filled with regret "I….. i'm so selfish….. i tried to shun you away….. I…. i don't want to see you hurt…..because of me….." she weakly continued, hugging the man she loved even more. In the end, just like all the people she cared about, Jun was afraid that by being with her, he would have been hurt. That's why she tried to isolate herself from all those people she held dear.

But those words, gave Akira the strength to lift his head back up again, to meet Jun's beautiful brown eyes again, to put his hands on her cheeks. He then replied "Jun…. Don't be afraid…. I am like you…. I am a Devilman….. A demon with a human heart….." his voice absolute and full of resolve causing Jun to gasp in passion and astonishment.

"A…. Akira…" she esitantly called out, before the man in front of her replied "Jun….. I will do anything to protect you…. I won't let what happened to the people i cared about, happen to you….. I will be with you until the end…. " with a soothing smile, while caressing Jun's cheeks and moving away her hair. He then finally uttered those words again, taking away all of Jun's sadness from her heart.

"I love you, Jun."

Overcome by the passion and the love she felt towards the man in front of her, Jun smiled passionately before replying "I love you too, Akira." before their lips met each other again. This time the two lovers remained like that for what seemed like an eternity, both on their knees, tears falling from their eyes, their sadness replaced by the overwhelming love they both felt towards each other. Revealing their past to each other, what they went through as different as it was, their acceptance of each other only served to strenghten their bond.

(Soundtrack Ends)

At the same time, in the highways of the city

Takeshi was driving on his motorbike through the many roads and highways of the city. Even before and during the goverment crisis he was known to be one daredevil of a driver. Being a show off most of the time, before he met Takae, he used to drive without even a helmet on. Of course it was only after much yelling from his girlfriend and from his soon-to-be newfound responsibility of becoming a parent that he finally yielded and decided to put a helmet on while driving.

The young beast still coudn't believe what had come to pass in the last two months. After having fallen in love with his girlfriend, after their fight for freedom and after the God Child's defeat, he thought that things coudn't possibly have gotten better.

Then Akira came. And not only had he saved them from that toad-like demon, he had become a friend to them. He fought with him side by side against monsters that were not from this world. And then Takeshi found out that Akira had in fact healed the Devil Lady's heart, restoring her happiness and will to live after everything she lost, after he had saved her from Sirene.

"Akira… I still can't believe it. You made the impossible a reality." muttered Takeshi under his breath, thinking back towards his best friend and the time they spent together. The bond that had been created between them was almost as powerful as the bond he had with his girlfriend. The moment Takeshi learned that he had in fact saved not only the Devil Lady herself but the new love of Akira's life, his heart was overcome by joy. Not only because he had repaid his debt towards Akira for having saved him twice but because love had blossomed between Akira and Jun, healing their broken hearts. He coudn't be more happy for them both. After the hell they went through by finding each other, they had found happiness again.

Then he remembered. He had to buy some items for his child. Recently Takae had bought a cradle in which their child would sleep on for the first months until it would start to walk on its own. And now it was his turn. And so he sped up and headed for the first shop he could find.

And needless to say, he was not looking forward to it.

But after parking in front of the shop, taking his time to buy a few stuff such as a couple pacifiers, several boxers and other clothes, a couple baby bottles, he was in for quite a surprise when another biker arrived and parked its bike, a blue and black Yamaha XJR400 on Takeshi's right while he was putting the items he bought in his own bike's trunk. The biker wore a dark red body-suit with gray metallic pads on its shoulders and knees, dark brown leather boots and Takeshi could also make out a yellow short scarf around its neck just below the helmet.

As the biker stopped the bike and put the kickstand out, Takeshi sat on his bike's seat, put his hands in his pockets and with a casual smile, spoke "Nice bike you've got there, gal." while staring at the biker's Yamaha in interest. He had to admit it, it was one fine bike. Sure, he woudn't trade his beloved Suzuki for anything in this world, but that had to be one of the finest bikes he had ever seen.

And of course, it didn't take too long for Takeshi to notice the driver's tall, well-built and curvaceous phisique, not to mention its chest, which gave away its gender. And it genuenely took a lot of effort for Takeshi not to gasp in awe as soon as the biker straightened its body and removed its helmet, before shaking its head around to get the hair away. A beautiful girl in her late teens that had dark green hair, a soft, beautiful face and pointed elf-like ears.

(OST: Yu Yu Hakusho, heartwarming unreleased soundtrack = watch?v=M9rypLl3BNE)

The girl then, with a smile, began "Why, thank you. Wasn't exactly cheap but it-" in a cheerful tone but as soon as she opened her scarlet red eyes (which Takeshi found to be very attractive) and they met the beast's own, she stopped and her lips parted away in shock, revealing teeth that were slightly sharper than those of a normal human. The attractive young man that complimented her bike, looked very similar to a person very close to her. The one who had given her a purpose after she became… different.

Takeshi found himself utterly entranced. Everything about that girl, from her hair and eyes, to her ears and her curvaceous phisique and the way her clothes hung tightly on it was so beautiful. He hated to admit it, but she was just as beautiful as Takae.

However he coudn't help but feel a little uncomfortable due to how she was staring at him. It was as if she knew him. And then he noticed something else about her. She didn't smell like a beast at all in spite of her eyes and teeth. In fact her scent was very similar to Akira's own.

After staring at each other for a few seconds, Takeshi broke the silence and spoke "You alright, lady?" in a worried tone. The beautiful, green haired girl in front of him, broke out of her trance upon realising that Takeshi wasn't the person she was looking for and with another surprised gasp, she spoke "Oh! Sorry about that. I thought you were someone else." in an apologetic tone, while bowing slightly.

A smile made its way back on Takeshi's lips before he replied "It's alright. You're not the first to do that." in a gentle tone. He then added "And you certainly won't be the last. I guess that i really am that handsome after all." while running a hand in his hair, causing the girl in front of him to giggle cutely at his smug, show off attitude.

"Kinda hard to disagree on that." replied cheerfully and jokingly the girl while getting off her bike, (surprising Takeshi slighly due to her height which almost reached his own), putting her helmet inside the bike's trunk and putting on a burgundy leather hat. She then walked towards Takeshi before happily introducing herself "I'm Mikiko. Mikiko Kawamoto. But my friends usually call me Mico!" she then extended her hand and added "Nice to meet you!"

With a cheerful smile, Takeshi returned the favor "Likewise. Name's Takeshi Maki. But if you'd like to, feel free to call me Tak." while shaking her hand before he added "By the way, yours is a lovely name. It means "Beautiful". A beautiful name for a beautiful girl such as you." his voice as kind as his face.

The girl, now known as Mico blushed at the compliment she had been given. As she withdrew from the handshake, she put one of her hands on her cheek and replied, flattered "Awwww, thank you so much! It's been a while since someone told me that…" while rubbing her legs on each other.

"You're welcome, Mico." replied happily Takeshi, delighted by the girl's upbeat personality. He then remembered that his girlfriend waited for him and so he spoke "Sorry, gotta go now. Hope i'll see you again." before mounting back on his bike.

Mico then replied "Oh….. i see." while putting one of her hands on her chest, before she smiled again and spoke "Take care then Tak. I hope we meet again!" bidding farewell for now.

"Likewise. See you around, Mico!" bid farewell, Tak after putting his helmet on, before he started the engine of his bike and left, leaving the girl alone.

As soon as Takeshi dissappeared in the horizon, a worried look formed on Mico. The moment her eyes saw him she thought that it was him. The one who rescued her from the humans who imprisoned her, who used her as nothing more than a lab rat, who tortured her solely for their own gain. The one who gave her a new purpose in life, who gave her her new identity as a Demon with the heart of a Human. A Devilman.

"Akira… I haven't forgotten what you have done for me." she quietly muttered under her breath, while putting her hands on her chest, upon recalling everything he did for her. She still remembered it like it was yesterday, the day he saved her from the Demon Busters. How he broke the cage of glass that entrapped her, how she told her that she was the furthest thing from a demon. How he held her in his arms before bringing her to safety, to her new home, to her new friends and comrades.

And then she was at his side to the very end. Right up to the final battle where, like the rest of her comrades, she met her end. But then she woke up in this new world as if the war never happened. And for the last two months only one thought was present in her mind. Reuniting with the one who saved her.

Her resolve strenghtened, Mico muttered quietly "Akira…. I hope we will meet again someday. I still haven't repaid my debt with you." promising to someday reunite with him. After becoming what she was, she had lost her faith not only in God but in everything. Then Akira came and he gave her something to believe in, something to fight for. And it was thanks to that faith that she had been at his side to the end.

(Soundtrack Ends)

She then began to walk away, dissappearing in the crowd. Little did she know that she had been watched the whole time.

Because a young man with light brown hair and glasses, dressed in casual clothing and wearing a hat that masked his face, had laid his back towards a building's wall in the street, several dozens of meters away and had heard the entire exchange between Takeshi and Mico. Having been instructed like his owl comrade to recruit new members for his master's cause, he had been on patrol for several days, looking for whatever belligerent beasts or even those so called "Demons" he could find.

Due to his keen sense of smell, he quickly found out that the attractive girl with green hair and a burgundy body suit, to his stupor didn't smell like a beast, despite being clearly not human.

"Heh. This outta be interesting. Let's see what this chick's all about." stated mischieviously Higa with a smug, devious smile on his face. Even though he was under direct orders to recruit new allies, he had been intrigued by this girl. And if she would turn out to have the same ideology as his master, the better.

And so he then began to follow her, hidden by the rest of the crowd.