(8th July, 15:25, New Moon)

Beast and the Beast

Chapter Twenty Six – The Caring Nature of Hell

(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)

x.X.x

Baal was annoyed as well; it had taken him over an hour to make Diablo calm down and return to his human form; he was ranting like a madman about the 'human that got away' and that she was still alive; how could she still be alive if they found her remains? It was technically impossible.

He entered the room and saw Sakai was asleep on his bed; did she always sleep this much? He walked up to her and looked at her face and started to ponder what she had looked like as a human. She had intriguing features as a demon that made her attractive among their kind but he was sure it was nothing compared to her original beauty.

Though what type of a person did she have to be if she was turned into a demon? She was not as cruel as their kind but she did have aggression and rudeness in her; perhaps she was just mean to the wrong person, which seemed to have been that witch; considering her circumstances she had adapted pretty well.

He snickered as he recalled her aggressiveness towards him; it had actually been so adorable that laughing wasn't a good enough reaction; though at least it meant she would stand her ground and didn't associate herself with humans as she had blatantly stated; or lunatics like him.

He snickered again and with a start he realized his annoyance had vanished while he was pondering her human life and aggressiveness; Diablo was right, she was like a pet to him. A sort of innocent amusement that helped him keep sane and at the moment he direly needed something to ground him to reality.

If her mere presence helped him erase some of his anger she was worth keeping around, she was no longer a liability but had turned into an asset instead; despite Diablo wanting to kill her whenever he saw her.

He placed his hand on her shoulder again and gave it a light shake; why would he even try to be gentle with her if he literally slapped his own sibling out of the bed? He pondered this for a few seconds before deciding it was because she was a girl; a fragile creature by nature.

"Wake up." He said and she shrugged his hand off from her like she had previously and moaned in her sleep for him to go away; he could barely manage his laughter; to think she was supposed to be evil, she didn't know the meaning of evil or cruelty.

Baal removed his hand from her shoulder and decided he would let her continue her rest; he needed to attend to some other tasks as well.

x.X.x

Diablo growled as he stepped through the portal of Hell into the Temple of Durance. "Brother?" He muttered as he looked around for Mephisto and after a few seconds he saw his brother come into view, a startled expression on his face.

"I didn't think you would be leaving the confines of Hell anytime soon again; is there a new development?" Mephisto asked and Diablo shook his head as he walked onto the marble floor of the temple.

"No, nor are you to speak of my travels outside of Hell, even to Baal." He said and Mephisto grunted as he wafted around his brother like a spiritual entity.

"Not speak to him? Why would I lie for you?" He asked and Diablo growled as he walked passed his brother, towards the exit.

"Because this is personal business I would prefer he is not informed about and even as my blood I will make you suffer severely if you betray my trust." Diablo threatened as he left the presence of his brother before he could say anything else.

He would go to Kurast and find his mortal.

x.X.x

Baal had searched the entire castle and couldn't find any trace of Diablo anymore; though it didn't bother him much, his brother was probably just venting somewhere outside, terrorizing any demon that was close enough to him at the time of his rage or most aggressive thought.

Of both his brother Diablo respected Mephisto the most but he loved Diablo the most; Mephisto was always the smartest one, but the weakest one. Diablo was the second strongest and unfortunately the most prone to stupid behavior while he was the strongest of all of them; which obviously had its advantages.

Though, despite the advantages, he still found himself entranced with small things, like Sakai for example, she had no reason to stay in Hell after he had given her the ticket to freedom; yet she remained, why would she remain if she barely had freedom, consistently had to worry for her life and was only allowed to leave once a week for food?

Did she enjoy it in Hell? She barely left the castle so how could she find anything beautiful about a place she wasn't raised in and warned against?

He shrugged to himself; it didn't matter either way, she decided to stay and he would ask her why when she was awake and capable of intelligent speech beyond 'go away'.

x.X.x

(Two Hours Later)

Diablo reached the citadel of Kurast and as he walked into the town the scent of the human girl wafted across his nostrils, he grunted as he kept his temper in control, he would not lose control in here; he could not transform until he found her or got information of her whereabouts.

He followed his nose and found her scent layered on several objects around the town, most recently seemed to be a inn but with the faint trail of her scent around the town he realized she hadn't been here for a couple of days.

Though a couple of days weren't a couple of weeks, which was her supposed 'time of death'. She was still alive; he was right.

With a growl he entered the inn and walked up to the keeper of the place, sitting cozily behind his front desk and when Diablo was close enough he averted his gaze from whatever he was reading and looked at Diablo. "Can I help you sir?" He asked in a sickeningly professional tone that made Diablo cringe; that man had no stature at all and here he was pretending he was by speaking like one?

"Yes, I'm looking for a woman that was here a few days ago, she is bald." He said and the innkeeper looked at him for a few seconds before shaking his head, returning his gaze to the book he was reading before answering Diablo.

"I don't recall any bald woman coming here anytime in the last decade." He said and Diablo growled, getting the keepers attention. "Don't you get aggressive with me sir." The man said sternly and Diablo felt his temper rise and he fought valiantly to suppress it back to normal.

"I'm not, how about a black headed woman?" He asked and this seemed to get the keepers attention as he gave a few nods before placing the book back down.

"Yes, yes, a very peculiar girl that." He said and Diablo felt like had won the jackpot in some gambling event, his excitement took over and his heart started to beat like he had run a marathon around the world; a smile spread across his face.

"Yes, that is her. Do you perhaps know where she is?" Diablo said and the innkeeper looked at him suspiciously and looked Diablo in the eyes and immediately lost a few shades of color as he saw the demonic eyes of Diablo staring back at him.

"Once every second week… she usually comes here on a full moon… only stays the night then she leaves… she's nice enough but quite cheeky." He blurted out in one go as he couldn't take his eyes away from that of Diablo's, immediately knowing that the man before him was a demon and there wasn't any help nearby to save him if he got aggressive.

"Thank you." He said as he left the inn almost immediately, leaving the town in the same breath as well, he didn't want to cause an uproar when the innkeeper called the guards. Though he had all he needed, in 4 days it would be a full moon then he would be here waiting for her if she came and she wouldn't be expecting it in the least.

x.X.x

Baal was up in the room with Sakai again and saw she was waking up, he waited patiently until she pulled herself upright in the bed and looked around confused; until her eyes came to lay on Baal.

"Hey." She muttered as she wiped her eyes and leaned against the bedrail; staring at Baal in silence now; he nodded as he went to sit down on his throne, twisting the concrete structure until it was facing the bed.

"Let's talk." He said and she looked at him confused as she gave a yawn.

"About what?" She enquired and he shrugged his shoulder.

"Just talk." He said and she continued to stare at him oddly but gave a nod in compliance; no idea why he would just want to 'talk'.