Disclaimer: I do not own 10 Days With my Devil or the characters within.

Well, here's another short chapter. Geez, I just can't seem to get past more than two pages lately. Oh well, it's not the length that makes a good chapter. Anyways, thanks to everyone and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 4:

Can't Let Go

Kakeru couldn't believe he was here, in the Demon Realm, glaring at his vice captain across the living room in Satoru's mansion. Kakeru had let him have some time off after Eki had died, almost two weeks ago now, but he hadn't thought he'd spend it like this. Apparently, Satoru had been spending his time in the Demon Realm looking for whoever was responsible for Eki's death. He seemed convinced some other demons had killed her.

"This has to stop," Kakeru said firmly. "She's gone, let her go."

"I can't," Satoru growled. "She wasn't supposed to die. Someone has to answer for that."

"Humans are unpredictable, Satoru," Kakeru said. It was true. They often had to deal with people who became toast long before their time because of some impulsive human.

"It wasn't a human," Satoru said. "It was two devils. They were already leaving when I got there."

"It's what we do, Satoru," Kakeru sighed.

"She wasn't supposed to die! She wasn't in the damned Database until right before it happened!" Satoru shouted. Kakeru stared coolly at his vice captain. Perhaps it was a mistake to give Eki those ten extra days in the first place. It was a terrible thing to think, but Satoru had become too close. Perhaps that was why she had been slated to be toasted in the first place. It didn't matter now. She was gone and here they were.

"You need to let go. She was a human, she would have died eventually," Kakeru said.

"Not now. Not like this," Satoru said. This was a far cry from the Satoru that Kakeru used to know. Eki had really changed him. Kakeru used to think it was for the best. Now he wasn't so sure.

"If you continue on like this, you'll lose everything you worked for," Kakeru said, hoping that would get through to Satoru. "Come on, there's a lot of work waiting back home."

"No," Satoru said and Kakeru blinked in surprise. "Find yourself a new vice captain."

"Satoru, are you really going to throw everything you've worked for away for some human?" Kakeru asked.

"She wasn't just some human," Satoru growled. "She was Eki and yes. And I wasn't aware her life meant so little to you." Kakeru sighed. That wasn't true. Eki was a friend and her death hurt, more than he thought it would. But she had died. You had to accept it and move on.

"Satoru-" Kakeru didn't get the chance to say anything more as Satoru brushed past him and out the door. None of them saw Satoru again after that, though they searched and searched. Satoru was going to great lengths to ensure he wasn't found. Eventually, they had to give up and reassess their team.

Twenty-five years. Twenty-five years to the day since Satoru had lost Eki. You would think time would have dulled that pain, but it didn't. Satoru had never forgotten her, forgotten that night and what he did. It was always this day that he found himself back at her grave, kneeling in front of it with a bouquet of flowers. What was he doing? These flowers weren't going to fix anything. Satoru sighed, laying the flowers by the headstone. Her life was too short. Way too short. Maybe that was way he hadn't been able to let her go. There was so much she could have done, but didn't get the chance to.

Satoru sighed, pushing himself up. It was dangerous coming back home. He didn't want to be found by the others. Perhaps it was best if he stopped coming. Perhaps it would help him let go if he stopped coming. Still, he found himself wandering through the city, to their favorite spots. This woman had come into his life and changed him completely. It would have been so easy to move on before. He wouldn't have cared, but now, he couldn't let her go.

Satoru was lost in his own thoughts when someone ran into him, getting water all over him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Someone said. "I don't have anything to dry you off with." Satoru blinked at the woman in front of him. She seemed familiar. She certainly didn't look familiar, but there was something about her. She looked up at him and blinked and they stared at each other for a long time. She seemed hesitant but all Satoru wanted to do was grab her and hold her tightly.

"Um, I'll see if I can't find something to clean up," she said, starting to walk away. She was dressed simply, just a t-shirt and jeans but she was covered with paint.

"No, it's fine," Satoru said, looking down at himself. He didn't even like this shirt anyways.

"No, really, stay right there and I'll be right back," the woman said. She brushed him, touching him as she did. A scene played out in Satoru's head except, this wasn't the woman's future. It was a memory, of the last time he had seen Eki alive. Satoru gasped and whirled around, watching as the woman disappeared into a near by building. A soul doesn't change, no matter how many times it's been recycled.

"Eki."

So, what did you think? Yeah, it was quick but I still liked it. Anyways, tell me what you all think and send me a review! Thanks guys!