The weekend passed slowly for both Maou and Emi. Maou was anxious for his return to work, so that he could start making money again. Emi was anxious because she still hadn't told Maou about his being the father of her child. Nor was she sure that she should. Should she keep it? Would it be a demon, like its father? Their tryst, which was done in the heat of the moment during a time of great vulnerability, didn't even seem to matter. It was as if all the things that had happened between them in Ente Isla never actually happened.

But they had. Evidence of this was prominent in the silence that punctuated their conversations. It was apparent in the way they stared at each other when the other person wasn't looking, and it weighed heavily on their minds the instant they were alone.

Emi woke in her apartment every day that weekend, and wondered if she had made a mistake in returning to Japan. By all rights, she could've stayed in Ente Isla. As the Hero who slayed the Demon King, she would have incredible influence, and that wasn't counting her connections to high ranking members of the new Theocracy, the Demon Army, and the Saint Aire Empire.

Seeing as Alciel was the new Demon King, she couldn't help but to lay awake and wonder if she should've stayed in Ente Isla to keep him in line.

Sure, Rika and Chiho would certainly help him to stay on track, and Ashiya was much more level headed than most demons, but he was technically the Demon King. Her entire life had been tied to the fate of the 'Demon Lord.' But now that title had passed to someone else… so why was she still going to check in on Maou every single day?

She tried to tell herself that it was because he was still a Demon King. Just because he had abdicated his throne to atone for his atrocities, that didn't change the fact that his abilities were far greater than most any other demon. Title or no, he was powerful in the extreme, and somehow, he was still able to utilize magic in Japan.

But even if he suddenly turned back into that horrible Devil that had plagued Emi's nightmares, what could she do?

She had no sword. She had no way to recover her powers. If Maou bided his time and amassed even a little strength, he could destroy her.

And that led her to her next qualm. Was she even a Hero?

Unlike Maou, Emi's powers had gone. Along with the Holy Evolving Silver that Ignora had stolen from her, Emi felt as though her identity as a Hero had been torn away as well. She was half angel, so she had an affinity for potent celestial magic, but it was nothing compared to the Demon King's ability, and certainly not enough to raise her above people like Emerada, who had worked with magic their entire lives.

In a sense, Emi felt as though she had retired.

And that thought alone made it hard for Emi to rise from her bed in the morning. Coupled with the humiliation of having just applied to MgRonalds, she was sure that Maou was having quite a laugh about her predicament. Even so, he was polite enough not to say it to her face.

Since their plan had succeeded, and the angels had lost control of the Tree of Life, Maou had actually been rather supportive of Emi. After learning that Lailah had died, the Demon King was hard pressed to do anything more than hold the Hero as she sobbed.

Then Nord had learned of his wife's death, and Emi had to endure the pain all over again as she watched the spark in his eyes fade. She had never seen a man die and still walk and talk like her father. It was more terrifying than any undead puppet Ignora could conjure.

She'd spent the better part of a month looking after him as they waited for their final showdown to come to fruition. While Nord sat at his table, swilling coffee tainted with the scent of hard liquor, Emi had been at his side, trying to get him to speak. It took a solid week before he finally deigned to talk about Lailah, and the second her name left his lips, tears were falling from his eyes.

'I should see if I can't get Chiho to check on him when they come to visit,' Emi thought as she combed her hair.

Chiho and Rika, as the only two beings left in Ente Isla to possess magic, were also responsible for transporting visitors between worlds. As Christmas was only a couple months away, it would be their duty to transport everyone back to Japan safely.

Chiho, however, was supposed to be visiting Emi within the next few days with Emerada and Alberto in tow. It was only fair that Emi try to explain her choice to stay with Maou in Japan, and say goodbye to her old traveling companions.

And then she remembered that it was Monday. The Demon King had managed to get Emi on the short list for hiring, which meant that she would be accompanying Maou to MgRonalds when he went to work.

Emi looked herself up and down. She looked about nice as she could, considering her limited preparations, pregnancy nausea, and baby bump. Fortunately, she could still hide it well enough so that no one else would notice it, but she did. It looked like she'd started to gain some weight. It was a major shot to her self-esteem, as she had always been somewhat proud of her figure, which was fairly athletic.

After putting on a little makeup and practicing her traditional greetings, which had gone unused during her time in hiding, Emi was on the train bound for Sasazuka. It was only when she realized that she had to walk right by the MgRonalds in question to go to the Villa Rosa that she realized how little planning had gone into Emi's interview on Maou's behalf.

She stomped grumpily up the steps and slammed through the porch door, only to hear Maou yell. Emi also yelled, as she had put all her weight against the door, only for it to bounce shut on her after opening about six inches. She heard groaning on the other side of the door, and opened it to find Maou sprawled on the floor. His forehead was red, and a line of blood ran from his lip.

"What the hell, Emi?" Maou mumbled.

"Sorry," she said, kneeling down next to him and producing a tissue from her purse. She quickly dabbed the blood from Maou's lip, but stopped after a moment, when she noticed how his eyes were locked onto her.

Memories of their time in Ente Isla flashed before Emi's eyes before she quickly stood up, cleared her throat, and held out a hand for Maou.

With a grin, Maou took it, and the two of them set off for the Hatagaya Station MgRonalds together. Maou pushed his bike so that he might walk with Emi, who would leave after her interview while Maou worked his first full shift in a long time.

"Excited to be going back to work?" Emi asked.

"Nervous," Maou replied bitterly.

His mind was still back in the porch at the Villa Rosa, where Emi had cradled his head and dabbed at his lips with a tissue. Their faces had been so close that Maou thought they might kiss. Apparently, Emi was suffering from a severe case of denial about what happened in Ente Isla , because it looked like he was back to square one.

"So, anything happening?" Maou wondered innocently. "Anything at all?"

"Nothing that you don't already know," Emi said, pulling a small mirror out of her purse to double check her makeup.

Without even meaning to, Emi had just shot down Maou's attempt to try and connect with her. It was almost as effortless as her natural beauty, which only exacerbated the Demon King's discontent.

He'd given up his titles, and his trappings. He'd killed off the persona of the Lord of Demons, and exiled himself to the world of Japan, where he might repent his wickedness… and it still wasn't enough to warrant an ounce of the Hero's approval.

'This sucks,' Maou thought as he split up with Emi to park his bike behind the restaurant while she went in the main entrance to meet with Kisaki.

Maou, as the newly reinstated shift manager (a position that hadn't been filled in the time he was absent) took up leading the pre-shift meeting like he'd never missed a step. It was only natural that a man of his talents be able to leave for nearly two months and return to work with minimal troubles. He did so well, in fact, that anyone who doubted him was fully placated by the end of the meeting. With a smile that wasn't quite as bright as it usually was, he held the door and let his coworkers out of the break room, giving them encouragement as they started their work day.

It wasn't hard for Maou to find Emi. As soon as he stepped onto the floor, he spotted her bright magenta hair. She was sitting in a corner booth with Kisaki, speaking in a low voice as Kisaki scribbled. Emi was wearing a small smile, and nodding eagerly. For a woman who'd just lost a mother and fought in a war, she looked quite ravishing.

Maou waited, staring at Emi for a moment before he unfroze and looked around. He expected to see Chiho watching him quite closely, discreetly frustrated that he had been staring at the Hero with such a slack jawed expression.

But Chiho wasn't there. She was in Ente Isla, helping to cultivate peace in a world that Maou had very nearly destroyed.

Emi glanced at Maou, as though she could feel his gaze, and frowned at him as Kisaki scribbled something on her notepad, as if to say, 'What are you looking at, idiot?'

Pulling his MgRonalds visor more securely onto his head, Maou entered the fray himself, doing anything and everything he could to distract himself from the Hero in the corner booth. It was almost an hour before Emi finally stood, shook Kisaki's and walked up to the register.

"Good day, ma'am, what can I get for you?" asked one of Maou's subordinates.

"I'll take a large BigMg combo, to go, please," Emi said, her eyes boring into Maou's back so hard that he could practically feel her gaze.

With gusto, Maou singlehandedly prepared the meal and brought it to Emi, who smirked at him. Her grin died, however, when she realized, yet again, that the father of her unborn child worked at MgRonalds… and if she was lucky, she would, too.

"Here you go, Emi," Maou said, "how'd it go, by the way?"

"I dunno. Kisaki is hard to get a read on," Emi said quickly, "I'll see you later, Maou."

With that, the Hero checked her order and turned to leave. After she was out of earshot, the young man at the register, Sato, turned to stare at Maou incredulously.

"You know her?"

"Yeah, we're friends."

It was odd to say, but somehow Maou couldn't think of what else to call them. He wasn't the kind of guy to point out the women he'd slept with to people he didn't know well.

"She's totally hot," Sato said, "is she single? Could you get her number for me?"

"Back to work, Sato," Kisaki growled, having swept up behind Maou and the underling without so much as a sound.

Sato turned as white as a ghost and immediately left to go scrub the bathrooms while Kisaki took his place at the register.

"I just got done interviewing your girlfriend," Kisaki said.

"She's not my girlfriend," Maou sighed.

"Oh? That's not what she said," Kisaki laughed, nudging Maou with her elbow. The Demon Lord stared at his boss for a moment before he managed to respond.

"She- you mean- Emi said that?"

"Oh, yes. She says you two are getting pretty serious, and if she gets this job the two of you will probably move in together."

While Emi and Maou hadn't discussed it recently, Maou had promised Emi a place to live, should she need it, and it only made sense that she live closer to her place of work. On top of that, she could hardly afford to keep staying in such an upscale place as she did at the moment, so it was only logical that she would consider moving in… but why in the hell hadn't Emi talked to Maou about it?

"Of course, I frown on workplace relationships," Kisaki was saying as Maou came back to his senses, "but that doesn't mean they're prohibited. So long as nothing impedes your work, you can date whoever you want."

"Uh, Ms. Kisaki? Would you mind if I went after Emi? It's kind of important."

"Geez, are you only now just going to ask her out?" Kisaki asked, as if love were some odd emotion she couldn't understand, "get the hell out of here, already! With how clueless you are, you're lucky a girl that sophisticated likes you!"

Maou grinned and handed Kisaki his visor as he ran to the back exit and unlocked Dullahan II from the bike rack. He pedaled out to the front and took in his bearings. If he focused his power, he could sense Emi's presence, which radiated holy magic. He pedaled as fast as he could, racing through the streets so fast that the cops would probably be called. After very nearly getting hit by a pickup truck, Maou crossed the street and found himself at a park. He looked around, his eyes glowing crimson as he searched.

And there she was, alone on a bench, a half-eaten burger in her lap… and tears spilling down her face as she held her head.

Her sadness was exacerbated by her fear and indecision. For a moment, Maou wondered what could be wrong, and he considered pedaling his way back to MgRonalds and trying to forget about what he'd seen, but it would only serve to worry him. Instead, he got off his bike and parked it by a light pole before approaching. Emi looked up as she noticed him, and quickly turned her face to hide her tears.

"Can I sit down?"

No response came, but Emi nodded. The Demon King took a seat. It was chilly out, and he'd forgotten his coat. The excitement he'd felt moments ago was now replaced with fear.

"What's going on, Emi?" Maou asked quietly, "You've been really weird lately."

She looked at him through teary eyes, her mind whirling as she tried to muster the courage to tell him the truth. In the end, she simply shook her head and broke down, the tears forming silver lines on her face as she sobbed even harder. After a moment, Maou threw an arm around her. Emi moved so fast that Maou thought she was going to stab him, but instead she wrapped him in a hug that was so tight and desperate that he could practically feel her pain.

"M-Maou," Emi muttered quietly, "I-I have something I have to say to you-"

"Emi, I love you."

Before Emi could speak, Maou knew he had to make his feelings for her known for the second time. He had to do it there, in Japan, with no demons or angels or gods. He had to do it where there were no Heroes, and no Devils. As he did, he felt tears stream down his face. As soon as he stopped talking, he was sure that Emi would tell him that she intended to go back to Ente Isla, probably to tend to that little farm in a village long since destroyed by Lucifer's armies. But before she went, she needed to know how he really felt.

"Maou, what are you saying?"

"I… I've been around for a while, Emi."

"O-ok?" Emi sniffled through her tears, which had stopped due to the odd topic of discussion.

"All throughout my life, I've had these moments that felt like leaps of faith… each and every time I came to the precipice, though, I turned and walked away. In these last two years, I've learned that for anything in life to get better, you have to take those leaps of faith. You have to put yourself out there and hope for the best. I mean, I put myself out there in the Demon World, and I became a King!"

"Are you gonna tell me something worthwhile, or can I go now," Emi sighed sadly, her food growing cold on the bench beside her.

"But then you attacked me, in my castle on the Isla Centorum, and I took a leap of faith through the Gate…I came here to Japan, I started a new life, and I tried my hardest to fit in with the humans… I even learned from them. Then, one day, it was raining and I saw this girl under the awning of a restaurant. I didn't even know where to begin, she was so pretty… definitely out of my league, but I took a leap of faith, and I gave her an umbrella. And that's how I met you."

"What are you saying?" Emi repeated, her tears now long gone as she waited for the Devil to get to the point.

"Emi, I've gotta take this leap of faith, and I gotta do it now, otherwise I'll regret it forever, so…. I love you. I think you're amazing, and I've felt this way for a while now. I used to think humans were terrible, like insects to be crushed-"

"How romantic," Emi said to herself.

"But the truth is, we demons are no better. Emi, I took a leap, and I know it's scary to stand on the edge of the unknown, but I was thinking… maybe we could this leap together."

"Maou…"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I just… I'm not sure- I mean, what would everyone think? What about our friends-"

"I don't give a damn what they think," Maou said, gripping Emi's shoulders and staring into her emerald eyes, "but I know that I care for you more than anything else in this world, and in Ente Isla."

Emi took Maou's hands from her shoulders, and held them in her own for a moment before placing them in Maou's lap. She turned away, her stomach churning as she realized that it was time to tell the Devil the truth of the matter.

"Maou," Emi said quietly, "I'm pregnant."

"…huh?"

Author's Note:

This will be the second to last chapter of The Devil and the Hero: Forgive and Forget. The last chapter will be a Christmas special that's roughly five months past due, which will reunite everyone in Japan. Otherwise, this is the official end of the story. It's been a wild ride, and I had a lot of fun writing it. The date of creation for the file on my computer says 1/30/2015, 12:47 am which means it's been three years, three months, and almost three hours to the day since I wrote some stupid little story to try and kill my boredom and stress. That's a long time, and in that time my life has changed in ways I won't bother to recount for the sake of privacy. Still, I can safely say that things are better.

It's kinda hard, because as I've stated before, I've lived my life with these characters at my side. I believe it's in the afterword of volume one of the Hataraku Maou Sama light novels where Satoshi Wagahara is asked by the Devil and the Hero to surrender his life, so that he might record their story. I'd like to thank him for doing so. I think he managed to successfully capture the essence of writing, and I can still revisit the characters through the ongoing series!

If you are in any way dissatisfied with the ending, just know that I'm pretty unhappy with it, myself. I planned on having this huge, epic battle, and tons of violence and swordplay and whatnot, but then I wrote it and I was just like... what? That's it?

Fun fact, I had planned on everyone getting a happy ending. I wanted to have everyone sitting at the same little table, in the same little apartment, bandaged and bruised, but the more I wrote, the harder that became to achieve. A moment of silence for Chiho and Rika, who had to do the unthinkable to save a world that wasn't theirs.

I also had a buttload of songs I wanted to share, but instead, I'll leave you with this one, that I've been saving for the end of this story.

New Politics-One Of Us

If you read this story and liked it, please share it with a friend!

For now, I suppose I'll be signing off! Oh, and don't worry, I'm sure I'll have more DIAPT stuff for you all in the future.

Thanks for reading. You're the best.

-Radentor