Chapter 11: Service
The shadow of a silhouette, generated by the nervous lights of the clubs and the placid yellow street lamps, stood out long on the bloodstained floor. It was still late at night, the sirens of the police cars had stopped screaming and a ghostly silence had risen, like a blanket, over the entire street, enveloping it.
The slow, cadenced tapping echoed into the large hall. It was the only audible noise in that deafening peace. The tail of the black trench coat swung, along with a long, neat red braid, without a single hair out of place.
Makima continued walking slow, solemn, in that devastated environment that had nothing in common with a place of entertainment, except for a vague memory. She lengthened her stride and stepped over some shriveled entrails with her moccasin, hitting the ground harder with her heel.
In front of her there was a gruesome spectacle: the floor was completely washed with dark blood; rubble occupied every corner of whatever little was now left of the hall; hundreds of lifeless bodies were lying on the floor, their faces distorted with pain and fear.
She was not very impressed.
She walked past some large red lacquered boulders, the neon of the same colour sizzling on part of the edges. She placed her fingers and dragged them over the smooth surface, as if to ascertain how much blood had really gone there; what was the limit between the red of the rubble and the red added. Her fingertips glided over it and the scarlet blood splatters with a sharp squeak; she was satisfied with the response.
She moved past that point and walked a few more metres towards the centre: the bloodiest place, where the battle had taken place, she guessed.
She lowered her gaze sternly.
Long, black hair created a frizzy carpet on the floor, on which laid the other white haired head, devoid of all light and vitality, which had rolled there. The two heads were side by side: the glassy eyes of the Love Devil were wide open, turned towards the ceiling; while those of the Deception Fiend were closed; her cheek was pressed against the floor and against the long, thick, heavy black threads that caressed her, almost gently.
Makima looked away and the muscles of her lips twitched into a faint smile.
She walked past them too, reaching the centre of what seemed to have been a real explosion of blood and flesh. She bent down and rummaged through those entrails, searching meticulously for several minutes. It was dark in there: the room was dimly lit only by the few eccentric LEDs still working - the only survivors of that massacre - and by a few timid street lamps far outside.
Under her fingers she felt a small object with a rough surface and an irregular shape. She extracted it and brought it before her inquiring eyes.
The blood dripped slowly from the lead. She smiled more this time.
Excellent - she thought.
But that wasn't her primary goal, it wasn't what she really wanted.
She turned sharply and the braid parted from her back, barely cracking the air with a slight rustle, as if it were a small whip.
The heels of her moccasins continued to impact hard on the floor, almost intoning a monotonous, grandiose requiem. She walked over, lifted her chin slightly, looking down on yet another gruesome spectacle of the night.
Two dismembered bodies lay at his feet, not resting placidly, but not the ones that had piqued his interest.
He crouched down again, next to Shion's battered torso.
Fascinating.
The vision this time aroused a mild surprise within her.
She turned the tortured body in her arms so that the girl's face was facing hers. The skin was very pale and drained; the chin and neck were marked with dried blood, which had now turned dark; the lips were purpled and between them still lay the lollipop, about to slip off and fall, as well, to the ground.
Makima sat back on her heels, part of her trench coat scattered on the dusty floor, turning grey from the dust and soaking up the little bit of bright vermilion that had not dried. She then laid Shion's head on her lap. From her deep pocket she took a penknife.
She stung the phalanx of her index finger and applied gentle pressure with her thumb. A drop of warm blood came out of the small cut, flowing over the finger, colliding with the cold skin, marking the fingerprints. She placed her fingertip on Shion's dark, swollen lips and dragged it slowly over her lower lip, moving it barely and smearing it, as if she had covered it with a faint tint of lipstick. She saw the girl's eyelids move slightly.
"My dogs really did a good job this time... or maybe, I should thank you directly for showing up?" Makima told her, welcoming Shion's awakening with a warm, motherly smile on her lips but also with a glacial, victorious look, like that of a conqueror.
Shion slowly opened her dark eyes. It took her a moment to bring her thoughts into focus and return to consciousness, but when she did, her face was covered with despair.
"M-Mihon?"
The girl's eyes moved frantically around the room, searching for her sister. Makima began to gently stroke her blonde hair.
" 'It took long enough to find you again, you'd been hiding well all this time... it is indeed true that love makes humans do crazy things, Whip. Or would you prefer I call you just Shion, since we know each other better now?"
She pinned a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
"No, no... you took her away from me too!"
Shion's eyes filled with tears, becoming aqueous. They started to flow violently down her cheeks, in large, heavy drops.
"Oh, you're right..." Makima brought a hand to her chin and pondered for a few seconds. She felt the hybrid's eyes full of despair and contempt upon her.
"But you see... Mihon was just an accident along the way, I didn't intend for it to turn out that way. Of course, you teamed up with Love, so it's your fault that she was dragged into this."
Shion quivered on Makima's legs, trembling. If she could maybe she would have tried to hit her, at least that's how Makima guessed. It seemed like a plausible reaction from a human to her.
"You're a bitch... I hate you, Makima, I HATE YOU! You took everything away from me... everyone!"
"You don't have to worry about that, though... now you'll be able to go back with your friend Sword, and you won't remember Mihon... ah, wait... you'll forget about him too, that's right. What a tragic story."
"'S-stop it..."
Painful, irregular, high-pitched sobs burst against his ears. It was annoying.
She placed a hand on Shion's wet cheek, barely stroking it, gathering her tears and wiping her face.
"Shion," Makima spoke her name softly but firmly, staring her straight in the eyes, "say you will offer me all of you."
The hybrid was shocked, her eyes were wide. She seemed on the verge of shouting new insults at her, but she did not.
"..."
She calmed down, her gaze was blank, her face expressionless.
"I offer you all of me, Makima."
Makima reached a hand towards her lips and gently removed the lollipop from her mouth. She brought it between her lips, sucked it noisily and smiled contentedly.
"You have five minutes..."
Angel stepped through the metal door, entering the antiseptic room. It was dawn, the sun was rising over the horizon, brightening the sky. Warm, white and yellow rays came in through the window, filtered through the curtain; they placidly illuminated the whole room, casting light shadows on the walls and on the light-coloured furniture. The quiet 'beep-beep' of the vital functions monitor, together with the chatter of the chirping birds, pawing over the balcony railing, added an extra layer of peace within the room. A feeling, however, that seemed completely foreign to him, clinging onto him and annoying him.
Angel walked a few more steps, arriving near the bed. He placed a small plate full of apple slices on the table next to it. He had cut off part of the red, shiny peels to give them the shape of long ears. There were eight bunnies. Then he sat composedly on the side of the bed at the tip, his arms limp and palms resting on his knees, trying to take up as little space on the mattress as possible.
Plick
He barely turned and looked up from where that sound had come from. It was the shy, watery sound of blood, dripping slowly into the transfusion bag, that had caught his attention. It was strange, he found himself thinking.
How, maybe, blood could be the basic component binding all the lives that set foot on that earth. How all of them, despite being so different, seemed united by something much deeper and more primal, in the same cycle of suffering.
Losing blood and giving blood.
Watching those scarlet drops distil and go straight to Aki's arm and then to his veins didn't seem to be so different from when he drank it.
The use was the same in the end, wasn't it?
It was so strange, how men and devils seemed so similar in that respect, how dependent they were on it. They were nothing but bodies, made of flesh and especially of pulsating blood. So vigorous, able to regenerate or heal and get back on their feet every time, and yet so fragile.
One blow, one misfortune could end it all. Nothing more was needed.
The blood dissipating in the darkness of the shabby nightclub, pouring cruelly, came back powerfully, painfully vivid in his mind and under his eyelids. The anguish was still sharp, as if he was experiencing it all again in that moment; being able to realise more and more, with each passing second, how futile were all his attempts to press, to force that blood to stay in place. It seemed intangible, it seemed to be purposely disobeying him, slipping away from his fingers, dripping and scattering, as if out of spite, taking away Aki as well.
He closed his trembling eyelids.
It had been impossible to stop that process, but they were only memories. They were over by now. Yet they still hurt, clawing at his chest, squeezing his throat and mind.
He took a couple of deeper breaths to calm himself and shifted his gaze to Aki on the bed. He was not in good condition. Tight bandages wrapped around his entire torso, they were a little thicker in the collarbone area. His neck was immobilised by an orthopaedic collar. Deep blue dark circles, almost tending to purple, furrowed his cheeks, just below his slackened eyelids. He didn't like them at all, they were dark, cloudy, not the right connotation for that colour. Despite this, his skin seemed to be slowly regaining its colour. At least, it was not as pale as he remembered it, from the last time he had seen it. Nor was he trembling with pain; on the contrary, Aki was resting peacefully. Angel barely smiled, relieved. His eyes, however, were heavy from those confused thoughts that were racing through his mind.
He reached out towards Aki's hand and took it between his fingers. He squeezed it gently, being careful not to bother. As if he was afraid that, with a gesture that was too abrupt, he might break him forever. He was used to having to be careful not to touch everything around him. Knowing that with Aki there were no repercussions sometimes scared him. Maybe he would never get used to that kind of freedom.
He brought Aki's hand close to his face, resting it gently on his cheek. It was warm and soft again; it was how he remembered it when Aki slowly, affectionately stroked his face and body, brushing them gently with his fingers and fingertips, so lightly that it almost tickled. His lips barely trembled at that touch, the warm smile on them broke.
He gently placed Aki's arm back on the mattress and then lay down beside him, resting his head on his bandaged chest, the same way he snuggled when they were together, just the two of them; except that this time Aki's hand wasn't running through his hair, smoothing it slowly and carefully.
He only felt his chest, under his cheek, rise and fall steadily, with calm, full breaths. They soothed him. And then the firm heartbeats, echoing in his ribcage. Angel had never been so happy to hear a sound. He paused again, concentrated, to listen to them better, to be sure he had heard correctly.
Tum tum.
A trembling smile expanded again on Angel's face.
Aki was still alive.
Again, for the second time in a few days, he felt tears making their way to his eyes, pooling in the corners and then sliding away, lonely, onto his cheeks and nose.
Did that sudden warmth in his chest mean he was happy? He didn't know. He didn't even know if he actually wanted to understand it, at that moment all he needed was knowing that Aki was fine.
That night, after the battle, he had really feared for the worst, and the conviction that he had lost him for real had taken hold in his mind. A part inside Angel had died at that moment and he didn't believe that death could hurt so much. He had felt lost. Again, his life had lost all meaning.
It had been all too real, for long, endless hours that had turned into days, without anyone informing him of anything.
A small sob escaped his lips. He closed his eyes and decided to let himself be lulled by those breaths for the few minutes he had left there.
He abandoned himself to his imagination; how they would return to their routine. He almost felt sorry for himself to have to admit it, but he would have preferred to slave away every day for the opportunity to be together again and to experience their daily routine, he sometimes took almost for granted, than a single second longer of that pain.
Everything. He wanted it all back as soon as possible. He wanted it so much that he almost could feel the gentle hand running through his hair and fingers entwining his locks.
That story had severely strained his psyche.
He barely opened his eyelids at that comfortable sensation, sure that he was going to face at the same image as before, and his mind was making everything up, that it was a complete illusion of his own.
His eyes met Aki's tired blue ones. Nevertheless, they stared at him with affection.
Angel snapped from his position, rising from Aki's chest and leaning his hands on the mattress to hold himself up. Aki's hand slid from his head to his cheek.
"How are you?" they asked each other in unison.
Angel tightened his lips, biting his lip.
He had missed his voice, too.
"I feel awful." Aki's reply was a pained sigh.
"Yeah, you look pretty bad."
He was fine, though.
"You?"
"The usual."
"I don't think so."
With his thumb Aki wiped the furrow that the tear had left on Angel's cheek.
"You were dying... you idiot."
He had not been able to keep the insult to himself, although it had escaped his lips with more tenderness than resentment. He was in a whirlwind of different emotions he could no longer even distinguish, so different from each other. Yet at that moment, he could almost say he felt alive.
Aki moved his hand away from his cheek a little, Angel saw him part his lips and frown, ready to reply, but he didn't let him. Instead, he moved closer to him and placed a chaste kiss, making whatever words he had in mind die between those lips. Aki returned the kiss, resting a hand behind the angel's head, not allowing him to move. Their lips continued to collide, as if in a struggle, tongues entwining and breaths mingling. Aki no longer tasted of smoke or even coffee. Angel had missed every spark, every little jolt.
He broke away from Aki to catch his breath, reluctantly. He stretched out an arm and rested his hand on the headboard, behind Aki's head, reducing his space. He moved closer to his face, lips almost touching again, and looked him seriously in the eyes.
"Don't do something like that again, don't bet your life like that... please..."
He wished it sounded more like a request, but he was aware that it was a plea, given the way his voice cracked.
Aki slightly widened his eyes, they were covered with guilt.
"I... I can't..." he hesitated.
Angel only replied with a sad grimace. He already knew, yet those words perhaps hurt him more than anything else.
"Time's up, devil."
An annoyed voice interrupted them and they both whitened, hearing it, and snapped; Angel pulled away and recomposed himself.
Commander Kishibe strode into the room, his expression as stiff as ever. He brought the flask to his mouth and took a sip, then shifted his stern, judgmental gaze to Angel for a couple of long seconds.
"They don't pay me enough to be a nanny as well... Ah, Hayakawa, you're awake," Commander Kishibe said tiredly. "Makima said to stop by her office as soon as you've recovered, I don't know what she wants, but it sounds urgent."
Aki nodded softly at those words.
"You come with me, we need to get back to HQ."
"Yes..." Angel cast one last look full of unspoken words at Aki and stood up, following the veteran. They exited the room.
A forced thanks came out of Angel's mouth, Kishibe had sneaked him into the hospital that morning. He didn't like being in debt to anyone, especially humans, and especially those who looked down on him like the members of Public Security.
"Don't let it go to your head, I didn't do it for you."
"The other way around would have given me the creeps. I don't like you humans."
"You're a funny devil you... the same goes for me."
Nothing more needed to be said, and they said nothing more to each other for the entire journey back to HQ. It was much better that way, Angel thought; a tacit agreement of spite and an implied respect.
Makima's office was as neat and tidy as ever. The books on the shelves were meticulously arranged, following a precise colour and size scheme. The finely carved, rectangular paperweight was in its place above a thin ream of stacked papers placed in a corner, precisely away from either edge of the table. She sat composed in the armchair, her arms resting gently on the desk. The midday sun clashed violently against the chair, irradiating the whole room and everything in it, except the woman.
"Hayakawa, you did a really good job. You stopped those devils and then..." he opened the desk drawer and pulled a small, dark, uneven bullet out of it. He placed it on the desk, before their eyes. "We also recovered another fragment of the Gun Devil and it was thanks to you."
"I just did what had to be done, it's my duty to kill devils. Besides, the merits are not only mine..."
He should have done better, he should have saved all those people. They had died because of him, because he had failed to intercept the enemies earlier. He felt bloody guilty, he should have done more, much more. The bandage around his neck, which still hadn't fully healed, was tightening his throat, bothering him. It seemed to be taking its toll, along with those thoughts, to make him run out of air.
"I am aware of that, in fact, I already talked to Denji and Power a few days ago. You were in charge of this case, though."
"Not just the three of us."
"You all did a great job as a team... I'm glad you're all doing well especially you, Hayakawa. You were up against some really fearsome opponents."
"I... thank you."
"Take as much time off as you need to recover, indeed forgive me for calling you here so soon but, before you go, I need to talk to you about another matter."
"Please, tell me."
"Alone."
He felt Angel's gaze on him. He barely turned his head and their eyes met. His expression was cryptic; he looked worried and irritated at the same time. He was aware Angel did not like Makima. At all. He did not understand why he was so hostile toward the woman, however, Aki imperceptibly signaled to him he could calm down. Angel sighed softly and returned to look at Makima with rivalry before taking his leave. He walked slowly to the back of the room with a heavy step, closing the heavy door behind him.
"Miss Makima, I also need to talk to you."
"Go ahead, you start."
"You see, as I was saying, Angel was also important to this investigation. I would say crucial, both during the investigation and during the battle, it's also thanks to him that all four of us came back alive. He has shown cooperation with us for our cause and is working a lot more, so, I was wondering if it was possible to do something for him. At least allow him to live in a better place and conditions than the Public Security cells."
Slight surprise appeared on Makima's face.
"I certainly did not expect such a request, much less from you, Hayakawa. This is not my decisions, you know that; I should request to the higher ranks, they are the ones who make all the decisions about the devils in the Department. They might accept your proposal, but as your superior, I can't accept it and be your intermediary."
Aki blinked confusedly.
"Excuse my indiscretion but-why?"
"I don't see the same benevolence in the Angel Devil as you do and besides...your request is not impartial, you are too involved in the situation."
"I don't understand ... what do you mean ..."
Instinctively he brought a hand to his wrist and squeezed it.
"You know the rules all Public Safety's Devil Hunters must abide by?"
"Sure, to get into the department you have to pass a code test and-"
"But apparently rule number 42 is not very clear to you."
"Rule ... 42?"
He nervously swallowed the excess saliva.
"Yes. 'It is forbidden for Devil Hunters to make pacts with the Ministry's devils without prior authorization', does it sound familiar?"
Aki held his breath. Was this what she wanted to talk to him about? He hadn't expected that. He was very familiar with Rule 42 though...
Who... who had told Makima?
There had been an unspoken pact between him and Angel not to spread the news around; it was obvious that neither of them wanted to become the new office gossip, and he had a certain devil-hater reputation to maintain.
In the previous week, he happened to be telling Denji and Power what had happened. He had not explained too much in detail at all, but they knew about the contract and he had begged them not to tell anyone.
That it had been one of the two of them? Maybe Denji?
There was no point in denying it at that point.
"Yes, Miss Makima, I apologize, I shouldn't have done it... if you want I can write a report now."
Makima opened her golden eyes, staring at him intensely, with an indecipherable expression.
"There's no need, don't worry... That rule is to prevent alliances and having a mole in Public Security but yours is not a very dangerous contract from that point of view. It's just your time..."
It had not been Denji then.
How did she know that?
He hadn't told anyone about that.
Aki's heart began to hammer more powerfully against his side. How was that possible?
"Tell me, why did you join Public Security?"
"To kill the Gun Devil, Miss Makima, you already know. If you think my goal has changed, I can assure you it hasn't!" he answered in a rush, panicked.
"I know, Aki, I know. You are aware this is a difficult battle, aren't you?"
"Of course..."
"You have to imagine it as a war, and we need everyone to be at their full potential. And, above all, in war nothing can be left to chance, everything must be planned in detail. I know very well that you want to be on the front line against the Gun Devil, but this... this thing... is too passional, too unpredictable. I never imagined that you, of all people, would go and ask for such a deal from a devil. There can't be random factors like this one in war, we can't have weak points. Do you understand what I mean?"
Aki blinked confusedly, he quickly thought back to everything Makima had said. What was going on?
How did he know that it was him who begged Angel for the deal?
He felt as if he was suffocating, the air was running out of his lungs.
Makima's chair screeched on the floor and she stood up. She walked around the desk. Her hand traveled over the dark wood of the table, caressing it, and her very yellow eyes followed that movement.
"Love is the worst weakness, Aki, especially a love like this."
She arrived in front of him. She sat on the edge of the desk, crossed her arms under her chest, and looked up into his eyes. Their faces were inches apart. Aki stared at her, the spirals in her eyes almost seemed to move, hypnotizing him. They looked as if they were about to come out of those eyes and envelop him.
"Don't you think it's better for your cause to have a love that you can only follow from a distance but is safe? You know it's there and you can't reach it, you long for it but not being able to have it is still okay. In fact that's the whole point. Because just the fact that you can admire it from afar is enough, it allows you to move on and focus on the important things. Isn't that better for you, Aki?"
Makima grabbed his tie bringing his falce close to hers slowly, massaged the fabric between her fingertips and smiled sweetly at him.
"Isn't total loyalty the best choice?"
His heart beat faster and faster, he felt his cheeks on fire. Those scarlet spirals engulfed him.
He felt as if he had been transported to another dimension, completely different from Makima's perfect office. As if there was nothing left around him, just a boundless wasteland.
'Ahah that's funny, Hayakawa Aki, of course with you there's never a boring time. I want to see with my own eyes what you're going to do' the Future Devil was never silent when he had to.
"Aki" was a distant, persuasive chant. The image of Makima grew larger and larger in his mind, almost totalizing his thoughts, pushing him against the ground. He tried to resist, but her strength was too much. He fell to his knees under the force of the woman's hands, he tried to keep himself up, by pushing himself with his palms. Saliva squirted from his teeth from the effort, but every attempt to resist was futile. Makima pushed him completely against the ground, causing him to lower his head before her, bent over as if in a prayer position. Makima... right, because he kept forgetting her.
"Aki, choose me and keep doing what I tell you, as you have been doing so far."
Her voice was persuasive; it was no longer a chant. It was in his ears, in his brain, and in his thoughts.
"Say my name, Aki."
"Say Makima."
"..."
His lips trembled and moved on their own.
"Ma..."
The syllable left his mouth of its own free will.
He felt as if he was on the verge of being completely overwhelmed by her.
'Ahah I expected something different from you, but apparently you humans are weak' he heard the Future Devil's comment in the distance, but it failed to understand what he was referring to.
In his head there was Makima.
Just Makima.
Makima.
The yellow eyes.
The braid.
The hair...
Red.
...
The red hair.
Loose and discombobulated, scattered haphazardly on the white lining of a pillow. The red eyes visibly watching him, longing for him. The pale skin, the warm, thin body snuggled against his in a perfect fit. The soft wings he had caressed, the brilliant halo that lit up his face and those scattered freckles on his cheeks, which he had noticed, by accident, one day. The sweet, adoring words that left their lips soon after they met.
No.
'Just Makima' was not his thought.
Those were not his feelings.
Those were not her sensations.
Makima was not the one he hugged in the afternoon; Makima was not the one to whom he had promised to stay alongside.
She was not the one with whom he had shared everything and to whom he had decided to give everything.
The illusion broke, accompanied by a deep laugh from the Future Devil. His boss's office returned in front of him, and her image also reassembled before his eyes. She was still sitting on the edge of the desk, her golden, wide-open eyes scrutinized him, her spirals swirled impetuously, and her lips were stretched into an evil grin, of one who was aware that she had already won.
Aki grabbed the woman's hand and carefully moved it away from his tie, freeing it from the grip of his manicured fingers. He moved his upper body away from Makima and then stepped back.
It was absolutely terrifying. His heart was still pounding in his chest, but this time with fear.
"I... have already made my decision, Miss Makima. I don't want to change my choice," however, he announced firmly.
The expression on the woman's face broke. She blinked and her face returned to its normal, everyday, friendly, unreadable self. She rose slowly from the desk. She weighted each step, slowly, until she reached in front of the window. She turned her back to him. Her figure was again completely enveloped by the strong beams of the sun, creating a luminous aura around her but making her body appear in darkness.
"I see...forget what just happened, I was rambling."
Aki felt a loud confusion growing in her head.
What was she saying?
His vision blurred, blurred.
Then, after a few moments, everything cleared up.
...
Why was he there?
...
Right, they were talking about the contract.
"You don't need a report, Hayakawa, the important thing is that I know. I'll take care of everything else myself... You can go."
Aki gave a little bow with his head and headed out of the office.
Author's Note: This is the second to last chapter, it has been a long journey, I'd love to hear your thoughts about this fic. I hope you enjoyed the chapter :3