"Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence." ~Jeremiah 22:17 NKJV - ~

"That woman came in today. She was asking about you," Kenji informed his brother upon returning to their apartment after work.

Ichiro had been sleeping all day. His wounds were gone. He no longer bore the tell tale marks of scratches and bruises the woman had left behind when fighting for her life. He licked his lips. Her struggle had made the taste of her so much sweeter. She had been a suitable substitute to tide him over until he attained his true heart's desire. He still yearned for the woman who had captured his attention as soon as she opened the door to the coffee shop.

"Do you think she knows what we are?" Ichiro asked his brother.

"No. I'm sure she has no idea," Kenji replied, gulping audibly. "She has a boyfriend. I saw him today."

"Oh?" Ichiro's eyes illuminated, twin green orbs glowing softly in the darkened room.

"I'm not sure what he is. He may be like us. I could smell the Devil inside of him. It smelled like a wet dog."

"Wet dog?" Ichiro scoffed. "Are you sure you weren't just smelling his pets?"

"Don't make fun of me. You know I can sense these things."

Kenji shrank back into the shadows gathered in the corner of the bedroom when his brother flipped on the lamp sitting on the bedside table.

"I suppose I can trust your senses," his brother murmured. "You have saved us a few times with that keen nose of yours."

"I always wished I had your ability to hypnotize the women," Kenji sighed sadly.

"There's no need to be jealous little brother," Ichiro said, issuing a low, derisive chuckle. "We're twins after all, two sides of the same coin if you will. Inextricably entwined since before our birth. I'm of the sea and you of the land but we're still part of each other."

Ichiro threw back the covers to get out of the bed. He slowly advanced toward his cowardly brother hidden in the dark corner. He reached out to seize him by the collar of his white dress shirt.

Kenji hated working at the shop but he had no choice while his brother recovered. He preferred to lurk around in the dark, stalking women while hidden under the cover of night and attacking them while they slept so they would wake up and think the encounter was only a vivid dream.

"You've always been the weaker between us. You can't even bring yourself to kill to get the blood you need to survive. I have to do it for you."

"You went beyond survival, Triton," he accused, using Ichiro's real name. "Now you're killing for pleasure to fulfill your own out of control appetites."

"I'm a Devil. It's what I do. You should try it sometime." He sneered at his brother without trying to hide his repulsion.

"You've become obsessed with that woman. It's making you stupid and you're going to get us caught," Kenji growled back in a burst of anger driven courage. He had grown to like his life, experiencing things through the body of this human. "Stop this now. It's time to move. We can never stay in one place long, brother. "

"Not until I have her," his brother returned, shoving him away lightly when he released him.

"Why do you want that woman so badly?"

"I want to steal her and devour her. Knowing she belongs to someone else, someone like us, makes me want her so much more."

"But he's not like us. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Why couldn't you just have been patient and waited for her? Why did you have to kill that other woman? The Devil Hunters have caught on and made the connection between all of your victims. Forget about Mari. Let's leave...now!" pleaded Kenji, going to the closet to retrieve his suitcase.

"Mari?"

"That's her name. I asked today."

"Well, well, you are full of surprises little brother. I guess curiosity got the best of you as well."

"I wanted to find out for you."

"Awww," Ichiro cooed, laying his arm over his brother's shoulders. "You're so devoted to your big brother."

"Would you stop with that? You're only a few minutes older than me! Please, we need to go. We should leave and find two new bodies so they won't find us."

"No. Not yet. I want her. Did you follow her to find out where she lives like I told you to?"

"Yeah. I did. Her boyfriend lives next door."

Ichiro threw back his head and laughed.

"What are you laughing at? That's not funny at all."

"Oh, I do like a challenge. I'll steal her right out from under his nose."

Kenji bit his lip to keep from protesting. It wouldn't do any good anyway.

We're going to die.

~\'/~

Mari awakened out of a deep sleep. Although her entire body trembled, she could not willingly move her arms or legs. She did not think she had been having a nightmare, but she was afraid; terrified to her core in fact and frozen with the lingering fear. But why?

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something move. Her eye slid further to the corner attempting to see more out of the periphery because she could not turn her head. The shadow moved again, approaching the bed. It was the silhouette of a man.

Maybe Denji had returned. They had all fallen asleep in the living room watching the movie. When they woke up around midnight, Denji had picked up Nayuta and taken her to their apartment. When he did not come back, Mari went to bed by herself.

Two green circles of light appeared in the darkness. The flcikered on and off. No. the man was blinking. It wasn't Denji.

No. No, no, no!, her inner voice screamed because her vocal chords would not cooperate and allow her to speak the words aloud.

"Hello, Mari," Ichiro greeted her.

She felt the covers being drawn back from her body. When he leaned down close to her, his arms sliding under her shoulders and knees, she could smell the scent of coffee on him as if it exuded from his pores. She could feel her body being lifted then pulled against his. Her head lolled to the side, her cheek laying against his chest. Although she wanted to scream, to slap him, she could not even issue a whimper or twitch her pinkie.

"My brother has an interesting ability to paralyze a woman during sleep," he said as if to explain her inability to move. "I knew you would resist, and I just can't risk getting caught by your Devil Hunter boyfriend."

Flipping her body over his shoulder, her arms hanging uselessly down his back and her legs dangling down his torse, he carried her toward the glass sliding door which was already open. Apparently he had slipped in through here but kept the curtain closed so the room would remain dark. He slid back the curtain, allowing the dim gray light of the approaching dawn to chase away the darkness. Pretty gutsy move to kidnap her so close to sunrise.

The early morning breeze chilled her body causing goosebumps to rise over every bit of exposed skin. That was quite of bit of skin since she had worn nothing but a short white silk chemise to bed in anticipation of Denji's return.

Ichiro walked out onto the balcony. Taking a moment to enjoy the view, he hooked one arm over Mari's waist to hold her securely onto his shoulder. He grasped the top round iron bar of the handrail in preparation to heft his body over the somewhat flimsy metal banister.

"Don't worry, my darling. I'm going to take really good care of you...right up until your very end."

~\'/~

"Mari? Mari!" Denji called, entering her eerily quiet apartment.

He wondered if she was angry with him and giving him the silent treatment because he did not come back. He had accidentally fallen asleep beside Nayuta when tucking her into bed. Maybe Mari was sleeping late for a change. He knocked on her bedroom door.

"Wake up sleepy head. You can't be late for your second day of school either," he said, grasping the doorknob and twisting it.

The door gave a sinister creak while it swung open to reveal an empty bed. The curtain was pulled back and the glass sliding door stood wide open. There was only one explanation for her absence.

"I'm going to kill that bastard."

Denji did not have to speculate what had happened to her. He knew that Ichiro guy had taken her. He had to find her and fast. But first he had to pretend nothing was wrong and get Nayuta to school. He did not want to alarm her in any way.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he called Yoshida.

"That motherfucker made his move early this morning before the ass crack of dawn," Denji said, closing the door and pulling the curtain.

"She's gone? Did he leave any clues?"

He walked out of her bedroom. There were no signs that guy came through here. The entry and exit point had definitely been the balcony. Damn, damn, damn. How could he let this happen?

"Not a damn one. He was careful. Very careful," Denji said, staring at the living room wall behind the couch. How could he not have heard anything? He was on the other side of the damn wall.

"Well, you were right," Yoshida grudgingly admitted. "There is no way to predict their next move."

"I have no idea where he took her. I can't believe the balls on that guy. I did not leave here until around midnight last night. I should have stayed. Or at least come back," he muttered, closing and locking her apartment door.

"I'll contact Kishibe. I'll find out everything I can about the other victims. Maybe we can figure out where he took her based on where the other women were taken from and where their bodies were found."

"I'm taking Nayuta to school. I'll stop by the coffee shop to see if I can find anything, or anyone, there."

"We should have been more suspicious when the shop was closed yesterday afternoon. They must have been hiding in there, watching us. But I swear I looked and couldn't see anything."

"We all screwed up, man," Denji sighed. "I was too sure they would wait, be more strategic when they took her. He must be an impatient asshole to make such a dangerous move. I was right about one thing, he's obsessed with her."

"And desperate. Which means he will make mistakes. That will work in our favor," Yoshida said. "We need to find Kenji, the last one she talked to. He seems to be the weaker of the two. He wasn't nearly as aggressive with Mari as his brother. I'll meet you at that coffee shop. Hopefully he'll fuck up and open up the place in an effort to act like nothing is wrong, keeping up their front."

"Business as usual," Denji muttered.

"Yep."

"Well, our business is killing these Fiends. So that's what we're going to do."

~\'/~

When Mari regained consciousness, she was lying on the floor, handcuffed. She wondered if she was the only person who could say this was the second time she woke up handcuffed in a strange place. Her head pounded as if she had a hangover.

Groaning, she rolled over, stretching her arms over her head and pulling her knees under her. For a moment she sat rolled up with her forehead pressed to the cold floor in an inadvertent yoga stretch called the child's pose. Her head didn't ache as much this way.

Where the hell am I?, she pondered.

Turning her head to the side, pressing her cheek to the floor, she looked around. It took a minute for her blurry vision to clear, but there wasn't much to see. There was a bare mattress on the floor next to her. In the corner stood a tall floor lamp with no lampshade. The bare bulb was the only illumination in the room. There were no windows.

The door was a few feet to her right when she turned her head in that direction. As she was staring at the tarnished brass knob, it turned.

"Shit," Mari muttered, closing her eyes when the door started to open.

"You're awake," the man said, sounding relieved. "I was afraid he had already killed you."

"Kenji, what..."

Two strong hands grasped her waist, pulling her up from the floor. When he set her on her feet, her knees immediately buckled and she fell into him, her face pressing into his white dress shirt that was a part of his work uniform. Was he seriously about to go to work as if nothing had happened?

The plastic buttons scraped against her cheek and scratched her eyelid as she began to slide downward. His arms went around her, dragging her to the mattress before gently lowering her down onto it.

Mari opened her eyes to see him standing over her. The pity in his eyes enraged her. Her top lip peeled back from her teeth in disgust.

"How dare you," she growled. "Don't pity me. It's partly your fault I'm here."

Kenji dropped down to his knees on the mattress beside her. Producing a bottle of water from behind his back, he twisted off the cap.

Mari really wanted that water but pushed him away when he leaned down to slide his arm under her shoulders. Sitting back up from her, he took hold of the section of the handcuffs between her wrists and pulled her to a sitting position. He placed the bottle between her hands and let go, standing to his feet.

"I have to leave. I need to go to the shop," Kenji declared, turning his back to her to walk away.

Mari greedily drank from the bottle. Her shaking hands caused some of the water to trickle out of the corners of her mouth and down her neck.

"He's going to be there, you know. My boyfriend. He's a Devil Hunter. And he's going to kill you," Mari warned him.

"I know," he sighed, placing his hand on the doorknob. "Ichiro told me I have to go. I have to follow our daily routine as if nothing is wrong."

"Do you always do what your brother tells you to do?" she asked, noticing the way his hand gripped the door knob until his knuckles turned white.

Yes, he always did what his brother told him to do. Between the two of them there was distinct power imbalance. There always had been. However, this time he was particularly submissive because he had allowed too much of this human's personality to take over.

"What are you?" she asked.

"I'm what they used to call an Incubus. A Devil who invades women's dreams," he said as if she did not know.

He left out the most notorious part of an Incubus' reasons for their stealthy nighttime visits. The Incubus' came to human women while they slept to have sex with them. Once upon a time, Mari believed they were human inventions fabricated to excuse the illicit affairs of married people or explain away sexual deviants.

An Incubus presently stood right in front of her. Very much alive and real. He turned to face her, staring at her with his glowing green eyes. If jealousy had a color, his eyes would be that color.

The Devil made me do it, had been a comical phrase used when someone was caught in the act of committing an evil deed. With the advent of Devils running rampant on the earth and taking control of human bodies, the Devil really did make them do it.

"Did you have sex with the vicims?" she asked, too curious for her own good.

"I did. But I didn't kill them. Ichiro killed them. I would have starved if not for him," he added as if to justify his brother's murdering five women then both of them eating parts of their bodies.

A demon with too much of a conscience to kill. She never would have thought that would be possible. Or maybe it wasn't the demon's conscience who was keeping him from murdering so indiscriminately like his brother.

"Is the human whose body you stole still alive?" she inquired, her voice raspy due to her dry throat. She nearly dropped the bottle of water trying to bring it to her lips.

Kenji crossed the room, dropping back down onto the mattress. He steadied the bottle between her hands allowing her to drink it without spilling.

"Yes. He is," he answered her finally, taking the empty bottle from her hands.

"Why?"

"You sure are full of questions," he murmured with a smile on his face. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket.

Mari held her breath when he began to wipe away the water from her chin, her neck, then her chest. Her eyes met his when he dabbed at the dampness at the top of her gown over her cleavage.

"I wanted to know what it was like to be human. I wanted to feel what you feel. Experience life as you do. I've always envied humans. I wanted to find out what to meant to be loved," he said, his hand falling away from her. "I wanted to feel something besides this deep gnawing hunger that I could never sate no matter how many humans I killed and devoured, mind..." He gently pressed the pad of his forefinger between her eyes. "...soul..." He lay his palm over her heart causing her to inhale sharply. He lifted his hand away from her and stood up, turning his back on her. "...and body."

Mari leaned her swimming head back against the wall, closing her eyes in hopes the room would stop spinning.

"Now I have a question for you," Kenji said, pausing at the door again. "How can you love a Devil?"

"It's not the Devil I love, but the human. If you had only - "

"If I had only been patient," he interrupted her. "If I had given it some time, I could have found a woman who would love me as a human. Would she have accepted the Devil inside too? Like you have? Is that what you were going to say?"

Of course he could virtually read her mind. He had been playing around in there for a while. His playground had been the minds of humans for a very long time. The Incubus was a demon who had been around for thousands of years. He had heard everything and seen everything. There truly is nothing under the sun to him. Humans never change; only time moves on but basic human nature remains the same.

"Yeah, that's what I was going to say." She opened her eyes to see he was standing at the door again to leave.

"Hmph," Kenji scoffed. "You're so naïve. And messed up."

She chuckled bitterly.

"You're right. I suppose that wouldn't have happened. The man I love was a human first. The Devil came later...to save him."

Kenji looked back at her. He wanted to ask questions but did not.

"What kind of demon is Ichiro?" she asked when he turned the knob.

"You know what they say about curiosity and the cat right?" he returned with a sinister amusement in his voice.

"I'm going to die anyway, aren't I? Humor me. Curiosity is one of my better human traits."

"I have to admit I do find your childlike curiosity about us Devils endearing," he confessed without turning to look at her. "He's a Triton. Good-bye, Mari."

A Triton: a male siren. Although most people did not distinguish the two, Sirens are the more vicious counterparts to merfolk. Known for their powers of seduction, the females are the ones who sang to draw sailors to their deaths, to be crushed on the rocks in the sea and then eaten. The lesser known and pretty much forgotten Tritons, omitted from both literature and art, were warriors and protectors but no less dangerous when attracting humans and luring them to their death.

"Well, that explains a lot."

~\'/~

"What's wrong? Where's Mari?" Nayuta asked for the third time as they neared her school.

Denji exhaled. He wanted to tell her the truth. Although he did not want her to worry, she was already concerned. He also knew she did accept his bullshit excuse that Mari had gone to the high school early because she wanted to use their computers to prepare an assignment for the day. He had thought that lie to be pretty ingenious and very believable.

"Someone took her, and I need to go find her," he confessed, keeping the reason truthful but purposely nonspecific.

"Oh, I see," she murmured, grasping his hand more tightly. "Was it the bad man from the coffee shop?"

"Yeah."

Which one? There were two Devils who worked there and used the place as a hunting ground. Mari also had a run in with her former boss' enforcer. Shit. That was another problem yet to be dealt with. Unfortunately they were human and could not be killed with such extreme prejudice like the Fiends.

At the gate, before she ran in to meet her friends, Nayuta gave Denji a strangling hug.

"Be careful. Please bring Mari back to us."

"I will," he promised.

Denji did not wait to watch her run off to join her friends. He turned to walk back to the coffee shop. When they had passed by it the first time, the lights were still off. Upon his return, it was open and there were customers inside.

He went in to stand in line like any other customer. The man behind the counter, the one called Kenji, had not noticed him yet. He received a text from Yoshida telling him he would be here soon. When it was his turn at the counter, he stood there silently while the man had his back turned prepping the espresso machine.

"May I - " Kenji's words instantly ceased when he turned to see Denji was his next customer. "I know why you're here."

"Then tell me where she is."

"If I tell you, you'll leave? You're not going to kill me?" Kenji asked, doubting, and rightly so, the Devil Hunter had any intention of letting him live.

Denji looked around at the people sitting in the shop sipping their morning lattes and cups of black coffee or hot tea.

"No. I'm not leaving. I won't kill you. Yet."

Kenji slid a mug of coffee across the counter to him.

"I'll take you to her. Drink this while you wait."

Denji stared at the cup without touching it.

"It's not poisoned," Kenji assured him.

"Can I at least have cream and sugar? I hate this crap."

"Yeah, sure thing." Kenji could not believe he was actually indulging the request of the Devil Hunter who would soon be killing him and sending him back to Hell. "Do you know what true hell is?"

"Yeah, I've been there," Denji muttered not really small talk with this Fiend.

"I didn't mean literal Hell. No, I mean to be tortured every day with always wanting everything and never having anything. Do you know what it's like being alone, unwanted, shunned, and forgotten? Unloved and unworthy of ever having love?"

He placed the cup back on the counter in front of the Devil Hunter who actually made eye contact this time. There was a hollowness, a hunger, he recognized. Yes, this man understood how he felt.

"When I finally found someone to love me, your asshole brother took her away from me. I'm going to kill him," Denji declared resolutely.

"Wait until these customers leave. I'll close up the shop and take you to her," Kenji promised.

"You do know I'm going to kill you too, right?" Denji warned him.

"Yeah," he sighed with resignation. "I know."

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad being murdered by a kindred soul who truly understood what it felt like to be him. He was quite envious this kid did not have to yearn and search and strive for thousands of years and still not find what he wanted. He hated humans for their brief lifespans in comparison to his when their suffering could mercifully end.

Without another word, Denji took the chunky stoneware cup and sat down. There was more sugar and cream than coffee. Kenji had even added butterscotch syrup which actually made it palatable.

The bell on the door dinged and in walked Yoshida. He came straight to Denji's table and sat down.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

Denji glanced around at the other customers. "Waiting."

"For what?"

"He's going to take us to Mari."

"Just because you asked? Are fucking with me?"

"Nope not at all. I would never fuck with you. You're not my type. Just because I asked," Denji confirmed, keeping his eyes on Kenji as he served the next customer.

"Aren't you afraid of what's happening to her while you're sitting here having a casual cup of coffee?"

"Do I have choice? We have no fucking clue where she is. Yeah, we could be out wasting time searching but this guy is going to take us straight to her."

"How do you know you can trust him? He's a damn Fiend."

Denji had trusted Power and Beam with his life, and they never let him down. However, he failed them by not protecting him.

"I've trusted Fiends before." He shifted his eyes to meet Yoshida's dull gray ones registering no emotion whatsoever. Hirofumi was fucking cold hearted for a human. "They never betrayed me. Humans on the other hand..."

"Yeah," Yoshida sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I get it." He glimpsed around the shop. "So we wait."

Denji took a sip of the coffee. It was like drinking liquefied candy. Mari loved this shit but she mostly drank coffee with a little cream. After he brought her home, he was going to buy that damn ridiculous coffee machine like he promised.

"She's smarter and stronger than you think," Denji said, drawing Yoshida's attention back to him. "Do you think I'd be with someone weak?"

"No. But I have to admit the most shocking part is she hasn't tried to kill you. And doesn't seem to want to."

Denji issued a sardonic chuckle. "That's one of the many reasons I love her."

~\'/~

Mari heard the door open but pretended to be asleep. She doubted Kenji had returned so it could only be one person. Forcing herself to breath deeply and regularly, she did her best to remain calm. She hoped he could not see her trembling with the fear mounting inside of her.

The mattress moved under her when he knelt down beside her. Her heart tried to jump out of her chest, and she held her breath as if to reign it in. He touched her shoulder, and she could not stop the automatic reaction of wrenching away from his hand. Rolling onto her back, she opened her eyes wide gazing up at him.

"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty," he chuckled sinisterly.

Mari's lower lip quivered so she caught it with her teeth to stop it. Her eyes blinked rapidly to push back the tears that wanted to fall. She had not been this scared when she woke up in the back of that cargo plane cuffed and sitting next to nine other girls in the same mess as her.

Ichiro placed his hands on either side of her head, straddling her body to sit on her belly. He was wearing red jogging shorts with white piping down the side and edging the bottom. No shirt. He was built like a Greek god; impeccably muscled, each muscle defined as if carved out of marble. The small muscles at the top of his ribs were so distinctly delineated they almost looked like gills. Maybe they were when he was in the water. He is a Triton after all.

"Do you like what you see?" he asked her, smiling as her eyes slowly rolled up to meet his.

Mari released her lower lip but did not say a word. She resisted the urge to struggle under him. As a warrior, he would prefer a good fight. It would thrill him for her to scream and cry. He would enjoy watching her uselessly swing her cuffed hands at him and feel her wiggle and kick her legs under him.

The Triton was already feeding on her fear. She could see it in the way his eyes twinkled like multi-faceted peridot gemstones. His fingertips touched her cheek. The intimate contact made her flinch, her entire body writhing under him. His fingers drifted down to her neck. His searching fingertips followed along the material at the top of the nightgown, grazing her breasts.

Mari opened her mouth but somehow managed not to scream when his fingers brushed over the hardened nipple. The lecherous, self-satisfied grin on his face made her feel nauseated. His hand clamped down on her breast, compressing until it ached in an effort to make her cry out. He pinched the nipple cruelly, but she bit the inside of her cheek, chewing off a hunk of her own flesh to avoid screaming.

"Hmmm," Ichiro hummed thoughtfully, staring down at her with an expression quite close to admiration. "You are a stubborn one."

Ichiro raised his hips, sliding his body downward. His stiff cock rubbing across her bare womanhood forced a grunt from her throat, but she refused to satisfy him with a shriek. His legs spanned her thighs as he lay on top of her, flattening her breasts with his broad chest. His lips grazed her neck prompting her to jerk her head in the opposite direction despite not being able to get away from him.

Mari breathed harder and faster, her chest rising and falling so dramatically she actually moved his body on top of her. She whimpered when his lips continued to press kisses in a straight line down her neck. Her stomach rolled and tumbled uncertainly. She did not want to vomit but him touching her sickened her.

"You will scream for me," he whispered in her ear. His lips brushed her neck then his teeth scraped across the skin.

OH, NO!, she screamed internally. The images of the bite marks all over the dead woman flooded her mind.

Ichiro opened his mouth, his teeth scraping across her skin. Mari closed her eyes and gritted her teeth when his teeth pressed into her neck. As he continued to tighten his jaws, the pinching made a deep ache spread throughout the muscles.

It hurt so damn bad and his teeth had yet to break the skin. His canine teeth sinking into her skin was like being poked with dull needles adding a stinging sensation to the already sore muscle. She whimpered, switching to biting her lower lip to withhold the cry of agony he sought to elicit from her. The white hot pain seared the nerves across her shoulder and continued down her back making her writhe under him despite her determination to stay still.

At last, his teeth broke the skin, releasing a little of the pressure but suddenly it was like pure fire being poured into the wound as his teeth penetrated the tender muscle. Mari opened her mouth and screamed until her throat burned.

Ichiro convulsed on top of her, groaning in her ear while rubbing his steadily softening erection across her thigh as he came. Once his hips ceased humping her leg, she gagged upon feeling the wetness on her skin. He pressed tender kisses along the path on her neck his lips had followed earlier.

"Ah, I knew you were going to be a good screamer," he murmured in her ear.

Anger welled inside of her like a volcano getting ready to erupt. Thrusting her head forward, trying to make the most of the short distance between them, she head butted him right in the nose.

He laughed. That laugh was like throwing gasoline on an open fire. Huge mistake - and his second. His first mistake had been using hinged handcuffs on her with the thick metal bar in the middle rather than the standard handcuffs with the thin chain.

Gathering all of her strength in her arms, Mari laced her fingers together and brought that wide hinge down on the bridge of his nose with every bit of force she could muster. When the metal met the cartilage, there was a gut wrenching crunch as it shattered the strong but flexible tissue that could not absorb or withstand the shock of being hit with the immovable material.

Blood spurted out of his nose. Although her first urge was to scream, she resisted it, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her lips together and rolling them inward to protect them from the warm wet droplets showering her face and chest.

"Fucking bitch!" the injured Fiend screamed, holding his nose and rolling off of her.

Mari opened her eyes, risking blood getting into them as she pushed up onto her knees then got to her feet. Her eyes focused on the door - her only escape route. Unlacing her fingers, she spread her hands as far apart as they would go to grab the knob.

As she twisted it, Ichiro seized a handful of her hair and pulled hard enough to snatch her away from the door. She shrilled in pain from the burn in her scalp when her hair was pulled out by the roots as he dragged her across the floor.

"Oh, yes, you are delightful!" he yelled, eating up her fear and pain like a human enjoys a gourmet dinner at a three Michelin star restaurant.

Her scream was cut short by him shoving her down onto the her belly and sitting on her back which pushed the air out of her lungs. When his fist slammed into the back of her skull, white star bursts flashed and disappeared to be followed by more fireworks on the interior of her eyeballs as the pain exploded at the nape of her neck.

The pissed off Fiend flipped her over onto her back then grabbed the delicate silk of her nightgown between her breasts. His fingernails tore right through the thin material to scratch her skin. With a sharp tug and the ripping of fabric, he pulled off the nightgown leaving her completely naked.

"I'm having so much fun with you, and it's just beginning," he said, pushing her legs apart. "Did you really think I was going to kill you so quickly?"

Then came the sound Mari would remember for the rest of her life. The rattle and clank of an engine turning over then a clacking of metal as the chain started to rotate around the guide bar. The groaning and whirring of the engine RPMs ramping up increased until it became a different kind of scream.

"What the - "

Before Ichiro could finish his sentence, the door was thrust open with such a powerful kick it was thrown completely off the hinges. It hit the wall, the doorknob penetrating the drywall to hold it upright.

Mari looked at the doorway to see Chainsaw Man for the first time. Denji was gone. Everything she was accustomed to seeing, his golden blond hair, his warm brown eyes, his blushed tanned cheeks, and his endearing grin was no longer there because he had become Chainsaw Man. Below the bar of the chainsaw was a grinning, and very inhuman, mouth full of gigantic sharp teeth. Chainsaws protruded from each of his arms as well. It appeared as if the chains had cut right through his forearms.

Mari scooted out from under the stunned Fiend, running toward the Chainsaw Devil. The teeth parted, and he spoke to her in a growling, demonic voice.

"Stay back!" he yelled at her.

"Mari!" Yoshida called to her from behind Denji. "Step back so he doesn't hurt you!"

Mari pressed her body against the wall next to where the door used to be to provide Chainsaw Man with plenty of space to enter the room.

Hirofumi Yoshida walked in once the area was clear. He took off his school jacket and handed it to her to put on. The blood streaking his face dripped from his chin.

"Let's go," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders in order to usher her out of the room.

Denji had told Yoshida to hurry up and get her away from him once he was inside. He did not want her to witness him killing the Triton Fiend.

"Are you injured?" Mari asked Yoshida, searching his face for a wound.

"It's not my blood."

"Kenji?"

"Yeah."

"You're going to pay for taking what isn't yours!" Chainsaw Man shouted at the Fiend in his deep, gurgling voice.

"Mari, please, let's go," insisted Yoshida, tightening his arm around her shoulders and pulling her from the room.

In the other room, Mari could hear the bumping of bodies against the walls and floors. The motor of the chainsaws revved and roared. There were numerous softer, muffled thumps of fists hitting flesh.

After engaging in a nice boxing match and little bit of dancing around, Chainsaw Man had the Triton cornered. Lowering his head, he charged forward like an angry bull. The saw on his head skewered the Fiends chest, cutting through his sternum and piercing his heart. The screams of agony were satisfying. The Triton was experiencing an equivalent degree of terror and pain he had inflicted on his victims.

The saw penetrated the wall behind him, pinning him to it like a squirming bug. Swinging the saws on his arms, Chainsaw Man severed the Fiend's legs above the knees, then cut off his arms at the shoulders. They hit the floor with thuds then squelching. Blood splattered the walls and shards of bone poked out of the drywall. Chainsaw Man's shirt that was no longer white but pink and turning red as more blood soaked into it.

The weight of the remainder of the Fiend's body started to pull his torso down the running saw cutting him in two. The engine revved when the saw chain connected with the thick jaw bone in order to cut through without stalling out. The skull bone was much thinner and easily sliced asunder. The soft, spongy brain flew in all directions as the powerful teeth of the saw chewed through it. The two halves of what used to be the Triton Fiend separated and fell, landing on the floor with a wet splat.

Chainsaw Man withdrew the saws on his arms then placed his hands and one foot against the wall now painted red with the Fiend's blood. Pushing to free himself, he staggered backwards when the saw came loose from the piece of wood he had only halfway cut through. Dropping to his knees on the mattress now filthy with blood and tissue, he panted for air. The saw retracted into his head burning like fire as it reentered his body. The pain was familiar but no less torturous. It hurt like hell transforming but at least he had a high tolerance for pain, and his wounds healed quickly.

"Let me go!" Denji heard Mari yell just as the last metal tooth disappeared back into his skull. He dropped forward onto his hands, opening his mouth to noisily suck in more air. He was tired. He wanted to go home, get a shower, eat something, and fall asleep with her in his arms.

"Denji."

Her voice was soft, tremulous. A sob escaped her then she sniffed. She did not approach him or try to touch him. His heart ached when he felt the familiar and no less bitter sting of rejection. She was terrified of him. He should have known she would turn away from him sooner or later, disgusted and frightened by seeing his Devil form.

Denji lowered his head into his blood stained hands laying palm up on the mattress. There was no reason to chase her. He might as well stay here and try to catch his breath.

"Denji, can I - "

He inhaled sharply, raising his head. She had not run away after all. He wanted to jump up and run to her but he thought he might frighten her. Surely she had to be skittish after what she had just been through.

"Is it safe to touch you now?" she asked, her voice shaking from the tears she had been holding back.

"Y-yeah."

Sitting up on his knees, he sank back to sit on his feet in a kneeling position. He closed his eyes, placing his palms flat against his thighs to resist grabbing her. He concentrated on every breath while he waited for her to approach him.

Rather than walking around in front of him where he could see her, she stood behind him. He could feel her presence at his back though she had not touched him yet. Just being close to her helped calm him. His breathing slowed and became deeper. Sometimes it felt like it took a while to return to being himself after transforming into Chainsaw Man. As much as he loved the power and strength imparted to him by Pochita, it was a lot to control.

Her hand was cold when it touched his neck. It actually felt good on his heated skin. Her other hand rested on his shoulder then slid forward to press to his chest over his heart. As she leaned forward, her hand slid across his neck until her arm hooked around him.

At first Denji thought she was going to try to choke him when her forearm pressed under his chin and her arm tightened around his neck. But she was hugging him. Her chin rested on the top of his head despite all of the blood and brain matter in his hair.

"Thank you," she whispered, rocking him slowly from side to side as if attempting to comfort him. "Thank you for saving me."

Denji pulled her arm from around his neck. He stood up, turning to face her. Her tears had mixed with the blood on her cheeks making it appear as if she were crying blood. He pulled her into his chest, hugging her tightly.

Mari's cheek pressed against the pull cord. Instead of feeling fear or repulsion, she felt comforted, at peace. Chainsaw Man had saved her.

"Chainsaw Man is my hero," she whispered, enclosing his waist with her arms. "I love you, Denji. Nothing will change that."

"Let's go home."

~\'/~

Back at their apartments, Denji went to his place with Yoshida for both of them to get cleaned up. Mari entered her apartment alone. The silence had never been so loud.

In the shower, Mari broke down, sitting on the tiled floor with her forehead resting on her knees, rolled into a ball crying while the water beat down on her head and washed the blood and all of the gory detritus down the drain.

She soaped up twice, scouring with a loofah until her body was entirely red, the top layer of skin abraded entirely to remove any trace of the Fiend's flesh and blood. She washed, rinsed, and repeated three times to clean her hair. Her scalp was sore and tender from her overzealous scrubbing with her fingernails.

The knock on the bathroom door frightened her, causing her to yelp. Denji opened the door without being invited in after hearing her cry out.

"Are you all right?" he asked, ripping back the shower curtain.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little jumpy," Mari said, turning off the water.

He reached for the towel on the hook. Rather than handing it to her, he gently patted her tender, inflamed skin.

"I'm going to be okay," she assured him.

"I know," he returned in a soft voice, drying her back when she turned around. "You're so strong. It was one of the things that attracted me to you."

"Once you stopped staring at my breasts," she laughed mirthlessly at an attempt at humor to lighten the situation.

"Yeah," Denji admitted, handing her the towel over her shoulder when she reached back for it.

Mari dried her legs, then wrap the towel around her body. Next she rubbed lotion all over her face and her body. She smelled like peaches rather than blood and guts.

"Where's Hirofumi?" she asked, stepping into her white bikini underwear.

"He's making tea. I hope you don't mind he helped himself to the kitchen. He thought you could use a cup," he explained, reaching out to assist her with untangling the tank top that twisted up around her shoulders.

"I don't mind. Tea would be nice," she said, taking the sweatpants from Denji when he handed them to her. "I should call the school. Tell them what happened. I hope I still have job."

"You will. Tell them it was a Devil attack, and they will understand."

"Did Kenji really have to die too?" Mari inquired, her eyes meeting his.

"Yes," he replied without breaking eye contact.

There was no anger or disgust in her eyes. No disdain or repulsion either. She understood they really had no other course of action.

Pulling the hooded sweatshirt over her head, she exhaled noisily as if relieved. Her hoodie was black with the pointed ears, triangular nose, and mouth like a number three on its side, the physical traits stereotypical of a cat, in thick white lines on the front. She slid her black cat ear headband onto her head to hold the damp curls back from her face.

Denji was dressed in light gray gym shorts and a red t-shirt. The shirt was a shade of deep maroon like the blood that had covered the walls, the mattress, and them from head to toe.

Mari dropped to her knees by the toilet. The only thing in her stomach was bile which seared her throat and mouth.

Denji soaked a washcloth with cold water, holding it against the back of her neck as she continued to dry heave over the toilet.

"Here," Yoshida said, extending a bottle of water to Denji.

"Try to drink this," Denji said, holding the bottle out to her. Her hand was shaking so violently he had to hold the bottle steady for her to drink.

Unfortunately, this reminded her of Kenji assisting her and her body immediately rejected the water which ended up in the toilet.

"God, I'm sorry," she muttered, flushing the toilet. She plopped onto her behind, drying her face with the towel. "I'm such a wimp."

"You're not a wimp. Can you stand?"

"Honestly, I don't think so."

Denji squatted beside her, reaching under her legs and around her back to pick her up.

"You're so strong," she commented, feeling the muscles in his forearms flexing as he moved. She rested her head against his shoulder, putting her arms around his neck as he carried her into the living room. She really did not want him to take his arms away from her when he sat her down on the couch.

"I made ginger tea," Yoshida said, placing the steam mug of tea in her hands. "It will settle your stomach."

Giving him a shy smile, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, she gave him a croaky, "Thank you."

Denji sat beside her holding his own cup of tea. Yoshida took a seat on one of the cushions, placing his mug on the low table. No one said a word. They sipped their tea in an exhausted silence.

"Nayuta will be leaving school soon. Someone should be there to meet her," Mari announced.

"You should go to bed," Denji said, grabbing her hand when she tried to stand up.

She fell back down onto the couch when her weak knees would not support her. No matter how much she wanted to, she could not argue with him.

"I'll go get her," he told her, squeezing her hand that he still held.

"Okay. What about dinner? I'll cook - "

"I'll go get take out," Yoshida volunteered. "Does Chinese sound good?"

"Sure," she agreed despite not having an appetite.

"Whatever you get, get a lot of it. Noodles and egg rolls. Teriyaki chicken skewers."

Mari clutched her belly, nausea swimming around in her gut.

"Fried rice. Sweet and sour chicken," Denji continued, naming off his favorites.

Yoshida stared at Mari's face which drained of color until she appeared to turn gray.

"Denji, shut up," he snapped since the man did not notice his girlfriend was fighting the urge to puke at the mention of food.

"What?"

Yoshida pointed at Mari who was obviously green around the gills and trying not to throw up.

Denji pulled her into his side, kissing the top of her head when she snuggled against his chest.

"You're going to be fine. You're safe," he assured her, holding her securely in his arms as if he would never let her go.

"I know," she returned, clutching his t-shirt. "I'm glad you're with me."

He chuckled lightly feeling genuinely happy. What was there to not be happy about? Two Fiends were dead. No more innocent women would needlessly die by their hands. Mari was safe. She had not freaked out and rejected him after seeing him as Chainsaw Man. As a matter of fact, she had called him her hero.

"I'm glad I'm with you too."