Emi's day began a little differently than Maou's. The folks at the Docodemo Customer Service Center were not nearly as close as those at MgRonalds, though when the time truly came for working together, a common enemy managed to get the job done.

This common enemy, of course, was the boss that Emi so despised. He was a man whom no one cared for; overly large and balding, his thick handlebar mustache often twitched when his ire overflowed, and he had a bad habit of calling people out over nothing.

Emi personally didn't care for him because of the way his eyes tended to wander, but the pay, just starting, was over sixteen hundred yen per hour. Emi, who'd been with the company for over two years, was making a little under two thousand yen per hour, and she couldn't afford to lose the job without having to make significant changes to her lifestyle.

Her mind flashed back to when she'd first gotten there that morning, and her boss had called her into his office.

"Shut the door, please," he said quietly, bent over a form that he was filling out with red ink.

Emi did as bidden and sat gracefully in the chair across from Mr. Mitsude's as she waited for him to finish writing. When he finally looked up at her over his spectacles, he flashed a small smile at her, revealing coffee stained teeth and incredibly bad breath.

"I need you to sign this," he said simply, sliding the form over to Emi.

She took the form from the desk and read it, her arrival on Earth teaching her to always read things before signing them.

"I'm getting suspended?!"

"Only for a couple of days," Mitsude said, "we take the attendance of your employees very seriously, here at Docodemo-"

"Right, that makes sense," Emi said sharply, slamming her hand upon Mitsude's desk, "I already missed time at work, so I get to take more time off, no flawed logic there!"

"Rules are rules," Mitsude said, his voice an angry rumble, "and if you don't like that, you are free to leave."

"I… no, sorry. I'll take the punishment."

"Good choice, Yusa," her boss sneered, turning to play minesweeper on his computer, "you're free to go, do your work for today, and your suspension will begin tomorrow. Enjoy your extended weekend."

What really made Emi pissed was the fact that she knew there was supposed to be a warning before being suspended. There were verbal and written warnings, write-ups, suspension, and finally termination… clearly, Mitsude had skipped a few steps.

"Jackass," Emi muttered, answering another call to try and focus on something other than that abhorrent idiot she called her boss.

She got out of work feeling particularly good about herself, having been mentally going over the situation in her head, and coming to the conclusion that she was right every time. For a moment, Emi waited at the steps for Rika, a force of habit after sticking with her for two years, but then she remembered Rika wasn't around, so she hung her head and took the first steps to the train station when she heard her name being called.

"Emilia!"

Emi looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, only to notice a pale, familiar face in the backseat of a taxi.

Suzuno, whose hair was a mess and who looked extremely sleep deprived, beckoned Emi over and looked at her with a gaze that could've cut through steel.

"Get in, Emilia," Suzuno ordered, "we need to talk."

"About what," Emi asked, hoping it wouldn't take long as she opened the door and climbed inside.

"Something we should've discussed when I first arrived," Suzuno said shortly, "driver, take my friend and I somewhere private, where no one can overhear us."

"Can't I just go home," Emi whined.

"No," Suzuno said, "now let's move!"

Like a bullet from a gun, the taxi driver hit the gas, and they took off into the busy traffic of Tokyo.

Emi let the sensation of turning corners at an extremely high velocity distract her from her terrible day at work, and she looked to her left to find Suzuno sitting in the seat, quite unnerved by the driver's ridiculous speed as he maneuvered through traffic with ease.

"Uh, shouldn't we slow down," Emi asked Suzuno.

"I don't pay the man to drive slow," Suzuno muttered shortly, holding her hands in her lap as she fidgeted and twiddled her thumbs, looking more and more uncomfortable as she tried to think.

"Is something wrong," Emi asked in an undertone, "y'know, with Ente Isla."

"Sort of," Suzuno replied, not bothering to elaborate.

Emi sat quietly for the rest of the ride, trying not to get flung into Suzuno as the driver continued his rampage through the streets.

"This should do it," the driver said finally, scratching his chin as he nodded to an old, abandoned park. It was a little creepy in the light of the setting sun, but Emi paid it no mind as Suzuno handed the driver a ten thousand yen bill.

He nodded to Suzuno before rocketing away from the curb, down the road, and around a corner, where he parked, ready to pick up Suzuno in a moment's notice.

"Ok, we're alone, do you want to talk about-"

"Shhh," Suzuno said, putting a finger to her lips before leading Emi over to the swing set.

Suzuno took a seat, and Emi took the one next to her. Suzuno mumbled, and after a moment, Emi realized Bell was chanting in Ente Islan. A strange pressure pervaded the air, and then all at once, the sounds of the city faded away, as if they were trapped in an invisible sphere of silence.

"It is safe to talk," Suzuno said, casting her eyes to and fro about the park as she pulled her kimono tighter about herself.

She looked tired, with dark circles beneath her eyes, and her fair skin was blindingly pale in the light of the dying sun.

"Are you alright, Suzuno?"

"Fine," she muttered, "never better."

"You just look… burnt out," Emi said, understanding how it felt.

"That's kind of you to say," Crestia Bell said, rolling her eyes, "but we are wasting time here. Emilia, I have to talk to you about your relationship with the Devil."

"This again," Emi said angrily, "I told you, there's nothing there, we're just friends."

"That's the issue," Suzuno said, "I have tried my best to hide this from you, and from the Demons, but I cannot shoulder this burden alone… even now, I can feel my heart betray me."

"Your heart is… Suzuno, what is going on?"

"There is a prophecy," Suzuno whispered, grabbing Emi's arm and pulling her close, "it says that you will undo the evil of Satan. It speaks of a great battle, and says that you will put a stop to the chaos of the Demon King."

"There's a prophecy that says I'll stop the Demon King," Emi reiterated, looking at Suzuno as if she had a screw loose.

"Indeed," she muttered darkly.

"Well, that's great, does it say how I'll stop him?"

"No."

"Ok, but does it say I stop him, or I kill him? I mean, can I get some context," Emi asked, trying to grasp at the situation.

"I'm afraid I have told you all I know," Suzuno said, "and I do not know how you stop the Demon King, but-"

Suzuno inhaled sharply, clutching at her chest as her heart made its assertion upon her.

"Suzuno, are you ok?"

"I'm just so tired," Suzuno said quietly, her hands falling to her lap, "I'm so sick of going to bed at night, and seeing the faces of the people I've murdered because the Church told me to."

Suzuno turned her haunted gaze onto Emi, who was entranced by the stunningly bright aquamarine eyes.

"Question everything," Suzuno said seriously, "and don't make the same mistakes I did. I let the Church rule me, I thought they cared about me. I didn't see how much damage they'd done to me until I was free of their influence in another world entirely."

"What are you saying," Emi asked.

"I'm saying… prophecy or not, you can make your own choices, and you can decide for yourself what's good and what isn't. The prophecy says you can stop the Demon King, but it didn't specify how. Emilia, you are strong, you're young, and you of all people should know by now that the Demon King is more than just some tyrannical monster. I know that you can see through his horns and his hooves, down into the human beneath, and you won't let that scare you! You've seen how little he cares for everything, I mean, he had it all, but he gave it up, because he knew it was the right thing to do."

Suzuno stood up, looking out over the park as the last rays of sunlight beat upon her back, still speaking, but more to herself now, as Emi watched from where she sat upon her swing.

"You heard all these terrible things, and the people of the world called him evil, but they didn't get to know him like you did. They never sat down at a table and played poker with him. They didn't know how heated he could get when he really believed in something, and they'd never seen that smirk he gets when he manages to not get flayed alive! They never saw how hard he fought for his friends, and how he stared into the face of adversity with a grin and a gleam in his eyes! They never saw any of that, they only saw a Demon, a force for evil, but having taken so many lives yourself, you can understand why he gave up Heaven. You can sense there's more there than meets the eye, and something tells you that you could draw it out of him, you could get him to believe in something for a change, and he could become the Lightbringer he was always meant to be!"

Suzuno's eyes had filled with hope, and she held her hands to her chest as she shouted into the twilit sky above the park, so many realizations washing over her it was like being submerged underwater.

"Uh, you ok, Suzuno," Emi asked, wondering what was going on.

"Hmm? Uh, er, yeah! I-I'm fine, I just need to… do you need a ride home?"

"Yep."

"Yeah, ok, we can go now. I think you got the gist of what I was saying," Suzuno said, grinding the heel of her sandal into the dirt.

"I think I got the important bits," Emi agreed.

Suzuno dispelled the magical sound barrier before letting loose a whistle that could be heard for at least a mile around, and from around the corner came the cab driver, looking absolutely thrilled to see his favorite customer.

"Where to?"

"Eifuku," Emi said quickly, not wanting to be passed over when it came to her stop.

"And then back to the Villa Rosa," Suzuno said, once more looking unsure as she gazed out of the window.

"You got it," the driver said, once more speeding off into traffic.

"You ok, Bell," Emi asked, "you look like you've seen a ghost."

"No," Bell murmured, "but I've finally seen an angel."

"Wow, you're home late," Maou said cheerfully, "I had to cook for myself!"

"There's a first time for everything," Emi sighed, rolling her eyes and heading straight for the bathroom, wherein she showered and donned her pajama shirt.

"Is that all you're wearing," Maou asked through a mouthful of katsudon, his preferred dish.

"Shut up," Emi sighed, pulling Maou's feet from the couch so she could sit.

"That's rude," Maou noted.

"So is talking with your mouth full. Speaking of which…"

Emi reached over and pulled Maou's bowl away from him, taking several large bites from it before Maou grunted angrily and stole it back.

"Now I gotta get a different fork," Maou said, getting up from the couch to replace the fork Emi had used.

Emi smiled, her cheeks bulging with Maou's delicious katsudon as he shook his head and went to the kitchen. Emi took the opportunity to change the channel on the tv, not at all interested in the anime show Maou had been watching.

"Don't change the channel," he called from the kitchen, "I just power-watched ten episodes of filler, the plot's just starting to get good."

"House rules, Maou," Emi said.

"Your house, your rules, I get it," Maou said, thumping himself down onto the couch next to Emi and thrusting out a bowl for her.

"It's probably not as tasty as mine, cause I season the hell outta mine, but I figured you'd be hungry after work," Maou said, seizing the remote the moment Emi had set it aside to eat.

"I'm watching the news, Maou," Emi said.

"It'll be on in a half hour, and every half hour after that, for the rest of eternity," Maou reasoned, "my show is over in, like, ten minutes."

"Fine," Emi said, "but you know what that means, don't you? You broke the house rules."

"Do your worst," Maou said, flinching as Emi stuck her cold feet on his thigh.

They were like two tiny icicles, and Maou could've sworn that Emi stuck them in the freezer beforehand, but she only smiled and continued watching Maou's anime show.

"This is stupid," Emi said, shaking her head, "there's no depth, it's just a bunch of jacked guys screaming and hitting each other."

Maou couldn't help but laugh before turning to give Emi a look.

"That's pretty much all your gonna see on the news, except the guys on there aren't jacked… and it's really, really depressing… like, seriously."

"You're a Demon King," Emi groaned, pinching Maou with her toes," stop saying 'like.'"

"Stop being so mean and I'll think about it."

"I wouldn't be mean to you if you weren't such a dork," Emi said, laughing at Maou's expression.

"I don't get to watch tv that much, Emi. Indulge me for a couple days, would ya? My house just burnt down."

"You're house didn't burn down, you smoked yourself out."

"Nudist," Maou jeered.

"Dork."

They sat in silence for a time, both of them vividly aware of their closeness to the other. The couch, as it so happened, was more of a loveseat, and it smooshed them both together when they watched TV.

"So, why are you late," Maou asked, "working overtime? Or did something happen."

"No, I just went out with Suzuno for a little bit after work," Emi said.

"Sounds like there's a bit more to it than that," Maou smiled, noting Emi's sour tone.

"With Suzuno? Not really, but my boss suspended me for two days…"

"What? You're kidding? For what? Did you body slam someone," Maou asked, looking outraged.

"Wish I'd body slammed Mitsude," Emi grumbled, "probably give myself a hernia with how heavy he is, but I'd do it… twice."

"So why'd he-"

"Because I didn't come into work yesterday."

"Wow, what a jackass," Maou said.

"I said something like that when I left his office," Emi nodded, eating the katsudon Maou had made for her, which was quite fantastic.

"You're a pretty handy cook, Maou."

"Thanks," he said, "I figured I was hungry, and you would be when you got back, so… I made enough for both of us."

"Tell you what, you devote yourself to being a househusband like Ashiya, and I'll pay the bills. Sound like a deal," Emi asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"Not in a million years… you see, now that you're a Demon General, I am your commanding officer, and the 'House Rules' sort of put a damper on that."

"I thought I was the Demon Queen," Emi asked.

"Nope, I abolished the second Demon Army and reinstated the first, but I added you, Suzuno, and Chiho as my Generals."

Emi scowled at the thought of Maou making Chiho a Demon General, but the thought of the high school girl invading Ente Isla, in front of a horde of raging demons, made Emi smile. She could practically see the high school girl in heavy armor, picking off enemies with her trusty bow as she laughed evilly.

"Hey, Maou? When did you want to go out on that second date? And did you plan on going to see Rika anytime soon," Emi asked innocently.

"I had planned to visit Rika this weekend, and I'd hoped to be moved back into my place before then… still, I haven't received any word from Raphael… I suppose we could go on a date, and see Rika this weekend."

"Wha- Just like that? You're not even gonna try and be cute about it?"

"About what? The date? I figure you'll just drink too much and I'll end up carrying you home again," Maou sighed, still absorbed in his television show.

"Wha-I mean- how dare you-but it'd be nice-what I'm trying to say is-"

"One thought at a time," Maou reminded her.

"I just thought you'd make a bigger deal out of it than that. This is the fate of the world, we're talking about!"

"No," Maou said suddenly, turning to look at Emi with his crimson gaze, "this is personal… consider it payback for that little shopping spree I did with you."

"You were cuddling me!"

"And you enjoyed every goddamn second of it," Maou said, smiling as Emi faltered, her face red as she hid herself behind a pillow.

"You make it sound so dirty," Emi whined to herself as Maou laughed.

They sat in silence again, changing the channel to the news once Maou's show had ended. They watched it on repeat for a while, their eyes drooping as they stared at the tv without really seeing any of it. The night ended for Maou and Emi on that couch, and when Emi arose for work the next morning, she found that she had been sleeping on Maou's chest, laying across him as he snored, their legs a tangled mess hanging over the end of the loveseat.

"Hmph," Emi said, not sure if she was angry at herself for sleeping on the Devil, or angry because she had to go into work.

"Wait a second… I got suspended," Emi realized, stopping halfway through putting on her pants. She quickly disrobed once more, left wearing nothing but her pajama shirt. With a sigh, she made to head into her room, and crawl between her chilly, unused sheets to get a few more hours of sleep, but suddenly she had a better idea. Moving carefully, so as not to wake the Demon King, she slid herself down the back of the loveseat, wedging herself between it and Maou.

"Mmmmm," Maou groaned, scooting over a little and throwing an arm over Emi.

"Maou, are you awake," Emi asked.

The only response was a snore, and Emi fell asleep quite easily to the tune of the Demon King's slow breathing.

She rose again later in the afternoon, feeling surprisingly tired after getting so much sleep, and she found a note from the Devil nearby. Unfortunately, it took her about half an hour to find it, as it was taped to her back, and she didn't notice it until she sat down at her kitchen table to drink some coffee and peruse her phone for the news.

"Maou, you bastard," Emi sighed half-heartedly, tearing the note from the back of her shirt and straightening out the crinkles, which had most likely occurred while Emi tossed and turned.

She stared with disbelief at the note, wondering exactly how long it had taken for Maou to sit down and write it.

Hero, keep an ear out for Raphael, text me if you hear anything. Headed to work, have a good day off. Work on verbalizing one thought at a time. See you when I get back.

P.S. You drooled on me while you slept, so I took all the pillow cases off the couch and put them in the wash, along with my pajamas. Could you run back to my apartment and grab me fresh ones? Or just make sure the dirty ones get dried before I get back?

Thanks-

Maou

Normally, Emilia the Hero would've simply scoffed and torn up the note, or cursed the Demon King and his lack of respect, but as of late, she found herself more and more forgiving of the Devil and his lack of composure. There was always something so genuine about the way he gave her that wicked grin, and that crimson glow in his eyes was like wisp leading her through a dark, oppressing forest…

Emi patted her cheeks to reconnect with reality, a sip of her hot coffee also helping in that regard. She was the Hero of Ente Isla (a fact she recounted to herself several times a day) and by all rights, she shouldn't feel concern for her mortal nemesis. She shouldn't want him to come home after work with that tired smile, and smelling strongly of fryer grease, but she did. She found that sitting at home by herself was difficult, especially when she wanted Maou to be there with her.

He acted as a footwarmer, an alternate opinion, and a way for Emi to stretch her horizons. Before last night, she'd never even watched an anime show…

"And now he might expect to sleep with me from now on," Emi realized, her face going red as she thought about it.

Originally, they'd only paired up when they were extremely tired from emotional manipulation, or worn down after several serious battles, one of which had compelled them to kiss! Still, Emi would have to put her foot down…

"There's gotta be a pillow buffer, at least," she decided finally, pouring out the cold dregs of her coffee cup before returning to the couch for a few more hours of sleep.

Urushihara never went outside, if he could avoid it. He found that humans, in general, grated upon his nerves, especially when they stared at his high profile purple hair, as if he'd dyed it that way to gain attention. Little did they know, there was a far deeper meaning behind it than 'my mommy didn't hug me enough as a kid.' It was symbolic of his fall from 'grace'… not that he'd ever go so far as to call it 'grace'.

That said, he had taken to the streets more often than not, as Suzuno hadn't been home, and as a result, Urushihara had been stuck in the old, creaking building of the Villa Rosa by himself. It was strange, because he often thought that he'd like being alone, and in the past, solitude had been his most loyal compatriot. It seemed those days had passed, however, for the Inquisitor of the Church of Ente Isla had been stuck in his head ever since she'd left the day before.

"I'm off to see Emilia," Suzuno had said, rising from the bed with her hair a mess and her makeup smeared, "I'll return… sometime."

But Suzuno hadn't come back. Urushihara was beginning to think he should've put another tracker in her sandal as he rounded the corner to the familiar street that ran in front of the Villa Rosa. When he went for walks, it was never very far from home, and he often just went around the block a few times.

He trudged up the steps and into the common area, looking furtively at the door to Maou's apartment, which had been closed, locked, and pasted with a notice of some kind or another. Urushihara didn't bother to read it thoroughly as he sauntered past, his shoulders hunched and his hands in his pockets.

He walked into Suzuno's apartment to find the lights on and candles lit upon the table. At the counter, humming to herself and chopping vegetables faster than most humans believed possible, was Suzuno. She wore an apron over her kimono, and a handkerchief donned her brow as she worked.

Her body swayed gently to the beat of a drum Urushihara couldn't hear as she danced between the stove and the counter.

Urushihara had only been out for a little over half an hour, but the entire apartment already smelled incredible.

"Oh, welcome home, Morningstar."

Urushihara paused, conflicted about whether or not he should let his guard down. Suzuno was short, and her magic power was severely depleted, but she was still a force to be reckoned with, and that wasn't taking her enormous hammer into account, which was sparkling quite beautifully in the light above the stove.

"Uh... yeah, good to be back."

"I was quite worried about you," Suzuno mumbled.

"Yeah, I went for a walk. Needed a little fresh air, and a chance to stretch my legs."

Urushihara wasn't about to admit that he was scared of being alone in the old building.

"Oh, that's good, I hope you worked up an appetite, because I have been cooking hard ever since I returned."

"You did all that in half an hour?"

Lucifer approached the stove, and upon it he found a veritable feast. It looked as though Suzuno had spared no expense, and she had splurged upon several of Urushihara's favored delicacies. She'd even gotten a box of his favorite jelly filled donuts.

"Is there a party going on that I wasn't told about," Urushihara asked, "cause if there is, I'll probably just take these and hide in the closet."

"There is actually a very special occasion, Morningstar, so I've decided to throw a little celebration for us!"

Urushihara stopped again upon hearing his old title. It was most often used by his subordinates, back when he commanded Heaven's armies... why was Suzuno suddenly using it now, and what was with her smile?

Not that it was a bad smile, in fact it seemed to draw Urushihara to her for some odd reason, but at the same time it put him off, as if there were something more to it. Thinking back, he couldn't really be sure they'd done anything that would warrant a two person party, but Suzuno smiled at him again, and all thinking ceased.

"Would you take over while I change into something more comfortable," Suzuno asked, turning back to the stove.

Normally, Urushihara would've realized that Suzuno never wore anything other than a kimono, but her aquamarine eyes seemed to sparkle brightly in the flickering candlelight being thrown from the table, and he just nodded awkwardly before taking the handle of the spoon she was using to stir a pot of thick stew.

Their hands touched for a moment, connected by minute lines of energy that felt so real, they were both surprised sparks didn't actually fly. Their eyes locked overlong, and Urushihara's jaw hung agape for a moment before Suzuno finally released the spoon handle, turning away from Lucifer and sliding an old fashioned screen across the floor to shield herself from Urushihara's hungry eyes.

Of course, when I say hungry eyes, I mean he was staring rather intensely at the food as it cooked, and doing his best to avoid looking in Suzuno's direction. A few moments passed before she reemerged from behind the screen, and when Urushihara turned around, he jumped, very nearly knocking the scalding hot stew to the floor.

She was wearing a kimono that had been heavily altered so as to accentuate her luscious features. It rode incredibly high upon her thighs, displaying her ivory skin in ample amounts. The chest, too, had been redone, and was barely held closed by a loosely done obi sash.

The whole thing was extraordinarily seductive, coupled with Suzuno's batting eyelashes and red cheeks.

"W-well, what do you think, Morningstar?"

Urushihara's breath caught in his throat, and he choked upon it, caught somewhere between a laugh and hacking cough. He recovered to find Suzuno doing her utmost to avoid his gaze, and when their eyes met she suddenly jumped and looked away, running her fingers through her ponytail.

All at once, the subtle differences became apparent to Lucifer. Suzuno had gotten her fingernails painted, she wore her makeup a little thicker, and her lips were now a darker, fuller color thanks to some lipstick.

"Quit your staring and tell me I look nice," Suzuno suddenly commanded, clapping a hand to her face as she realized it ruined her seduction.

"Uh… I figured it just sort of went without saying," Urushihara mumbled, still frozen by the stove as Suzuno approached him.

She giggled in a most girly manner, bringing her hand to her mouth as she came closer.

"Silly Morningstar…"

Morningstar. There it was again. After a moment, the pieces clicked into place, and Lucifer summoned a sphere of violet energy in his palm, looking at Suzuno with distrust as she froze, only an arm's length away.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Crestia Bell," Urushihara demanded, his eyes glowing a lusty purple color as he tried to see through her disguise.

"My name is Crestia Bell," Suzuno said, speaking in the dialect of Centruvian, "and I pledge my life and limb to you, Lightbringer!"

She looked absolutely thrilled to speak the vows in a binding language, but Lucifer suddenly looked fearful, the sphere of energy in his hand dissipating as his arm fell back to his side.

"What the hell, Suzuno?!"

"I get it now," Suzuno said, reverting back to Japanese, "I understand it, I know why you left Heaven! I know that you're a good person! It wasn't that you didn't care, it wasn't that you got bored! You cared too much, and you ended up broken because of that!"

"What are you-"

Suzuno pressed herself against Urushihara, noting his increased heartbeat as she did so. Lucifer leaned back, wondering if he should push her away, or prepare for an attack.

"I know because… because it's why I fought against Olba and the Church when they came for Emi! It's why I've fought against Angels, and done my best to care for all of you! And now I understand it… I understand you!"

"You don't seem to realize what you've done," Urushihara said, gripping Suzuno's wrists, "you've just bound yourself to me, a Demon General! I could command you to do anything I wanted! I could make you run around the city naked, or turn you into a spy against the Church!"

"And I would do it… I would do it for you, Lightbringer! You can lie to everyone else, but you can't lie to me, nor to yourself!"

"What are you going on about, now?"

"Pull me into your Heavenly embrace," Suzuno said, swooning as Urushihara's back cracked from the strain of holding her up, "bathe me in your ethereal glow! Smite me with your holy spear!"

Urushihara noted how Suzuno's skin seemed to tingle from his touch, and he very nearly dropped her as he struggled to comprehend what she was saying. She looked at him as she lay in his arms, her face red as blood rushed into it.

"Morningstar… do with me as you will."

Lucifer thought about it for a moment, and then decided that there was only one way to fix Suzuno's severely addled mental state.

He dropped her onto the floor.

Suzuno felt the wind rush from her lungs as she hit the ground, unsure of what was coming next, but her patience was not rewarded, as Urushihara simply looked at her quizzically.

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting," he asked, cocking his head.

"Listen pal, I don't do this for everybody," Suzuno said, her tone disapproving as she glared up at Urushihara.

Instead, Urushihara bent down over Suzuno and stared directly into her eyes for a moment before falling back onto his butt, sitting next to where she lay on the floor. Suzuno sat up, making sure she had done as she had planned. Was she wearing her customized seduction kimono? Check. Was she wearing makeup? Check. Had she made her desires clear? Check! What was she missing?

"Y'know, usually during moments like this, little hearts will appear in the woman's eyes," Lucifer said, "but you don't seem to have that issue, so I can't help but wonder… what the hell are you doing? And why?"

"I told you," Suzuno sighed, still giving Urushihara that disappointed look, "I've come to the realization that you are not a bad person."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Urushihara said quickly, "but isn't this going… a little too far?"

"If you think so, then I must respect your wishes, master Morningstar."

"And what's with all this 'Morningstar' crap?!"

"That's your title," Suzuno said simply, "fallen or no, you possessed the courage to stand against all of Heaven at one point! You should be in charge! You still could be! You could rule over Heaven, and I could be your general! We could control everything! Not even the Demon King could stand against you!"

As she spoke, Crestia Bell's face once more grew red, and her eyes widened. Suddenly she was upon Urushihara, her body pressed against his as she pinned him to the ground, their faced inches apart. Strangely enough, Lucifer's face was the epitome of fear, thanks to the feral woman on top of him.

"Just imagine it, you and me, together forever!"

"Hasn't anyone ever taught you about personal space," Urushihara squeaked, trying to free himself from Suzuno's clutches as he felt every inch of her against him.

He finally managed to wriggle free, but Suzuno lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his leg as the fallen angel made a break for it.

"Ravish me," Suzuno proclaimed as Urushihara blanched, "lead me into the dawn, Morningstar!"

"You really gotta get a grip!"

"I have one, and if you'd hold still for a moment, it'd be much more pleasurable for the both of us," Suzuno said loudly.

"That's it," Urushihara shouted, his eyes glowing with a fierce purple glow as he raised a hand, "anti-possession… CHOP!"

He brought his hand down in a fierce karate chop, straight down onto the top of Suzuno's head. She fell to the floor, stunned as she recovered from the attack. Urushihara's legs gave out, and lightning flashed in his limbs. Somehow, Urushihara doubted it was his 'fight or flight' response that had gotten him so riled up.

"Feeling better," he asked.

"Let me love you," Suzuno shouted, luning at him once more.

"Dammit all," Urushihara said, bringing his hand up once more, "Fallen Angel Secret Attack, Light of the-"

But before he could finish naming his attack, he was once more pounced upon by Suzuno, but now she looked at him with tears in her eyes and a frown upon her face.

"Y-you shouldn't try to run away from people when they're trying to love you," Suzuno stammered.

"I generally wouldn't mind if it didn't feel like I was in danger," Urushihara reasoned, breathing hard as he tried to avoid Suzuno's fierce, watery gaze.

"You were never in any danger, I just…."

Suzuno's argument faded away, and she finally seemed to realize that her methods were rather tactless. She pushed herself off of Urushihara, tears falling from her eyes as she knelt upon the floor.

"You fought against Heaven… you turned against everything you'd ever known… you were the Lightbringer, and I thought that if I could get you to open up… If I could- if we were to connect- somehow you could bring me some light as well."

"And how does that relate to what you were just trying to do?"

"It doesn't," Suzuno admitted quietly, "but still, I believe in you, Lightbringer. You may be a Fallen Angel, but you've shown more conviction than God himself… to me you're more divine than the Pearly Gates themselves. "

"All because I gave up on Heaven and lived in the Demon World? You humans are so cliché it kinda makes me wanna laugh and throw up at the same time," Urushihara smirked.

"There it is again," Suzuno sighed, looking hard at Urushihara, "you joke and you jest, but in the end, I still know you. I can see clear through to the real you. You loved Heaven, didn't you? You loved your compatriots, and you loved your creator! You were happy, but when they asked you to murder, and destroy, and wreak havoc in the name of all that was good, you couldn't take it. Unlike the others, you dared to question everything! You became Heaven's most dangerous foe, even more so than the Devil! You, the shining beacon of hope for Heaven, suddenly learned better than to follow blindly."

"What's your point," Urushihara asked quietly, trying to contain the shakiness in his voice.

Never before had anyone thought so intensely about why Urushihara had fallen. No one had ever been so keen as to guess his motives, and so when Suzuno recounted every single one of his doubts back to him, as though she had seen it all first hand, the fallen angel was floored.

"My point is, you and I are so alike it's uncanny," Suzuno said, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs, "you had more to lose, of course, you were more than just some Inquisitor to the Church… but I turned my back on all of my beliefs, and suddenly I was left wondering… is there a god? If so, why doesn't he smite the evildoers? Why doesn't he do anything?"

"So you were looking for a god," Lucifer reasoned, "and you saw me?"

"… yes."

"Well, first things first," Urushihara said, standing from the floor, "I'm no god. In fact, there is no real 'god'. As of now, a very powerful and influential angel controls Heaven. But back to the matter at hand…"

He knelt next in front of Suzuno, placing his hands upon her bare shoulders and staring straight into her eyes, his arms shaking from the contact.

"If you want to survive as an outcast, you have to not care what anyone else thinks," Urushihara said, "that includes me. I'm not a savior, I don't have all the answers. Angels aren't divine, we're just like humans, only powerful. We have feelings, we have doubts, we have weaknesses. So the first thing you need to know… is that no one can save you from what you've done."

Suzuno's eyes widened suddenly, and the faces of her victims came to the forefront of her mind, paralyzing her as Urushihara's words were etched into her soul.

"All you can do is try to make amends, and forgive yourself. You gave up the Church because it was the right thing to do. That's a pretty good start. Then you made some super powerful friends who feel the same way you do, which is also a step in the right direction… but then you tried to seduce me with corny one liners and a very…exposing kimono. I think that's a few steps backward, to be honest."

"Gah-what are you doing," Suzuno shrieked as Urushihara lifted her from the floor, carrying her like a princess in his arms.

"I'm gonna lay you down," he said shortly, "I think you need to get some rest."

Suzuno allowed herself to be carried to her bed, where Urushihara gently set her down and promptly covered her with a blanket. He went to turn away when suddenly Suzuno gripped his wrist and pulled, forcing him to sit in the bed.

"What, do you want me to read you a story or something?"

"I'm a grown woman, and savior or not, I intend to get through to you," Suzuno reasoned.

Urushihara was about to refute her statement, but the Inquisitor of the Church cut him off by planting her lips against his. Urushihara's eyes widened and he blushed as Suzuno closed her eyes, trying to convey everything she couldn't say in that single moment.

She suddenly pulled away, leaving Lucifer stunned as he curled a finger around a lock of his hair, his face red as he avoided looking at Suzuno. She smiled at him, and suddenly a question formed that she couldn't help but ask.

"Was that your first kiss," Suzuno queried.

"Wha-no! Of course not! I meet women all the time! I kiss lots of girls," Urushihara said loudly, looking outraged.

"You're a terrible liar," Suzuno laughed, pecking Urushihara upon the lips once more before laying back down.

The fallen angel looked as though he wanted to continue arguing, or kissing, but in the end he simply walked away in a huff, striding back and forth across the apartment as he absentmindedly put away the uneaten feast Suzuno had prepared for him. He seemed overly distracted, occasionally opening the wrong drawer or cupboard, only to quietly curse to himself. Finally, he chanced a glance at Suzuno, who was dozing peacefully in her bed before Urushihara took to the closet, sliding the door shut and turning on his laptop.

"G'night, Urushihara."

He didn't reply, instead he clicked upon the internet browser and entered the website for the popular search engine, 'Froogle!' He sat there for a moment, wondering what he should search for, but Suzuno's actions left him confused and unsure, so he closed his laptop and sighed.

"Good night, Bell."

Woohoo! This has gotta be the most I've posted in such a short period of time in... years. Anyway, I was at work a few days ago, and I suddenly had this idea for a scene in which Suzuno tried to seduce Urushihara with really bad biblical pickup lines, and it made me laugh. Needless to say, I probably looked like a madman, standing there and laughing to myself about the situation, but after seeing it in my head, I knew I had to try and make it happen. And I did, to some extent, but I feel as though I'm missing a few pickup lines... if I ever remember them, I'll rewrite the scene. Anyway, a couple more relationships get some fleshing out/advancement, lots of fluffy stuff (I think that's the term... or is it a lemon? I'm not very familiar with fanfic lingo.)

Moving right along, I've received a bunch of reviews, and I'm very grateful for every single one! I've gotten some interesting suggestions from reviewers that I'm currently mulling over, and we'll see if they bear any fruit. In the next chapter, I'll try to get some Rika/Ashiya going, cause they've been in the background for a while. I also learned a new term from a review, called the Cerberus... something or another... it's essentially a trope where the story losses its humor in favor of gritty reality. (And I didn't really learn it, I googled it.)

That's essentially the entire ending of this chapter. It began with a funny idea at work that made me laugh, and turned into philosophical discussion about God and whether or not there was one. Boom, zero to one hundred... again.

MUSIC!

Unfortunately, I've exhausted the majority of my recent musical discoveries in the last couple chapters, so I'll try to think of some that fit the mood... sorry for repeats

Dirty Minds Think Alike-Here Come the Mummys

Take Me to Church-Hozier

Weak-AJR

Believer-Imagine Dragons

Dear Alice-Arai Tatsuku

An Unhealthy Obsession- The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra

Bones-Quinn XCII

For those of you who've read this far... I figured I'd take a moment to explain a few things about how I made Suzuno try to seduce Urushihara. First things first, she'd just realized a very deep truth about him, and felt as though she knew him. Coupled with her loneliness and her inexperience in matters of the heart (along with some bad advice from someone I'll bring up in the next chapter) she decided that it was the best course of action. There's truly no faster way to an angels heart than through his... well, you know.