And we're back with another chapter. Not much to say here, but I hope everyone enjoys.
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The last month or so had been a rough time for Azure. Not the least because of the fact his girlfriend sorta broke up with him. Well...they technically hadn't broken up, and while she maintained her usual friendly demeanor, there was a notable wall between them now...and the worst part is he couldn't fully argue with her reason for doing that. It was almost hard to believe it had already been a month since his view of reality had been completely destroyed…and the world suddenly felt a little scarier.
It still felt like a dream some days, but whenever he went to a mirror, the scars on his body, courtesy of the Devil Beast he encountered, served as a constant reminder of the rather terrifying reality. The world was changing, and he honestly wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Yet regardless of his personal feelings the reality was that his girlfriend somehow found herself at the center of it all. The first of the evolved humans: a Devilman. Out of curiosity he'd looked up the term, and found that it was also the title of an old Manga series. It honestly frightened him how similar the situation almost seemed to be, and it made him seriously worry if the world WAS actually going to go down that path. And as if just to rub it in his face, when he'd finished reading the Manga, while he knew it was a story and not some prophetic thing…the fact that the Hero ended up dying basically alone and with only his former best friend by his side…it scared him more than he cared to admit to consider the possibility of Jun being in Akira's place.
Granted, he was probably letting his imagination get ahead of him, but it was still an uncomfortable thought. Still, what really stung was knowing his girlfriend was out essentially living a double life fighting these real life Devil Beasts…and there was nothing he could do to actually help her. Oh, he understood what she was trying to do when she told him to forget about her. It was literally a common thing in plenty of media where the hero/heroine basically tells their loved ones to keep their distance to keep them safe. He…understood and appreciated…the sentiment…but that didn't mean he had to like it…and as of recently he was seriously wondering just how valid that idea would actually be.
Why would he feel that way? Well, considering the number of missing persons cases on the news…as well as the number of strange murders that had been happening, that already made things feel a LOT more dangerous. On top of that, just recently several students in the School he worked at turned up dead after somehow losing their heads, add in the fact Jun seemed antsy during the time…and then there was the incident where he saw what had no doubt done the killings. A large black…spider-like creature that had a gaping mouth on its back in the Biology Classroom with several of the dead students' bodies on the ground. Needless to say that incident was the talk of the school especially after it had managed to flee the school.
However, somehow the rumors didn't make it out of the school save a few tabloids and some mystery shows covering the rumors…which was really just the tv equivalent of tabloids. All the 'credible' sources obviously disproved the rumor as something else. Add in the fact that aside from the dead students, one student named 'Mita' had gone missing with no body found…it was easy enough for him to put two and two together. Mita had awakened and become a Devil Beast, and it was likely only the massive number of people present that had prevented Jun from doing anything to stop him. Heck, he saw Asuka around the school as well, and likewise she couldn't do much to stop Mita's escape.
Still…that incident made him question if there was really a point in what Jun asked of him. Aside from how much it was probably tearing both of them apart on the inside, the fact remained that these Devil Beasts were turning up everywhere it seems…and he was pretty sure him staying away from her would mean zilch if someone else in the school transformed as well…
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Jun sighed as she put down the weights she was using. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she soon went to take a bath. As she soaked in the water she sighed tiredly, her mind thinking back to the last month. Even though she'd said she was willing to do this role, to be the Devilman that would protect people from Devil Beasts…she couldn't stop the feeling of doubt in her heart. It was…a number of things if she was being honest. To begin with, she was starting to question how much she was actually saving, as ever since she'd agreed to be Devilman Lady, it felt like the number of Devil Beast related incidents had been on the rise. The ones dealing with Devil Beasts that had completely lost their humanity was…becoming easier than she'd care to admit. Perhaps it was because whenever she looked into their eyes, she saw nothing recognizable anymore. Just a beast or monster that had lost its humanity and was now killing just for the sake of it or to fulfill their own desires. Even so, she hoped she wouldn't ever become numb to killing…it wasn't something she'd ever want to have to feel.
However, what really had her doubting herself was the cases dealing with Devil Beasts that hadn't completely lost their humanity. Certainly she'd been able to save some…but there were more than a few incidents that ended in the deaths of those who could have been saved, and though Asuka and her parents tried to console her on the matter…that didn't change the feeling of sadness she felt over their deaths, and the feeling that she could have done more. And on top of that, a part of her continued to question the decision she'd made to tell Azure to forget about her, a feeling that continued to grate at her. She knew why she did that, but her heart remained in turmoil on the matter, deep down she knew she wanted to be with him, and even as he tried to be respectful of her wish, whenever she saw him, she could tell that her choice was weighing on him as well. Even so…the fear she felt at seeing him nearly dying and the thought of him ending up like that again was enough to push her to squash those feelings. This was…for the best…
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Ever since he'd learned about the Devil Beasts, while he'd made good on his promise to not tell anyone seeing as aside from the problems that would cause, nobody would believe him anyway, Azure had actually subscribed to a tabloid that had stuff that obviously didn't go into the mainstream news. Of course he still had his normal paper and news, but either way what he was looking for was always missing persons cases. As he scanned the pages, he frowned when he found what he was looking for. It seemed that lately there had been several people going missing, interestingly enough they all seemed to be women. More worrying though was that according to the rumors, the people who found the bodies supposedly found them half chewed up, floating in the sewers for some reason. In short, based on what little he knew, it was very likely a Devil Beast.
Now curious, it didn't take long for him to start looking into the missing persons that had a similar link. What exactly he was hoping to accomplish…if he was being honest, he wasn't fully sure himself, but knowing something was going on…he couldn't just sit still. At first he didn't find anything in particular. The women found dead were all athletic swimmers, they'd competed before, getting to pretty high ranks, etc etc. Nothing really of note, but then when he tried looking them up…to his fortune it seemed they were the type who liked social media, so another connection he found was that apparently they were all part of the same club. It wasn't much, but maybe he could find something, so he looked up the club they were part of, the Toriton Club.
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"Pretty nice place," Azure mused as he was currently inside the Toriton Club. It was a sports club focused mainly on swimming and thus they had some rather impressive pools geared to allow members to practice for various areas. As it so happened, while it was a club known for churning out athletes, they weren't so exclusive that they'd only allow members in. Non-members were allowed for a free trial period, which was great since he admittedly wasn't planning on being here for too long. Of course, he still wanted to try out the facilities a bit while he was here anyway.
Admittedly swimming here drew him…more attention than he'd like, and he couldn't really blame them. The scars on his body made him stand out as he spent some time in the pool area. He did his best to ignore the stares, but it wasn't the easiest thing to do having the eyes on him. Still, he did his best to ignore it for now. The stares would pass, and eventually he'd be able to mingle and probably ask around. He had the time after all.
As he swam in one of the pools that was provided for more casual exercise rather than the ones that were clearly meant to practice diving or to practice olympic swimming, he felt himself start to get into the 'zone' so to speak, as he focused on swimming. Before long he'd done a few laps, and though he doubted he'd be winning any gold medals, he had a feeling he managed to get a pretty decent time before he soon leaned back against the side of the pool to take a breather. Speaking of medals though, he found himself thinking of Jun again. She'd told him how she used to be into swimming, even managing to win the gold medals at the height of her career, yet when he asked why she'd stopped, she avoided the question. All that told him was that something happened in the past and she didn't really want to talk about it, something he'd decided to respect.
His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a small crowd gathering, seemingly about to watch some of the pros do a practice round. Now rather curious, he got out of the pool he was in and went over to take a look. He saw several female swimmers about to start their training, but among them one that caught his attention was a rather large and muscular woman, who if he was being honest…if not for the outfit and obvious female attributes…he'd have mistaken that for a man. Either way when the swimmers dove into the water, well…he could see why everyone was gathering. Not only were they swimming at a fast speed, the one he'd taken note of completely dominated the match, and unsurprisingly they came in first, the crowd applauding the display.
"Wow, she's good. Who is that?" he asked a random member.
"You don't know? That's Aoi Kurosaki. She's a Gold Medalist and probably the best swimmer in the entire club," they said.
"Well…I can see WHY she'd be a gold medalist," Azure nodded, before noticing the various swimmers getting out of the water, most of them going to mingle with the other club members, with several of the other swimmers somewhat crowding around Kurosaki congratulating her, while probably asking for tips. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but either way Kurosaki happened to be going in his direction, to which he decided to try striking up a bit of conversation. "That was a really impressive display," he said with a friendly smile.
She stopped for a bit and seemingly regarded him with a neutral expression. "Uh, thanks," she said curtly. "Newbie I'm guessing."
"Pretty much. I'm still on the free trial run, so haven't really decided on whether I'll join or not," Azure chuckled a bit.
"I see. Well then, enjoy the club," Kurosaki said curtly before walking past him, continuing on her way, though as she passed him, he noticed from the corner of his eyes that for a split second he swore she glared at him. Once she was well away from him…
"What was that about?" he muttered. At first glance with her curt response and how she behaved, he figured she must be anti-social, but that last bit of interaction…he felt like it was something else, like she was holding back some kind of automatic reaction. He couldn't say for sure what about him triggered that, but he decided it might be best if he stayed away from her for now. Besides, fortunately for him, he didn't need to interact with her to hopefully get what he wanted.
He spent a bit more time in the pool, before eventually talking to some of the regular club members. He started up with talking about the club and how it really did feel like a pretty good club, but eventually he shifted the topic to the recent disappearances. While somewhat unsurprising, if a little disappointing, nobody he talked to knew anything, and all they did know was that they'd confirmed that several of the people who'd disappeared were regular members, something that worried them since that caused several of their other members to quit when they noticed the trend. Even so, for the most part they hoped it was just a random coincidence.
Sighing a bit, Azure decided to soak in one of the jacuzzis then go home for the day. He'd come back again while he could, but he was starting to wonder if he'd actually FIND anything here. He enjoyed the warmth of the small pool, idly looking around as he did…until he noticed a certain pair in the pool area, a familiar blonde hanging back…while Jun was talking to some of the other club members who seemed pretty familiar with her. "Huh…maybe she's an old member here," Azure blinked. Jun never told him anything about this club…but then he never asked so…perfectly possible.
However, the sight of her with Asuka meant that he'd been on the right track…something he admittedly wasn't fully sure how to feel about. Either way, he waited till Jun was done talking before getting out of the jacuzzi and walking towards where she and Asuka were now talking.
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Jun smiled a bit as she talked to her old Juniors. Even if she'd long left the olympic field, she never did lose interest in her old passion, so it was honestly nice being here again after such a long time. Of course, while Asuka was being silent, the fact that the blonde was with her served as a reminder of why they were here. Eventually she bid them good day and turned to face Asuka…who had a rather amused look on her face.
"You seem to be enjoying this," Asuka chuckled a bit.
"Well…it was nice talking to my old juniors again," Jun admitted. "Is that a problem?"
Asuka shook her head. "Not at all. Just because we're doing an investigation doesn't mean you can't take some enjoyment from the circumstances," Asuka said…before her expression became serious. "Just…don't get too swept up by emotions in the event…"
"Don't say it," Jun said, which Asuka respected and stopped talking. Jun knew what she wanted to say…but that didn't mean she had to like it. It was hard enough having to put down people she didn't know. She did NOT want to think about having to do so to people she knew…Okawa notwithstanding, since she wasn't actually aware it was him when she put him down.
However, before they could speak more on the matter…
"Jun?" came a familiar voice, causing her to turn in surprise.
"A-Azure? What are you doing here?" Jun couldn't help but ask in surprise.
"Honestly? Probably the same reason you two are here," Azure said, looking a bit awkward, though he still tried to keep a straight face.
"Oh? So you're aware of what's been happening?" Asuka asked with interest.
"It…wasn't really hard, what with what the Tabloids got their hands on. I mean…disappearances, chewed up bodies…pretty obvious it's one of those things," Azure said, doing his best to keep it professional.
"That does make sense, but how did you know to try and check here?" Asuka prodded. She was quite impressed that he'd managed to find the same lead as them, considering he was technically an outsider and wouldn't have access to details the HA had.
"I got a bit lucky honestly. Turns out the girls in question put their lives on Social Media and well…all of them listed this place, so I figured it was as good a place as any to start," Azure sighed.
"But that doesn't explain why you're investigating in the first place," Jun said with worry. "Azure, you know that this is far too dangerous," she said, and had it not been for the fact that they were in a public area…she'd probably have been a bit louder, the worry for him very clear in her voice.
"I know," Azure sighed. "But…knowing what was going on…I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I know this is dangerous, but I just…" he trailed off.
Jun's expression softened a little even if she sighed. "You're too nice for your own good sometimes, you know that?" she said with a wry smile, even if she looked away a bit.
"Yeah…not sure if that's a good point or a bad point," Azure said with his own wry smile. He wanted to say more, but held himself back. Even if he yearned for this woman…he didn't want to make things harder for her, so all he could do was respect her wishes…and maybe talk when an opportunity presented itself.
As the two were interacting, Asuka watched them with an appraising look. She was quite impressed that Azure managed to find the same lead as them, even if the source was different. She could see why 'they' seemed to hold him in high regard. He was a good man from what she'd found out, and he certainly had a respectable personality. That and if she was being honest, whenever he was with Jun, she couldn't help but feel that the two could be made for each other. They clearly cared a great deal for each other, and if what she was reading was right…both of them clearly wanted each other…but held themselves back. Jun because of her concerns for his safety, and Azure because he wanted to respect Jun's wishes. All in all, she could tell that they genuinely cared for each other. Still, the current situation had to be dealt with.
"Since you're here though and clearly you'll continue looking into things if left alone, I suppose we could use some extra help," she said, Azure looking surprised, while Jun seemed like she wanted to object, but Asuka quickly continued. "I understand your worries, but look at it this way. If anything DOES happen, at least you'll be there to protect him," she said, giving Azure a brief look he swore looked like a troll grin.
"Gee…thanks for making me feel like a damsel in distress," Azure snorted, giving her a light glare.
"Against Beasts, you may as well be one," Asuka said with a small laugh.
Azure looked like he wanted to say something…but ultimately sighed. "Fair enough I guess."
Jun still looked uncertain…but she couldn't argue with the logic…and not to mention she herself wouldn't mind spending time with Azure again, so… "Alright, let's work together for the investigation then," she said with a small smile.
Azure smiled a bit as well, before they began looking around, making small talk with other members and seeing if they couldn't find anything new, especially with Jun's rapport and Asuka's telepathy. At first nothing seemed to change, but after a few attempts, they found a lead. When prodded, some of the members noted something that while they themselves though inconsequential, could have been the lead they were looking for.
"So the girls that disappeared…they liked to use the pool after hours," Jun frowned.
"Can they do that?" Azure asked.
"Yes, since this club prides itself in its olympic swimmers, registered athletes are allowed to use the pool even after hours, though I'd never done that even when I was competing," Jun confirmed.
"So it's likely the culprit of these incidents is also here during after hours," Asuka nodded. "Still, its too early to say for sure. We might as well see what else we can find," she mused, earning a nod of agreement. However, before they could continue investigating, Jun tensed, feeling someone watching her intently.
"Something wrong, Jun?" Azure asked, to which Jun didn't reply, instead she turned to where she felt the gaze coming from, and saw someone standing not far away. "Aoi Kurosaki," Jun frowned, seeing the swimmer.
"You know her?" Azure asked, while Asuka seemed a little uneasy seeing the woman.
Kurosaki however grinned as she went over to where they stood.
"Hello, Kurosaki," Jun said with a frown.
Kurosaki raised a hand, as if wanting to do a handshake…before she suddenly patted Jun on the head. "If it isn't Jun Fudo! Long time no see!" she said with a tone that was nothing short of condescending, which made both Azure and Asuka frown deeply. Clearly there was history here, and it didn't seem to be friendly. "What's a loser like you doing here? I thought you retired."
Jun felt Lady stir in her as she glared at her old rival, but at that moment, she felt Azure's hand on her shoulder, to which she turned to see him standing by her side, looking at Kurosaki with a frown. The moment she realized he was there, Lady seemed to calm down a little with his presence, even if the hostility didn't fully subside. Even so, Jun was able to quickly calm herself down and respond. "Yes, I retired, but don't think I quit just because I lost to you," she said calmly.
Kurosaki seemed tense, especially the moment Azure placed a hand on Jun's shoulder, but she maintained her focus on Jun. "Hmph! Use any excuse you want. It doesn't change the fact that you ran away because you're scared of me!" Kurosaki declared, and Azure swore the look in her eyes wasn't a healthy look at all. But more importantly, he was quite fed up with this woman's attitude.
"Okay, that's just uncalled for!" he growled. "I don't know what happened between you two in the past but-!" he started, but Jun held his arm, squeezing a little which caused him to pause. She shot him a grateful look for defending her, but the look in her eyes made the message clear 'I can handle this'. With that in mind, he didn't continue, letting her say what she needed to say.
"Think what you want, but let me make one thing clear," Jun said, her expression hardening. "I did NOT retire because I was afraid of you! If anything, I'd love to settle the score in a fair fight anytime!" she said, and for a moment she felt a bit of Lady's ferocity bleeding into her tone.
Kurosaki seemed rather taken aback by her words, before quickly recomposing herself and smirking a bit. "I see that your overconfidence hasn't changed a bit. Heh, fine then, I'm ready to break your pride anytime you want!"
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Azure said with a glare. He knew Jun could speak for herself…but damn if he was going to just let this person run her mouth off without saying anything. "Jun's a lot stronger than you seem to think," he said with a confident smile as he shifted a bit closer to her.
Jun couldn't help but smile a bit at his support. Despite everything, having his support…it meant a lot. With that in mind, she met Kurosaki's gaze with full intensity. "I'll keep the heads up in mind. I'll be sure to take you up on your offer sometime," she said.
For some reason Kurosaki's expression of arrogance/confidence fell at that as she looked at Jun with an intense look…and for a moment they swore they saw her glare at Azure, before she turned and walked away. Once she was far away enough…
"And I thought she was intense before…" Azure frowned.
"Aoi Kurosaki…she really hasn't changed…" Jun sighed, feeling the tension leaving her and all that left was a feeling of tiredness.
"If it's alright with you…mind me asking what happened?" Azure asked
"I don't mind…but let's not talk about it right now," Jun sighed.
"Whatever your history with them, you might want to avoid that person," Asuka said with a frown.
"Huh?" both of them blinked at that.
Asuka looked around to make sure nobody was nearby before going closer to them and explaining. "I was able to probe her mind for a moment, and let's just say she's not of the soundest minds. That person has multiple personalities, and the dominant one is a male. A highly aggressive male at that, and if I was reading it right…it's quite fixated on Jun," she frowned.
"Wait, what?" Azure gasped in surprise…and just barely managed to keep the touch of anger out of his voice, to which Asuka nodded.
"It's hard to explain, but I definitely felt powerful and aggressive emotions from her. I feel like we might have just found a very likely candidate for our potential Devil Beast," Asuka said. "Of course, it's still only conjecture at this point. It's too early to say for sure…"
"...perhaps we should stop our investigation for today…" Jun sighed, now feeling very tired and not to mention shaken by what Asuka just said. "I think we've found enough for now…"
"Alright, I suppose we have yes," Asuka nodded slowly, the three of them soon going to the changing rooms to change back to their normal clothes and soon leave the club.
Once they left the club, Asuka excused herself as she needed to get their findings to the HA, and promised she'd keep them up to date on what they'd find, and possibly they'd investigate further if needed. With her gone, that left Jun alone with Azure, and after everything, Jun needed a place to sit down and calm her nerves. That was why she was currently sitting on one of the local benches, the sun already starting to set, which helped calm her nerves.
Azure came over to her and offered her a warm can of coffee from the vending machine nearby. He didn't say anything as he offered the drink, which she gratefully accepted with a small smile, Azure soon sitting down next to her, an awkward silence descending on them for a bit, before eventually Azure broke it. "So…that Kurosaki was your rival back when you were competing?" he asked, still feeling more than a little uncomfortable by the bombshell Asuka had dropped, namely how Kurosaki not only had multiple personality disorder, but the dominant personality was male and had its eyes on Jun. That…made his blood boil more than he cared to admit, but he kept it in check for now.
Jun frowned a bit, but eventually sighed, figuring she might as well 'come clean'. "Yes she was," Jun nodded. "She's also the reason I quit…"
Azure blinked at that. "Wait, so was she actually…?" he trailed off.
"No, I didn't retire because I was running away. I retired because the more I competed with her…the more I started fearing for both our lives," Jun said, earning a confused look from Azure to which she elaborated. "Whenever we competed, something about her, that intensity, made me feel like she wanted to kill me. Likewise, the more we competed and I came up short of her, the more something in me started to well up. Before long I'd realized I was starting to develop unhealthy feelings…like I wanted to kill her too. That was why I stopped. I knew something wasn't right, and I left before anything went too far," she sighed. "If she also has the Beast Factor…I think that explains so much…"
Azure frowned at that. "That…must have been really hard…"
Jun nodded slowly. "It was. But…it wasn't so bad. Once those feelings stopped I felt much more refreshed, and after that I got a good job and…" she trailed off at that one.
Azure looked at her sympathetically, raising a hand to comfort her…but stopped short when he realized why she trailed off, and eventually put his hand down, sighing a bit as the awkward silence continued.
"Azure…why are you here?" Jun asked after a moment.
"Because like I said before. I just can't sit still knowing that there's something I can do," Azure sighed. "That and I wanted to see you again. See you and talk to you somewhere we don't have to act like everything is normal…"
"Azure…" Jun sighed. "You know why we can't be together…" she said softly.
"Because it's too dangerous?" Azure frowned. "Even if I DID keep my distance…do you really think that's going to change anything? From what I've seen those things can pop up from basically anywhere and at any time," he pointed out. "So I really don't think that's going to make a big difference in the long run."
"So you want to face more Beasts? Want to put yourself in harm's way?" Jun asked, her voice becoming more heated.
"Of course I don't!" Azure shot back, before he took a deep breath and calmed himself down, he didn't want to say something he would regret. "I know how out of my depth I'd be…and I know from experience how badly it'd go for me if I fight one of those…"
"Then why?" Jun asked, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Because I know you're out there fighting!" Azure said, before having to calm himself again. "I just…I just can't accept that the person I love is out there fighting those things while I'm here on the sidelines, being completely useless…" he said softly. "Please Jun…let me help you. Even if it's just to support you…please let me be part of your life…"
Jun's expression was nothing short of pained when she heard that. She wanted him to be part of her life…but once again the memory of him half dead and the memory of seeing the scars on his body made her falter, before she looked down, her eyes hidden as she stood up. "Azure…you're a good man," she started. "But…that's exactly why I can't ask you to do that," she said, getting up. "Please, just don't…" she said, her voice breaking and it was clear how much it hurt her, but her fears stopped her from being willing to let him in as she walked away.
Azure got up, and looked like he wanted to stop her…but he stopped, and with a heavy heart, held himself back. Watching her leave, he sighed sadly and walked away. He would respect her decision…no matter how much it hurt him to do so…
As the two went their separate ways, it turned out they had someone watching, Asuka having sensed Jun's strong emotions, and come to check after making a quick call for the preliminary report. As she did though…
She suddenly reached next to her and grabbed SOMETHING. "I KNOW, but you promised NOT to interfere, Father." she said, before straining visibly as she had to grab with both hands, being dragged by some kind of invisible force "So help me Father, if you don't stop this right now, I WILL tell Mother and Uncle." and at her words, she stopped being dragged, and could FEEL the sulking being directed at her, making her sigh "I know… but this is something they have to work through themselves, we guide them on battles, but on emotions…"
The presence seemed to groan a bit, before stopping, causing her to sigh and nod. It wasn't easy sometimes to let things play out…
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A few more days passed, and so far no new incidents. However, that didn't mean that they'd stop the investigation…well…Asuka was on the investigation. Having been able to make use of a mix of the influence the HA secretly had and some good old hacking, it wasn't too hard to get control of the records of Toriton's recent activity. From there it wasn't hard to find out who was last at the club when the girls disappeared, and as it turned out, there was only one person, and it was unsurprisingly the same one. Aoi Kurosaki.
With the confirmation that it was her, Asuka proceeded to dig deeper into Kurosaki's past, as well as alert the HA to keep an eye on her. What she found was…worrying to say the least. Bringing up the autopsy reports of the girls who they are quite sure Kurosaki killed, their bodies basically looked like they'd somehow encountered a shark. Digging into Kurosaki's past, she found another similar incident. Her Stepfather apparently passed away several years ago, his body having been found half eaten…just like the bodies of the girls. That was worrying because aside from the fact that it would mean that Kurosaki had been 'awake' for a long time, the fact that she could maintain her sense of self for so long…well, a Beast that retained its intelligence to this degree could well be problematic. If there was one thing she noticed though, all incidents seemed to happen near water. What that told her was that either Kurosaki had a preference for being in the water…or more ideally, her Devil Beast form was an aquatic one. Either way, this told her a lot about Kurosaki, enough that they hopefully could devise a counter strategy against her.
Of course, the lift in her mood was dampened when investigations on her schedule revealed an oddity. Kurosaki seemed to train after hours near religiously…and yet in the last few days, she'd abruptly stopped. Oh sure she didn't train after hours EVERY day, but for several days in a row to suddenly stop…something had changed. What that was…she could only make conjecture. She just hoped she was on the right track…
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The next day saw Asuka paying Jun a visit. Easily getting into the school grounds, she soon found Jun who was in the middle of club activities as she was doing a practice round with one of the tennis club members. She decided to wait for a bit, since she wasn't in a major hurry. Eventually a good chance presented itself when the club members Jun was playing against missed a swing, allowing the tennis ball to leave the court, and allow Asuka to catch it easily. "Nice shot," she chuckled.
"Asuka? What are you doing here?" Jun asked in surprise, earning a few murmurs from the other club members who were quite surprised to see a beauty like her, not to mention the fact their coach seemed to know her. Jun quickly told the club members to continue practice, before she went over to Asuka, the two talking under one of the nearby trees, away from anyone likely to listen in.
"This is about the investigation, isn't it?" Jun frowned.
Asuka nodded at that. "Yes, we're now almost positive that the Devil Beast is Aoi Kurosaki. The evidence our investigations have lined up too well to be a coincidence," she said, causing Jun's frown to deepen.
"So it really was her…" Jun said, not sure how to feel about this.
"It gets worse," Asuka sighed. "This isn't the first time she's done this. It seems she's had two fathers in her life, her birth father and her stepfather. While there isn't anything of note regarding her birth father…well…the cause of death in her stepfather lines up uncomfortably well with the recent deaths," she frowned.
"So you think Kurosaki killed her stepfather?" Jun gasped.
"Yes, and on top of that all the autopsy reports noted bites akin to a shark," Asuka nodded. "Be careful Jun, it's bad enough we're likely dealing with a Beast that has been able to hide her true nature for this long, but on top of that much like the swimmer she is, the Beast seems to be aquatic in nature. I don't think I need to explain why that would be a problem," Asuka warned.
Jun frowned deeply but nodded, even if a bit reluctantly. "I understand. Ideally I'd want to fight her on land, but if I fight her in the water, I'll have to be careful…"
Asuka nodded at that. "Yes. For now we're keeping an eye out for Kurosaki. Be ready for if and/or when we have to confront her," she said gravely.
XXXX
A few hours later saw school end and with the information they'd gained, Asuka went back to her apartment awaiting further updates on the investigation. That left Jun to her own devices as she considered telling Azure of what Asuka had told her. Her first instinct was to keep him out of the loop, hoping that if he didn't know, he wouldn't put himself in harm's way trying to help… but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she should warn him. Even if it might lead to him choosing to try and help, at least if he knew, he would be more prepared for what was to come…and she honestly felt bad about trying to keep him out of the loop when he already was in the loop to a degree. With that in mind, she quickly went to look for him, and informed him of what Asuka told her.
"So it really was her, huh?" Azure frowned as Jun finished talking to him. "So what happens now?"
"For now Asuka is waiting for more information. Most likely we're going to have to tackle her eventually…" Jun frowned.
"Jun…" Azure frowned.
"It's pretty ironic," Jun chuckled humorlessly. "I guess in the end we will have to settle things, just not in the way I'd prefer…"
Azure placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It doesn't have to end the way you were fearing, Jun. There's still a chance," he smiled.
Jun smiled back a bit, nodding slowly. Even though she still feared for his safety…him being here made things a lot easier to bear…
XXXX
Azure sighed as he was on his way home. With everything going on, he honestly felt bad for Jun. Even though he fully believed that this situation with Kurosaki…it didn't need to end with her dead like it did with Okawa, but the fact that Jun has to be the one to fight her when she'd wanted to avoid this potential situation in the past…it felt like some kind of bad joke. Still…he'd support her however he could. Even if he'd respect her wishes, sometimes caring about someone means you gotta give them what they need, not what they want…and right now he was pretty sure she needed all the moral support she could get.
As he continued walking though, he noticed someone walk out into the path he was using, and when he got closer, he stopped short. "Aoi Kurosaki?" he said in surprise.
Kurosaki looked at him and seemed surprised as well. "Hey, you're that guy from the club," she said.
"Yeah, that's me," Azure nodded, doing his best to remain calm. "Didn't expect to see you here. Are you going to the Club?"
"...I was planning to," Kurosaki said, and he noticed she was tense again. "But running into you here is convenient."
"Convenient?" Azure asked, immediately on guard even if he did his best not to show it.
"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about Jun. I mean…it's been a long time and I really was out of line the other day, so I was hoping maybe you could help me apologize to her," she said, sounding guilty, but Azure kept his guard up.
"That's…I guess I could help," he said, being careful not to say or do anything that might seem suspicious or set her off somehow. Especially with how she seemed rather tense talking to him.
"Great, maybe we could talk somewhere," Kurosaki said.
"I can talk right here," Azure pointed out.
"I feel awkward talking out in the streets like this," Kurosaki said, looking away a bit. "I'd really rather talk somewhere else."
Azure quirked an eyebrow, weighing his options before coming to the only one that really worked in this situation. "Alright, where do you want to go?" he asked, adjusting his jacket a bit.
"There's a park nearby. Mind if we talk there? I always feel more calm near the river," Kurosaki said, which were basically giving off warning bells in Azure's head but as things were he couldn't exactly say no.
"Alright, lead the way," Azure nodded, to which Kurosaki turned to walk away as he followed her…and discreetly pressed something attached to his belt.
XXXX
"The park is rather nice this time of day," Azure mused.
"Yes, it's a great place to relax. Nobody is around and the water is nice too," Kurosaki said.
"I'm guessing you come here often?" Azure asked.
"A few times yes," Kurosaki nodded. "Now then…before anything though…mind if I ask who you are to Jun Fudo?"
"Well… honestly that's complicated right now. We were dating until recently, but she's keeping me at arms length these days for my own safety." he said, one hand kept close to his torso while the other rested on the back of a bench next to him.
Kurosaki quirked an eyebrow at that, filing away the odd part of his statement. "And yet you seem to be close enough that you were with her at the club," she pointed out.
"Just because things are awkward doesn't mean I'm not trying to get things back to how they were. I care about her a lot, even if I don't want to make things difficult for her if I can help it," Azure sighed.
"And do you really believe Jun would want that?" Kurosaki pressed, and for the first time she started to seem more aggressive than before.
"Why do you care about our relationship? What happens between us stays between us," Azure frowned.
"Because it's pretty clear that you mean a lot to Jun Fudo," a new voice said, but rather than coming from Kurosaki's mouth, Azure swore he heard it come from her torso of all places.
"You stay out of this," Kurosaki growled, her hands going to her breasts but in a way that was as if she was trying to push something shut, but the voice persisted.
"Oh come now, it was one thing to try and play nice when we were talking about Jun, but why are you being all coy with him?" the voice said, and despite her efforts, Azure saw the T-shirt she was wearing seemed to push forward, and ripped, revealing a second mouth at her torso which was opening up. "All he is is competition! Jun Fudo belongs to you, and anyone else that tries to take her should die!" the mouth roared.
Right as the mouth roared that, Kurosaki's body started to shift and transform, the remainder of her clothes ripping apart. For a moment it seemed like she was trying to resist, but when she made eye contact with Azure…the look in her eyes became those of pure hatred, making it clear that whatever restraint she had was basically gone.
"Okay, I think I've seen enough," Azure growled before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a gun…albeit one that had been modded in a way that it was probably a borderline arm cannon, which he quickly leveled at Kurosaki and pulled the trigger.
Azure winced as he felt the recoil, and seeing as this was apparently automatic…he ended up firing a few more shots which completely pushed him off his feet, sending him flying back a bit and dropping the weapon as his arm ached something fierce. Fortunately though, he'd managed to keep his aim relatively steady, the shots impacting Kurosaki's now rapidly transforming body, the BB Enzyme bullets managing to penetrate her rapidly hardening skin, causing her to shout in anger, forcing her to back off a bit.
"I'll have to thank Asuka for this later," Azure said with a slight wince as he looked at Kurosaki who was glaring at him further as her transformation quickly completed itself. The creature that was formed…the best way he could sum it up was a hideous mix of a shark and a frog, as the creature while clearly more aquatic in nature, had some limbs that gave the image of something that could still move on land. Its main body was more that of a shark, complete with the fin, and elongated snout with the large mouth now present, and on its head, he noticed what appeared to be a bit of Kurosaki's head, the eyes still glaring at him with a look of rage and jealousy. "...a Yandere Lesbian…just my luck," he groaned grabbing the gun and quickly moving, not wanting to stay in one spot.
Kurosaki's eyes followed him before the shark mouth opened up, and out came a series of tentacles/tongues that lashed out at him, way faster (and longer) than expected, which grabbed his arm and one of his legs, trying to pull him back.
"This is gonna hurt a bit," Azure winced as he aimed and braced himself, before pulling the trigger.
The Devil Beast roared in pain as she was shot in the mouth, the tentacles letting go of him as he winced again at the recoil. Furthermore he noticed that even as it tried to go after him, its movements seemed more sluggish than before. Hopefully a sign that the BB Enzyme was working.
And to make matters even better, an armored jeep soon drove into the park, stopping not far away, and the moment the doors opened, several shots rang out as the bullets impacted against the Devil Beast, knocking her to the ground, the BB Enzymes taking effect as her body shrunk and before long Aoi Kurosaki once again in human form was on the ground, shuddering a bit from the large dose of BB Enzyme.
Even with her seemingly neutralized, the soldiers coming out of the jeep had their weapons trained on her in case she tried anything, while Asuka was using a radio to keep the HA up to date on the situation. At the same time Jun got out of the jeep as well, and ran towards Azure.
"Azure! Are you alright?!" she gasped.
"I'm okay," Azure said, before wincing a bit. "Though the HA REALLY needs to work on their weapon design," he said, massaging his arm a bit, still feeling the recoil.
Jun sighed in relief at that. When Asuka told her to get ready to potentially fight literally hours after they'd last talked, she was quite surprised. When it was explained that Kurosaki was with Azure…she felt a great deal of fear at that…which gained a mix of confusion and indignation when Asuka revealed along the way that she'd already anticipated the possibility that Kurosaki might come after Azure and thus had given him some equipment. When she'd confronted Asuka on why she wasn't informed…Asuka admitted that she'd purposely not told Jun, as she knew Jun would worry if she knew, and thus Asuka would rather not cause Jun distress over a 'maybe'...something she couldn't quite fault her for, even if she wasn't happy that that 'maybe' turned out to be a valid concern.
"So…what happens now?" Azure asked, looking at Kurosaki with a frown, the woman having stopped shaking, using her arms to try and cover herself up even if she was still on the ground.
Jun looked at her with a frown. She honestly wasn't sure what to say to that. Kurosaki had been killing people, possibly even her stepfather, and seemed to want to target Azure next. And yet…she didn't want to just write her off as one of the Devil Beasts that had to be killed. Not when she still could be reasoned with. With that in mind… "Let me talk to her," Jun said.
"Are you sure?" Asuka frowned. "She's not exactly sound of mind."
"Maybe…but she isn't completely a Beast, is she?" Jun asked.
"...I can't say for sure, but considering she's managed to maintain a normal life this long…I suppose that's accurate…" Asuka frowned…before sighing and signaling for the men to lower their weapons, albeit in a position that they could immediately raise them to shoot if needed.
Smiling gratefully at Asuka, Jun stepped forward and went towards Kurosaki. "So it was you, Kurosaki…" Jun frowned, standing at a safe distance. She may want to talk to her, but she wasn't about to put herself in a bad position.
"J-Jun…" Kurosaki groaned, the effects of the BB Enzyme still in effect. "Why are you here…?" she groaned.
"To stop you before it's too late," Jun said with a frown. "We know you did it Kurosaki, those girls from the club. I won't ask why you felt the need to do it, but I'm saying it now. It's not too late. You can still stop."
"I…" Kurosaki started, before her eyes widened and gasped, as the mouth on her torso returned.
"What are you doing?! This is a perfect chance!" the mouth roared. "You want her don't you? You want to eat her up and have her all to yourself!" the mouth laughed.
"Shut up! That's not what I want!" Kurosaki shouted in distress.
"But it's the truth! After all I'm the you born out of the depths of your heart! The part of you that can do what you're too weak to do! If it weren't for me you'd still be your stepfather's toy!" the mouth laughed.
"Stop! I don't want her to know!" Kurosaki panicked.
"Yes you do! You want her to know everything!" the mouth laughed, before explaining in excruciating detail amidst Kurosaki's frantic protest of the truth behind her stepfather's death, how that man raped her since she was young, making her life a living hell, and how even her own mother started to see her as competition rather than her own daughter, till eventually this thing, her Beast, was born from the pain, the humiliation, and the sadness she was forced to endure for much of her life. All the while Kurosaki was in tears as she shouted for the mouth to stop, but it seemed to take delight in her pain and distress.
The whole time everyone listening was stunned silent, Jun's hand going to her mouth in horror, while a few tears of sadness and sympathy for Kurosaki leaked out of her eyes. Azure looked at Kurosaki with pity, feeling bad for her. Sure she'd just tried to kill him, but with a life THAT messed up…it's no wonder she seemed to have animosity towards men. Asuka tried to remain stoic, but she was honestly feeling sick to her stomach at hearing the level of depravity that Kurosaki had to endure…and from the looks of it, she noticed a few of the soldiers looking like they wanted nothing more than to run to the nearest bush and probably empty their stomachs in disgust.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Kurosaki shouted in tears at having her painful past so carelessly revealed.
"I can't take it anymore! I want to eat her! I HAVE to eat her!" the mouth roared, and Kurosaki convulged violently as her body was forced to begin transforming, at a rate faster than the BB Enzyme should have allowed.
"Its forcing its way past the effects?!" Asuka gasped. "Open fire!" she shouted.
The soldiers quickly regained their wits and opened fire, Azure even trying to help by shooting as well, everyone shooting from a position that let them avoid Jun.
"Kurosaki! You have to stop your Beast! I understand your life…painful can't even begin to describe it! But you're still human where it counts! You can't lose to your Beast!" Jun tried to reason with the rapidly transforming Devil Beast.
"Jun…!" Kurosaki gasped. "Stop it! Don't eat Jun!" she shouted, the Devil Beast seemingly starting to slow its movements.
"Just stay quiet and let me do everything!" the mouth roared, releasing tentacles that moved quickly and wrapped around Jun.
"Jun!" Azure gasped and fired, losing his footing in the process, even if the shot still hit and managed to stop one of the tentacles, but the others were still there and managed to pull Jun towards the Devil Beast.
Seeing that, the Soldiers were ready to fire again, but Asuka stopped them. "Wait, you'll risk hitting Lady as well! If that happens, this will only go from bad to worse!" she growled. She understood Jun didn't want this…but at this rate… "I don't think there's any other choice anymore! Do what you must, Lady!"
"Asuka…" Jun frowned, trying to fight against the tentacles even as they were pulling her towards the mouth. However, as that was happening, she saw that Kurosaki seemed to be…fighting against the Beast.
"Stop it! STOP IT!" Kurosaki shouted, fighting to control the body that was being made to move against her will, feeling the other her pushing back the whole way, right before she felt it push…very hard.
Everyone stopped short as before everyone's eyes, the part that had her head slightly visible started to extend out, revealing Kurosaki, slowly but surely revealing her human body, seemingly trying to escape her Beast body.
"That's not normal is it?" Azure couldn't help but ask, his mind trying to process what he was seeing.
"That…that shouldn't be possible…but somehow the two personalities are rejecting each other, and now it's reflecting in a very physical way!" Asuka said, right as Kurosaki was seemingly ejected from the body, landing on the ground and falling unconscious, though Asuka noted she seemed notably smaller than before, but didn't think too much about it. What WAS important though… "This is your chance, Lady! I don't know how this is possible, but that body should be only the Beast born from Kurosaki!"
"In other words, all the pain and suffering she's had to endure," Jun said in realization…before she glared at it. "In that case…there's no reason to hold back!" she said, right as she stopped struggling, the Beast pulling her towards it, but as it did, she started transforming mid way, allowing Devilman Lady to impact into the Beast, knocking both back into the water.
"Jun!" Azure gasped. "She's going to be okay, right?!" he asked in worry, running towards the water.
Asuka opened her mouth to say yes…but stopped. "...we can only hope so. I believe in her. She will win," Asuka said.
Azure frowned, but nodded. "Alright. Then I'll believe in her too. She's not going to lose to something like that," he said with a nod.
In the waters, Lady growled as she wrestled with the Devil Beast. Admittedly now that they were in the water, she was at a disadvantage, especially seeing as she couldn't breathe, but her time as a swimmer meant that she was quick to take in a breath before they ended up in the water, and she intended to make full use of her time.
The Devil Beast snarled and tried to bite her, but she managed to twist her body away from the jaws, and start to claw and tear at the head of the Beast, taking out some bits of flesh. However, the Beast countered by releasing its tentacles, and in the water she couldn't move fast enough to evade them, the tentacles wrapping around her arms and legs, pulling her towards its mouth which opened wide, intending to eat her whole.
Lady snarled, before thinking quickly and using her arms and legs, held the mouth open, even if she felt some of the teeth cut into her skin. Even so that stopped the Devil Beast from chomping down on her. The Beast unsurprisingly struggled, trying to bite down on her, but Lady held firm, even digging her claws into the roof of its mouth, causing it to thrash in response.
Out of the water, the team present, having secured the unconscious Kurosaki, watched in worry as the waters churned. A couple of them even had to hold back Azure who looked ready to jump in to help. Likewise Asuka frantically made use of her power to confirm Lady's condition, before the water suddenly rose up, and out came the Devil Beast with Lady still holding its mouth open. However, now that she could take a much needed breath of air, Lady growled and with a roar, pulled her arms forward, ripping the upper head of the Beast off, the creature letting out a death roar before falling back into the water, the water turning red with blood.
"Jun!" Azure gasped in alarm, breaking free from the soldiers and running to the water, right as the water bubbled a bit and an arm came out, he quickly grasped it and pulled. Of course, what came out wasn't Jun, but rather Devilman Lady, who coughed and sputtered, having apparently swallowed some water in the process. Despite himself, Azure felt himself lose his balance a bit in surprise at the sight of Lady, having never seen his girlfriend in this form before.
She was… ok, she was actually hot as hell, and while he wasn't an amazon chaser, the fact she was taller than him… "I think I just awoke something in me…" he muttered as he helped Lady get to the shore.
In Lady's case, she'd finished getting rid of the water she'd accidentally swallowed, the adrenaline from the fight wearing off, to which she saw that the person who'd helped her out of the water was Azure…and the first thing she felt was an urge to grab him and take him home with her…and probably do more than that, a feeling that Jun had to quickly squash, because they literally had only been on one date, and while she knew Azure was handsome and had quite a mem…no! Bad girl, think normal thoughts!
"Are you okay, Jun?" Azure asked worriedly…even if he couldn't quite help himself from looking her over a bit more.
Lady forced herself to calm down…and ended up reverting in the process, giving him a nice eyeful of her naked form once again, making him blush a bit. "I-I'm alright," Jun reassured, still feeling a bit strange from what just happened…and idly noticed her nipples were still hard from arousal. Fortunately Asuka brought a sheet that let Jun cover herself up with, to which she accepted it gratefully.
"Glad to hear that," Azure sighed. "I was really worried when you fell into the water there…" he admitted, hugging her a bit.
Jun smiled a little, enjoying the hug…even if a part of her felt a tinge of guilt, remembering Kurosaki had targeted him…probably because of his relationship to her. Speaking of which… "How is Kurosaki?" she asked.
"She seems to be stable. I can't vouch for her mental state, but it seems her Beast Factor has become dormant now that you killed her other half," Asuka said as Azure helped Jun stand up. "All we can do now is monitor her condition…"
"At least you managed to save her," Azure smiled.
"Yeah…at least I did…" Jun said, and for a moment, she felt a bit better as the HA forces began quickly clearing up the evidence, and securing the corpse while Kurosaki was taken away for medical help. As they watched, Azure who stood by her side lightly held her hand, and despite herself, she soon grasped it.