"Oo…."

"..."

It was approximately four in the afternoon.

"Ooo…."

"..."

It was still bright outside.

"... Ooo…."

"..."

But Kancho was ready to call it quits.

Throughout the day, he deduced that apart from the reckless intervention from earlier, his team practically wasted daylight, having done nothing except argue and fight amongst themselves. It was astonishing, he would soon realize, they failed to track down even a single Devil in their entire venture.

Power and Denji were currently disassociating; her mind focused on the beverages trapped within a machine while he weighed whether it was an ideal time to think about breasts. "Ugh…" Kancho was also there, sitting beside a recycling bin between the two, contemplating what to do next.

'Fuck,' he thought, understanding the whole purpose of the group was to prove themselves to Public Safety as valuable assets. Yet, they had already failed their first assignment. 'God damn it—'

"Ooooooh…." Suddenly Kancho was pulled out of his thoughts by a particular Devil's mouthing.

He could tell who it was, especially when it was that sound he'd heard her make whenever she got even the slightest bit intrigued by something.

"You know…" Kancho began, looking up at Power, who continued to mouth at a vending machine. "Most people would think it's unhealthy to keep staring at that thing. Bad for the eyes, no?"

"..."

"... 'Specially after an hour…."

The Devil paid him no mind. Instead, Power kept her eyes on the prize, even going as far as to press her hands firmly on the glass, signifying her unwavering disinterest at his complaints about her bizarre display of curiosity. "... Ooooh~" Justifyingly, he may have gotten slightly annoyed.

"Hmm…." Kancho grumbled, frowning deeply. "So this is the card they pulled, huh?"

"If you haven't noticed already, peasant, my ears hath no interest in thine utterances," Power reaffirmed, waving dismissively at him. "Now… Begone."

"..."

"..."

"Stop talking like that," Kancho said, almost as if in utter disbelief at what he was hearing.

"Clod."

"..."

"..."

"... Oh my God," Kancho remarked. "This really is a whole 'nother level of bullshit—"

"Bah!" Power scoffed.

"—That I've been subjected to—"

"I am far too preoccupied to deal with your nonsense!"

"—FOR NO GODDAMN REASON!"

"..."

"..."

"... Oooh…." And that was the end of it.

Nothing he could have said next would matter anyway. Rather than continue in endless discourse against a lesser Devil, Kancho leaned further back, thinking he might as well take full advantage of the leeway he had left at the moment.

'I get teamed with some fuckin' Shakespeare talkin' ass Devil, got covered in blue shit, and can't even get a moment of peace,' He detailed angrily. 'What's next?"

"Meooow~"

"I was fucking kiddi—"

Kancho looked to his right, noticing something small, slender, and white was sitting beside him.

"Oh," Instantly, Kancho could recognize it was just a cat. "This is fine, though," he said thankfully, believing the universe would've just fucked him over.

"Meow…."

It had a poor physique. 'Ah….' Kancho guessed the animal was probably starving, desperate enough even to try begging for some from a human.

He pushed it onto its side, lightly rubbing its belly a few times. "So you came to me for food, huh?" This was a grave mistake.

"HSSSSSSS—" The cat instinctively scratched him, right down his left hand, leaving a wound deep enough for a bit of blood to seep outwards.

"AH, SHIT—I FUKIN' KNEW IT!" Kancho recoiled, preparing to lay down some kickass animal abuse at that very moment. "PREPARE TO MEET YOUR GODS—"

Then, faintly, as if on command, a stomach could be heard gurgling.

"..."

"..."

"Mrrow…?" it said, laying on its stomach, appearing somewhat perplexed at what he planned to do next.

"You attack me and still expect something in return? Other than this?" Kancho remarked, raising his slapping hand higher. The cat did not move. "You bet your ass that I'm gonna—!"

"... Meow~"

"..."

"..."

"I'm…."

"Mroww…." It was then that a single teardrop went down the feline's eye.

"..."

"..."

"… Sigh…" It was probably instinctual anyway; he relented. "Okay, you still want food, right?"

"Meow~!"

"... I'm just gonna take that as a 'yes'…." Kancho said, reaching into his pocket. "Here, take that and go away."

In his hands, a sweet potato, a healthy mix of copper-colored skin and vibrant orange flesh. Leisurely, he ripped off a piece with his fingers and placed it before the cat, hoping it was enough to satisfy.

"Mrrr?" The cat was skeptical and didn't eat it immediately, sniffing and touching it with its nose.

"Well?"

Gradually, the feline began nibbling on the vegetable before eating it whole. "Mrrow~!" It chimed, rubbing against Kancho's unwounded hand.

"Is this your way of apologizing?" He asked, cautious of the cat's intentions. "Or are you betting on a sneak attack?

"Prrr~"

"… Guess not," Kancho said, unhurriedly bringing his potato to his mouth for consumption.

"Keep in mind, I'm still watching y—"

"Mine."

"..."

Kancho knew who it was and slowly turned his eyes to the side; the Fiend came from nowhere and had kneeled beside him, pointing at his food.

"Mine," she spoke again.

The boy looked back and forth between Power and his halved potato; an odd feeling of overbearing anticipation appeared in the air. And once again, Kancho couldn't help but sense impending doom.

"... Pardon…?"

"MINE!"

Power swiped the food swiftly from Kancho's clutches in an instant, holding it tightly in her own. "GAHAHA! THE SWEET IS MINE NOW!" She declared triumphantly.

'HUH.'

Powerlessly, he watched as Power then proceeded to shove the rest of his snack into her mouth, chewing loudly so all could hear. "B—" It didn't last long, however, before she realized one crucial detail about what she had just done: sweet potatoes are fucking vegetables.

"BLEEH~!" Power spat, spewing a mixture of potato and spit onto Kancho's face. "P-Poison~!" She breathed, wiping and spitting some leftover starch in her mouth.

"... What—"

"AHA! You were trying to fool me with the sweet, weren't you?! 'Twas instead a wretched vegetable! I knew it all along!"

"... The—"

"Gimmie that, too!" Power commanded, grabbing the Sprite he bought from his other hand and glugging down the whole thing before tossing it right back at his face. "Gaah, Haaah~" She gasped, looking back down at his bewildered countenance.

"... Fu—"

"... I shall require that as well," she said plainly, ripping off a piece of his replacement shirt and using it to wipe any potato remnants off her face: a makeshift napkin. "I mustn't have my appearance be seen as this anyhow, so I'll consider it one-third of your repayment!"

"HNRM—" Kancho gagged, beginning to twitch one of his eyes violently, for that was the most bullshit sentence he had ever heard. He now had a choice to make.

On the one hand, Kancho felt obligated to endure, mainly to keep the peace between his coworkers. Yet, on the other, after the sheer amount of disrespect shown to him, combined with the portion of his wasted food on his face, there was the option to commit a possible war crime upon Power.

"Stop being so loud, you guys," Denji requested, taking a slight interest in the brewing conflict; he wasn't looking in their direction at all, mind you. "Can't think with all this noise, jeeez…." He said lazily while sipping his soda.

"YOUUUUUUUU—" Kancho bellowed internally, taking a deep breath after that. "FUCKING…."

Fortunately for all parties involved, in the end, he chose peace for the sake of all that is still good. After all, revenge was a fool's gambit, and he didn't want to risk lowering his chances of getting fired. Kancho had already screwed up a lot today. He knew that much, especially by letting Power run rampant earlier. But this little quarrel? No, this wouldn't be what would break him.

"Just why…" Kancho curtly questioned, shaking his head, trying to find some semblance of reason behind Power's agonizing existence. "Are you trying to make this job harder on purpose?"

"Tch—!" Power merely scoffed and ignored him, pivoting herself around and returning to her former posture. "Humans are truly hopeless.'

'Once again, no goddamn specification—MAN, WHO THE HELL DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?!' Kancho thought angrily.

"Mrrow~" The cat sounded, gaining Kancho's attention again.

"Jesus, what do you want now?" He said, rotating his head to see the feline moving toward Power. 'Oh, SHIT! Hey, HEY! I really wouldn't do that if I were you!'

Power had also heard the noise and turned her head, staring at the cat as it sat before her. "Meow!" It sounded, ignoring the many clicks Kancho made with his fingers to try and get its attention.

'I DON'T WANNA SEE A CAT GET EATENNN~! ARE YOU STUPID?! LISTEN TO MEEE!'

Power slowly took the cat into her arms and, to Kancho's surprise, began scratching it softly along its spine. "Mmm."

Kancho watched with confusion, initially thinking no creature could be safe from that Fiend's recklessness. It was odd to him for sure: Power seemed to almost be well versed in the arts of owning a pet.

"Phew…" Kancho sighed in relief, crawling over and sitting beside them; he also began petting the cat. "Thought you were about to do some crazy shit right now."

"Hm," Power scoffed, noticing what he was doing and, unexpectedly, not seeming to protest. Nothing else needed to be said; their dispute was averted for now.

"..."

"..."

"... I can only get along with cats."

"Huh?"

"I hate humans! Not because they did anything to me. It's like a Devil's instinct. I just do."

'Is she… ranting?' Kancho supposed, seeing that there was now visible malice all over her face.

"I don't understand where you're going with this."

"And I hate Devils, too! A lot because one Devil made off with my pet, Meowy!"

"Eh? A what?" That was more of a surprise than he had anticipated; she didn't seem like the kind to own a pet, primarily because of her destructive personality. "You have a pet? You? And a cat? No way."

Kancho had lots of skepticism about her claims. Yet, once Power's face gradually became more somber, he could tell she was telling the truth. 'Holy crap, she ain't kidding?'

"Some dastardly Devil captured Meowy, and Makima caught me before I could get her back..." Power continued. "Meowy might already be dead, but I can't give up so easily. If I could get Meowy back from that Devil, I'd do anything—even ally with a human!"

"Man… You really do care about this 'Meowy' of yours, huh?"

"Of course! Though, I doubt someone like you would understand such sentiment for the likes of a cat."

"..."

Five Years Ago

It was a long day of work and scavenging for supplies. The bare necessities for one or two people to survive: food and blankets were the name of the game. Kancho found some old, dirty blankets in a trash container around town while Denji was still out with Pochita looking for some food. Ono said he wanted to stay home, claiming he was "working on something."

Kancho thought it only gave him more time to rest his head and so on, a good break after dealing with so much crap the last few days: Ono did his signature wakeup gag again, and Pochita freaked out; he almost cut up Denji, too. Now, he was at the door; hand on the handle, twisting it until it made a click.

"Ono, I'm back—" He said, pushing the door open and walking through the doorway.

"MORTAL."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Honestly, Ono, don't hide the fact you were just lonely—"

"Mrrow?" It was the last thing he expected to bear witness to today. "Meow," Simply put, it was just Ono, alone, standing atop a mountain of emptied AXE cans and surrounded by an army of at least fifty stray cats now staring at Kancho in surprise.

"... W-What?"

"BEHOLD, KANCHO-BOY!" Ono announced, spraying some of his gas into the air. "MY LEGION!"

"..."

Present

"... Yeah…"

"For a cat? That's fuckin' stupid." Denji stated, finally inserting himself into the conversation with more hostile intentions. "Pffft… imagine. But, honestly, I'd do anything to touch some boobs, though."

"Ah, sure enough, I can't comprehend humans..." Power remarked, interpreting that Denji was some standard for human society. "What a pity."

"Can't you two just get along yet?" Kancho was ready for the shift to end so he could return to his mattress. '

"Hey! That's irony!" Denji claimed; he liked saying clever things; it made him feel more innovative with his vocabulary. "It's cuz you did the thing with the other thing that was the opposite of what you were talking about, right?"

"No, it's called ironic, Denji, and that phrasing doesn't sound right…." Kancho corrected, even though it was partially true. "Also, please shut up. All you want is boobs anyway."

"So? It's a legitimate and uncomplicated goal."

"..."

"..."

"... Whatever, man," Kancho said, shaking his head in defeat. "Just let me get a break from you two, will ya?"

"Hmm… fine." Denji shrugged and returned to the earlier conversation. "Oh, yeah. If it was a dog, then I might get it. Right, Kancho?"

"I have no clue what I know anymore. I'm actually starting to think Ono may have been a cat." His answer was not taken in great regard by Denji, as seen on his noticeably scrunched-up face. "... What? He did whine a lot and was pretty annoying—"

"What if I said I'd let you both touch my chest if you got Meowy back from that Devil for me?"

And just when Kancho thought things couldn't get any crazier. Power's startling proposal hit the boys like a bombshell, shocking one of them powerfully enough that he had pivoted his head toward her so hard that it accidentally hit the vending machine he sat by; it was Kancho, by the way.

"What the hell are you goin' on about? Nobody in their right mind could or would offer that type of service!" Kancho pointed out, shaking his head slightly in mistrust of her claim. "Besides that, who the hell would be so thirsty as to agree to a deal like tha—"

"That damn Devil…" Denji suddenly crushed his soda can with one of his hands, loud enough for the only two bystanders around to focus their gazes on him. "THAT FUCKING BASTARD!"

"Huh/Ohh?"

"HOW DARE…" Denji continued, stomping toward Power with immense determination. "HOW DARE THEY KIDNAP A POOR CAT!"

"HUH/Ohh?!"

"THAT'S TOTALLY UNFORGIVABLE, RIGHT?!" Denji shouted, getting right up in Power's face while Kancho sat close by, glancing up at them with a concerned look.

"OHH!" Power was really getting pumped up now, so much so that she may even have started to forget what they were discussing by how much energy was coming out of their conversation.

"HUUHH?!" Kancho stood up straight alongside them; things were getting out of hand. "ARE YOU ACTUALLY BEIN' SERIOUS? I WAS JUST KIDDING! A JOKE!"

"AS A DEVIL HUNTER, I CAN'T LET 'EM GET AWAY WITH IT!" Denji affirmed, furrowing his brows to try and make himself seem even more serious about the whole matter, totally not in it just to get a feel or anything. "IT'S MY DUTY, Y'KNOW!"

"OOOOOH!"

"WHAT'S EVEN GOING ON ANYMORE?!" Kancho exclaimed. 'ARE THEY EVEN LISTENING?'

"I'LL MURDERIZE THAT DEVIL!" Denji declared, diverting his concentration onto Kancho. "Am I or am I right, dude?!"

"That doesn't even sound right!"

"You know nothing, Brownie!" Power commented, pushing Denji to the side. "As much as I hate to admit it… He's right! A rescue mission is afoot! You can't stop us!"

"Can't you morons just think about it logically for a second?! There is absolutely no way in hell we're gonna get approved for this—"

Next Day

"Your day-leave request for the Fiend Power is approved. Be back by five o'clock."

"DAMN!" Kancho complained, slamming on the worker's table with both his fists. 'WHY AM I EVEN HERE?! HOW DID I GET ROPED INTO THIS?!'

"Are you okay, sir?" The man behind the table asked, pushing up his glasses and pulling a syringe from one of his desk drawers. "Do you need a sedative?"

"HELL NO! AND WHY IS THAT EVEN AN OFFER?!"

Author

MY READERS, MY GOOD AUDIENCE. I HAVE RETURNED. ALSO, SORRY FOR THE MASSIVE BREAK AND SHORT CHAPTER; I WILL TRY TO DO MORE, BUT I THINK 2K IS A SWEET SPOT FOR NOW.