Maou looked up to find Emi had bright red patches on her cheeks. Even so, she appeared more at ease than before, almost as if she hadn't just tried to kill Maou a few hours ago. And still, they both kept one hand laced through each other's fingers, seemingly afraid to lose the addictive feelings that left them breathless. For Maou, he had felt power. And for Emi, she had felt peace.

"I can't believe I'm doing this… with you!"

"What, holding hands with me, on your bed, breathing as if you just ran a race?"

Emi dropped Maou's hand and he fell back into the pillows, feeling amazing. He had actually accumulated some magic through all this. He had some to spare, on top of being revitalized.

"Maou."

"Yes?"

"Could I ask you to do me a favor?"

"You can ask, but I'll need to know what it is before I commit to anything."

"Can you… oh my god, I can't believe I'm asking you to do this… you're my enemy… but…."

"But what?"

"Could you please… stop by every now and again? I figure this isn't permanent… so if you could stop by and we could… you know… do this."

"Wait, you want me to do this? To come over to your house and hold your hands and-"

"Yes," Emi said loudly. "I don't know why but… I feel like I can trust you. You owe me for giving you my emotions… now you can go to work tomorrow. You said so yourself, you can never repay me… but maybe, just maybe… you could start trying to."

"Ok. I'll do it. But when should we meet?"

Emi though about it quickly, deciding the best course of action.

"I'll call you when I need to have it done again."

"Yeah," Maou said, catching on.

"From there, we can either determine how long transpires between each meeting and schedule accordingly or we can simply come up with an alternative communication and you can call whenever you need me. We could have codenames and-"

"Ok, so you're ok with this? You won't abuse the power you get from this at all?"

"I'll only use what I need to survive. If need be I can spread what I get between Ashiya and Urushihara as well."

"They'll want to know where you got the magic though," Emi replied grimly.

Maou thought about it and then snapped his fingers.

"I'll tell them I got it at work. No, listen! I'll tell them that there was an angry customer and that I stole his emotions to calm him down! I can keep coming up with stuff like that. I'm sure they'll eat it up. Otherwise I can just let it out in other ways. I could grow plants, destroy roadside waste, open Gates for anyone who needs to travel to and from Ente Isla and other menial tasks that will use up a lot of power."

"This… could actually work."

"Don't worry, Emi. Like you said, I owe you, big time. Just say the word and I'm your man."

The way Maou said it was harmless, but it sent butterflies flitting about Emi's stomach. She opened her eyes wide and glanced at him, their eyes meeting for the briefest of moments. His eyes, red and still burning with energy somewhat, her eyes, bright green and brimming with surprise. She quickly looked away and hid her face as it turned several shades of red. The butterflies picked up the pace, swirling around in her stomach with furious gusto.

"How much magic do you have anyway," Emi asked, remembering the identity of her father's murderer and trying to distill the tension.

"Hmm… more than a pittance, less than I need to regain my true form… I'd say that with what I have now, I could probably last for a few months without running out magic."

"Good, then you can help me with one other thing."

Emi knew it was selfish of her to use the Devil's dark powers for her own use but she couldn't help but be impressed with his usefulness. They arrived at the brightly lit, well-guarded detention facility as the sun rose. Upon entering the building, they were asked for the reason of their visit by a man sitting behind the desk in what would be considered the lobby. Maou stood straight and tall and using his hypnosis, commanded the guard to take them to whoever was in charge. They wound their way through the building, passing countless white doors, all of which were thick and had wires embedded in the small glass panes. Every now and again, an inmate would press their faces up against the glass, watching Maou and Emi closely.

They arrived at a door that had the word 'warden' written out in Japanese.

"Thanks for your help, you can return to whatever you were doing, and forget we were ever here."

"No problem. Have a nice day."

The guard strolled off happily, ignoring the looks the inmates gave him.

"You know," Emi said quietly, "now that I'm here."

"Emi, this is important to you, isn't it?"

Maou's eyes bored deep into Emi's.

"Yes," she admitted, breaking the eye contact by turning to look at the door.

"Then why hesitate? This could be one of the most healing things you could do. Perhaps some closure is what you need."

Taking a deep breath, Emi calmed her racing heart. If they were caught, she didn't even want to think about what would happen to Maou and herself.

"Ok, let's go."

Maou smiled and turned the knob, pushing the door open. An older gentleman sat behind a large and obviously antique desk. He had several tarnished awards and plaques hanging on the wall. He also had a few mementos, a picture on the desk of his family, a paddle on the wall with a harsh policy on whining written out along the polished wood.

"Oh, I'm sorry, this is a private office. Am I supposed to be expecting the two of you? My memory isn't quite what it used to be."

"No, no. I only wanted to ask you a favor."

"A favor? Son, the Warden of a large detention facility is probably not the best person to ask for a favor…."

"Have it your way… I, Satan, King of Demons command you to rise and take us to the cell of one Olba Meyer. Grab your keys and anything else you need. You will act convincingly and do your best to avoid suspicion. If anyone asks, you are escorting us to visit our family member."

"Ah, yes, of course. Well, let me grab my keys and we'll be off!"

In the instant Maou was ordering the Warden to obey him, Maou's eyes glowed red and the merest shadow of his aura appeared behind him. As they walked, the Warden spoke to them as if he himself believed the lie.

"So, who is this Olba Meyer to you young people, hmm? Is he your father, or something?"

"Uh, not exactly. He did help raise me, but he wasn't my father," Emi said, hiding her emotions well.

"Oh, I see. Well, it's a good thing you two showed up, we were unsure what we were going to do with him. He's obviously a foreigner, so he can't exactly be held to our laws if the laws wherever he comes from differ from our own. Where did you say you three were from again?"

"We're from-erm- uh"

"Argentina," Emi said abruptly, cutting of Maou's blathering.

"Uh… yeah. Argentina," Maou agreed lamely.

"Ah, ok, that would explain his lack of knowledge about Japanese law. Still, he has yet to go through full processing, seeing as he's foreign."

They arrived at a white door in a hall where a few of the bright fluorescent lights were burnt out, making the corridor slightly darker. Even so, the lights in the rooms worked fine. Not that Emi needed the light, both she and Maou could sense the faint Celestial Force resonating from the cell.

"This is it," said the Warden brightly.

"So it is."

The Warden unlocked the door and gestured for Maou and Emi to enter.

"On second thought," Maou said, "give Emi the keys, then you can leave. We'll leave them by the front desk."

"But-"

Maou's eyes flared brightly.

"Ok, sure thing."

He handed Emi the keys then strolled away, whistling.

"Are you ready, Emi?"

She only nodded in response, not trusting herself to speak. Maou grasped the door handle and pulled, the heavy door swinging open noisily on unoiled hinges.

"Olba."

He looked rather pale and thin, though his muscles seemed to be either bigger, or just more pronounced. His thick moustache was now overgrown and he had a beard with it. His head, however, remained devoid of hair. He sat on his bed and looked up at Emi with a flat gaze.

"Emilia. How did I know you'd show up here?"

"You know why I'm here, Olba."

"Oh, I see you have the Devil with you… I suppose you've found the truth about your father?"

"Yes, I do know… you killed him!"

Emi's anger, small and meager as it was, boiled over and she manifested the Evolving Holy Sword 'Better Half'. Before she could land a strike upon Olba, who cowed against the wall that his bed met, Emi's arm was suddenly in a firm yet gentle grip. Maou had stopped the blow. Emi turned to look at Maou, her eyes red and strangely calm.

"Why did you stop me, Maou," Emi asked, dangerously quiet.

"Because, when you said that Olba killed your father, he looked confused. There's more to this than we know."

"Yes! Yes, I have information about your father! If you let me live, a trade of sorts… a deal," Olba begged pathetically.

"How do I know I can trust anything you say?"

"You would take the Devil's word, without a second thought, but not mine?"

"The Devil has never, ever lied to me. I know that he tells the truth and that so long as his interests are kept in check, he can actually be a very good and kind person."

Olba was quiet, not trusting himself to misstep and cause Emi to attack again.

"Olba, what happened all those years ago? Why would knights of the Church lay waste to an innocent village? Why did they ambush my forces instead of evacuating the people?"

"So not even the Devil knows… I thought of all people, you would be aware of the situation, given that the knowledge would give you such a great bargaining chip with the Hero."

"I was… preoccupied with other things, the Hero had not yet been confirmed to be alive until it was too late."

"Stop toying with us Olba! Tell me, what happened to my father!"

Emi interrupted the conversation between Maou and OIba, wanting to know the truth, whatever it may be.

"Your father… is alive."

Emi blanched, swayed and then fell towards the floor, dumbstruck by the information. Maou caught her and brought her back to her feet, supporting her until she came to terms with Olba's revelation.

"You ok, Emi," Maou asked delicately.

Olba couldn't help but laugh as the Devil helped the Hero stay on her feet and asked after her welfare.

"What's so funny," Emi asked, starting to regret not finishing off Olba in the first place.

"It's just, the two of you! The Devil and the Hero, working together! The Devil himself, asking about your wellbeing!"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Oh, it's just so… pathetic. Really Emilia, I thought you'd know better than to ally yourself with a deceitful demon, but the Devil himself? You truly are a fool."

Olba struck at Emi, his remaining Celestial Force all gathered into his fist for one final blow. But before he could make contact there was a blur of black and suddenly Maou was in the way, his eyes glowing brightly as the light seemed to fade from the room.

"You Church lackeys are all the same."

Maou's voice was deep and evil; it was the voice of the Demon King. Olba stood with his fist, glowing with Celestial Force, pressed against a barrier. Olba flew back and hit the wall, but he stayed where he hit, held in place by some unseen force. Maou began to take slow steps forward.

"I can feel it, you know. That fear at the back of your mind? Yeah, I can taste it. And it's swelling quite nicely. I'll gorge upon your terror, Olba Meyer. I will leave you to be nothing but an empty husk."

"Maou."

The Devil looked around to find Emi looking at him. The look in her eyes said she was all for letting Olba get what was coming to him, but there was something else that needed taking care of, first.

"Olba!"

"Urghh…"

"What other information do you have? Where is my father?"

"I… don't… know… the Church… lost… him…both parents…disappeared."

"He isn't lying," Maou chimed in, his voice still filled with dark regal power that fitted his station as Demon King.

"Then… I have no further use for him. Do as you will, Satan."

"No! Please!"

"Finally, breakfast!"

"NOOO!"

Back again, just posting this chapter before I work on some other junk. Lots of fun with this one too, as I like to sort of play with the powers of the characters. Also, Maou's hypnosis thing is highly reminiscent of Lelouch's Geass. Very nice.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Another thing, I don't know if anyone who reads this has actually rad the light novel, but I believe Emi's father is revealed to be alive in the later chapters, which I sort of disregarded to write this because I and several other fans are fed up with the lack of Emi and Maou romance.