Denji and Nayuta were seated at the counter heartily digging into the tall stacks of pancakes and mound of crisp bacon on their plates. Mari stood on the other side in the kitchen, daintily poking at her pancake. She wasn't very hungry this morning. Picking up her slice of bacon, she added it to Denji's pile.

"Hey, random question," he mumbled around a mouth full of pancakes coated with blackberry jam.

Mari put down her fork, looking at him while waiting for his question with anxiety knotting her belly. What in the world could he be about to ask her that he has to warn her beforehand?

"We always joke about you being older than me and officially an adult," he began, pausing to cram an entire piece of bacon in his mouth. "How old are you exactly?"

Where she came from it was incredibly impolite to ask a woman her age. Politeness was not really in Denji's wheelhouse regardless. When he wanted to know something, he asked. He was curious so she would tell him.

"I just turned nineteen," Mari said, turning away to scrape her pancake off into the trash.

"Oh, yeah? When?" His eyes locked on her while she rinsed off the plate. He actually paused eating in anticipation of the answer.

"Day before yesterday," she replied, setting the dish in the sink with a clatter of metal as the fork slid across it. She swallowed to push down the lump in her throat.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, staring at her.

"Well," she sighed, hanging up the kitchen towel after she dried her hands, "at the time we were a little busy and it kinda didn't seem to matter. You were saving my life after all."

"Ooooh, that day?!" Denji exclaimed realizing she was talking about the very same day Ichiro was about to literally eat her alive. "That would have sucked," Denji commented, going back to his food. "To die on the exact same month and day you were born."

"Yeah," she scoffed bitterly, drying her hands. "That would have sucked. But..." She smiled at him. "You were there. Hopefully, I'll get to have many more birthdays now."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Mari shrugged, leaning against the counter.

"It's just didn't seem important anymore. Actually, to be honest, I forgot about it until this morning when I was laying in bed thinking."

"What were you thinking about?" Nayuta piped up as if to remind them she was there.

"I was thinking I should buy a dining table. It would be nice to have a place where could sit down to have family dinners."

"Family dinners?" Nayuta repeated as if mulling over the idea, tapping her bacon on her lower lip before biting it.

"We could invite Kishibe over sometimes. Maybe we could make it a Sunday tradition. He's part of the family too right?" Mari asked, looking at Denji for confirmation who nodded while shoving a forkful of pancakes into his mouth.

"Yoshida too," Denji added.

Mari neither confirmed nor denied his choice of dinner guests. Hirofumi Yoshida's invites would be reserved for rare and special occasions. She and Yoshida had agreed to deal with each for Denji's sake since they both had his best interests in mind. But that did not mean he was to attend Sunday dinners. Her eyes shifted over to Nayuta who was already looking at her.

"We also need a table for tea parties. We can buy a nice tablecloth. A white lace one maybe," Mari suggested.

Nayuta gave her a smile that looked so natural and sincere.

"How did that feel?" Mari asked her.

"Good. Easy. I felt...warm and happy inside so it just...happened," she replied, her smile widening.

"See," Mari said, poking Denji in the forehead. "I told you she's doing just fine."

"She's got a better understanding of this whole feelings thing than I do," Denji muttered, drinking his milk.

"Of course she does. She's a woman," Mari returned, giving Nayuta a wink.

Mari had no idea just how cold and unfeeling Makima could be despite pretending otherwise. But Denji knew. Makima could have been an award winning actress if she had picked a different career.

"That's why you need us, Denji," she said, coming to stand beside him. She kissed his cheek. "We love you."

He put his arm around her waist, looking up at her as sweetly gazed down at him. His grin sloped into a crooked smirk.

"Yeah. I know."

Mari gasped exaggeratedly, feigning shock and offense with her mouth hanging open when he did not return the sentiment. Denji reached out his other arm to hook it around Nayuta's shoulders, pulling them both into his lap for a group hug.

Nayuta wasn't the only one who needed to learn about emotions or to have what Mari called "emotional intelligence": the understanding of others emotions - empathy. They were helping the human part of him learn what it meant to love and love unconditionally, continuing what others like Aki and Himeno had started.

"I love you both too."

~\'/~

Mari walked into her first class excited to have new material for the students to translate. As she handed out the printouts of the list of quotes, she noted there was a new student sitting in the middle of the third row.

The girl's long jet black hair hung loose and straight, framing her pretty heart shaped face. Her eyes were big but almond shaped, almost cat like. Their lovely and vibrant shade of emerald green made them seem even more feline.

"Oh, hello," Mari greeted her, placing the printout on her desk. "You're a new student."

The girl looked down, nodding sheepishly. Her lily white skin that looked just as delicate as the flower turning a deep shade of pink. Her long tapered finger, elegant and graceful, pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"My name is Reze, ma'am," she said without looking up.

"I'm Mari, I mean Miss Varianno, your English teacher," she quickly corrected herself turning a little pink herself. "Welcome to the class."

"Ma'am," Reze said, picking up the paper to hand it back. "I don't think I can do this."

"Of course you can. We're all learning here including me. Take your time and don't get impatient with yourself. If you need help, just ask," Mari encouraged her.

"O-okay," the shy girl stammered, putting the paper back down on her desk.

"Now, let's begin shall we? Who wants to translate the first line?"

~\'/~

Mari was on her way to the teacher's lounge at lunch when Denji caught her in the hallway. Standing in the middle of the hall, students had no choice but to part and flow around them like water around rocks in a stream. She grabbed his forearm and pulled him over to the side of the high traffic area into the doorway of the janitor's closet so they would not be quite as much of a spectacle.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, holding the manila folder in front of her as if she were one of the high school girls clutching a notebook.

"How's your day going?" he asked, leaning over her and resting his arm against the door jamb above her head.

"You stopped me to ask me that?" Mari inquired only mildly annoyed.

Mostly, she found it incredibly sweet and thoughtful he would do such a thing. However, his present posture could be deemed a little inappropriate considering their surroundings as he loomed over her like an aggressive boy with a crush.

"I did. I didn't want to wait a few more hours to see you, and I damn sure couldn't talk to you in class so..." He placed his other hand on her hip that was toward the closed door acting as if no one would see the intimate gesture.

"Sooo...I miss you too," she said, sliding his hand away from her hip. "But we can't act like this here."

"Fine, fine," Denji muttered, standing up straight and keeping his hands to himself. "Can I at least walk beside you? I can pretend I'm asking you questions about an assignment if I have to."

"That won't be necessary," Mari assured him, holding the folder tighter as he fell into step beside her. "But the cafeteria is in the other direction. Aren't you hungry?"

"Nah. I've already eaten."

"When? What?"

"Last class. A steamed pork bun."

"Seriously?" she laughed in disbelief. "And you didn't get into trouble?"

"What the teacher doesn't know won't hurt me," he said with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Oh, uh huh, okay. Well, you better not to try pull anything over on me, Mister," she warned him jokingly.

"Oh, yeah? What if I did? You'd do what about it?"

"Well, I know where you live," she joked back. Giving him a sideways glance with an impish smile tilting her lips, she said, "I know what you like."

"Okay, hold up," he touched her shoulder with his fingertips to stop her. When she turned to look at him, he asked, "So let me get this straight, you're threatening to punish me with something I like?"

"Uh huh," she affirmed.

"How would that be a punishment?"

Her smile widened, and she winked.

"Think about it. Just be a good boy, Denji."

Now she was talking to him like a dog? He had rather enjoyed it when Makima talked to him that way. He would never tell Mari that though. She got pissed off any time he mentioned Makima and red faced angry if he talked about how she treated him like a dog back then. But he never minded.

Denji leaned against the wall watching her walk away. It's something he likes that they do at home. His favorite thing to do with her at home besides eating her food was having sex with her. But sex as a punishment?

He pictured himself on all fours with a wide spiked collar around his neck. Mari, dressed in a shiny black latex catsuit, held the lead chain attached to the collar. In his vivid daydream, she gave him a smack on the ass with the whip in her hand.

Just be a good boy, Denji. Her words revisited him to complete the tantalizing scenario in his head.

"Oh, holy shit."

"Denji? Denji!" a female voice called out to him but it wasn't Mari's voice.

Looking around, able to see over most of the heads of the other students, he searched for the owner of the voice. He saw a hand held high, flapping madly like a flag in a high wind.

The girl began to push her way through the crowd to get to him. A dark head of hair, black, shiny and sleek, came into view first. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald green that lit up with happiness when they met his. There was something familiar about those eyes.

"Denji, hi," she greeted him breathlessly when she was finally able to stand in front of him.

"Hi," he returned, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion as he stared at her face trying desperately to place her. "Do I know you?"

She giggled, the tops of her cheeks becoming light pink. Then she realized he wasn't joking. He really didn't recognize her. The smile faded from her face which deepened to a crimson shade of humiliation that extended to her hairline and down her neck.

"It's me. Reze."

Deji stared at her trying to process her reappearance. The fact that she is alive did not surprise him. She's a hybrid and pretty much immortal like him. Her being here in front of him is what surprised him. He had a few questions. Why did she come back? What is she doing here, at his school? What the hell does she want? Why the fuck did she show up now?!

"So Reze," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Why are you here?"

"Well, we had talked about wanting to go to school. I didn't know this was your school. Quite a coincidence, huh?" she said, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger.

"Yeah, quite a coincidence," he repeated coldly. That didn't really answer his question. "What do you want?"

"Well, I thought - " She ceased speaking to clear her throat. "I thought..." she tried to continue but his dead eyed expression stopped her again.

"You thought what? You thought you could come back, and we'd live our high school dream together? Have a storybook romance?"

Denji stared at her, registering no emotion. He really didn't care what she thought and felt nothing for her. He had not even remembered her until recently when Mari triggered the memory of her. His anger started to simmer. He hoped she had not come back in time just to screw things up for him. He had a good thing going with Mari, and he really wanted to see exactly where it was going.

"Remember when we walked through that school? I pretended to be your teacher in that classroom. We broke into the pool and I taught you how to swim. God, that night was so much fun."

It annoyed him she would try pulling on his heartstrings to stir up those long dead feelings.

"Did you really think I would be happy to see you?" he asked in a toneless voice.

Reze gulped audibly, shaking her head.

"No, I, uh, uhm...I guess not." She chuckled nervously. "I don't know what I thought would happen."

"I have a good life. The life I pretty much always wanted," he said, meeting her eyes which were bloodshot as if she was about to cry. "And I got it without you or Makima."

"Oh, that's good. I'm glad to hear it. That's real good, Denji. But there's something I need to tell you. I want you to know why - "

"You know what?" he said, cutting off her sentence. "I don't care why. I don't care why you didn't show up that day. I don't even care why you tried to kill me. All I know is whatever we could have had, will never be."

"Uhm, I'm sorry," Reze apologized, backing away. "This was a mistake."

"Damn right it was a mistake," he muttered to himself, turning to walk in the opposite direction from the one she had retreated.

He had not gone very far when he heard someone else calling his name. At least it was Yoshida this time, but that did not make him stop walking.

"Denji! Hey!"

Denji quickened his pace forcing Yoshida to run to catch up to him. Even then, he did not stop. When Yoshida grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around to face him, he had no choice but to halt.

"Hey, man, what's up? You look like you've seen a ghost," Yoshida said, staring at his friend's face as if trying to figure out what had happened. "I'm guessing by that expression it wasn't a friendly ghost either."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Who was it?"

Denji exhaled in exasperation.

"I told you about Reze, right?"

"Reze?" Yoshida repeated, scratching his chin while searching his memory banks. "The Bomb Devil hybrid. Yeah, you told me about her. What about her?"

"Well, she's back. And she goes to school here."

"Hmmm," Yoshida hummed thoughtfully. That funny little grin lifted the corners of Yoshida's lips. For some reason, he looked more amused than usual.

"What the fuck are you smiling at?" Denji growled.

"Oh, nothing."

~\'/~

Denji stood at the door waiting for Mari to enter the classroom. When she did, he seized her by her upper arms, picking her up, and carrying her back out into the hall.

"Denji! What the hell?!" she yelled, her feet dangling in the air momentarily before he set her down.

"There's something you need to know," he said in a low voice, letting go of her arms before he squeezed her too tightly.

"You're right. What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed, taking a step back from him. She glanced around. "Is something about to happen? Is there a Fiend here? A Devil? The alarm hasn't been set off. What - "

"She's a hybrid like me," he interrupted her, keeping his voice low as students passed in the hall.

"A hybrid like you? She?"

"An ex girlfriend."

Her mouth dropped open in shock. Closing her mouth slowly as not to snap her teeth together, she took a deep breath to gather her wits.

"As in an ex girlfriend who tried to kill you?" Mari asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes, one of them."

She rolled her eyes and grunted. Good God. How many ex girlfriends were there exactly? Maybe she should ask for a definite number of exes. Names would be helpful. She could make a list. Possibly pictures so she could be prepared should another one pop up out of the blue. His exes had the potential for being bad for her health; like lethal bad.

"You don't have to worry though. I won't let her hurt you," he promised.

Mari shook her head. Okay now he was reading her mind. She was glad they were developing such a tight bond, but knowing what she was thinking was a little unnerving.

"Who, Denji? What's her name?"

He realized he had not mentioned Reze by name.

"Reze."

"Reze? There's a new girl in my first period class. Black hair, green eyes, very pretty?" she described her.

"That's her."

Mari stared at the floor. She couldn't believe it. How could that sweet, shy girl be a murderous half human half devil?

"Okay, uhm, I need a minute," she said, walking toward the classroom door.

"Mari, I -" He stopped talking when she pressed her finger to her lips in a 'shhh' gesture.

"We can talk later. We're going to go into this classroom, and we're going to pretend like this conversation didn't happen. Okay? You with me?" she asked, placing her hand on the slotted handle in preparation to pull it back.

"Mari, please, tell me what you're feeling."

Of all times for him to ask, Mari thought, trying to figure out exactly how she was feeling. Flabbergasted would fit the bill. It never occurred to her that one of Denji's girlfriends would show back up in his life. But ex's were like bad pennies and had a tendency to just show back up when least expected.

Another word to describe one of the many strong feelings presently swirling around inside of her would be outright hostility. Hostility directed at the girl who not only tried to kill Denji but also added an extra level of emotional pain to the outright betrayal by abandoning him. It was cruel of her to just suddenly show back up in his life especially after trying to kill him more than once. Even if one of those times was under Makima's control.

Ugh, that heinous bitch! Damn Makima to so many Hells! She hoped the Devils were down there tearing her apart on a daily basis.

Was Reze thinking they could pick up where they left off and have some epic teenage romance? Romeo and Juliet if they were immortal and could kill each other instead of themselves but never really die.

Denji had not even harbored any ill will toward her. He had no desire for revenge or even hated her in the slightest. Although he had never used her name, just like with Makima, there was no resentment, no bitterness when he spoke about her. There was almost a fondness she couldn't understand.

"Oh, my God, I can't," Mari muttered, ceasing the tsunami of thoughts and feelings that wanted to crash down and drown her. She pinched the bridge of her nose as if that would stall the headache blooming behind her eyes.

"Mari," Denji murmured, touching her arm.

"Uh uh, please don't do that. Not right now. I just can't do this..." She paused, waving her hands in circles in front of her. "I can't do any of this right now. None of it. So help me and come inside with me and get through this class. Okay?"

Denji's eyes met hers. She looked a little pale but okay otherwise. She did not appear angry or have that crazy eyed look like last night when she was freaking out.

"Does this mean you're going to lose it later?" he asked her.

Mari shoved the door open. It slid back along the track and hit the stopper with a bang. She pointed inside the classroom where every head inside had turned their way to stare wide eyed. Except for Yoshida of course who actually seemed to be enjoying the event.

"Get inside. Now," she ordered Denji with the same tone of annoyed indignation a pissed off teacher would use.

Whether she intended to do it or not, she made it appear she had given him a stern reprimand which would provide a reasonable explanation their swift exit and hushed conversation. Denji getting into trouble with a teacher would surprise absolutely no one in the class and be totally believable.

"Now I'd like to get started," Mari announced, walking over to the desk to take the stack of papers out of the folder.

She began handing them out walking from desk to desk like always. She avoided eye contact with Denji while passing him his sheet. When she handed Yoshida his printout, his fingers drifted over the back of her hand, following the length of her fingers before sliding the piece of paper out of her hand. Her eyes met his, and he gave her one of those irritatingly smug little grins. She wanted to slap him so badly but continued down the aisle.

"These are quotes from famous people. The first one was spoken by Mother Teresa. She was a nun who helped the poor. She helped so many she won the Nobel Peace Prize. Which is a big deal," she added, pacing behind the podium. "After her death, she was even given the status of sainthood by the Catholic Church. Which is also a big deal."

There were a few titters of laughter throughout the classroom.

"Denji, would you translate the first line, please?" she requested with that air of aloof politeness reserved for teachers.

"May I?" Yoshida volunteered, rising from his seat.

"Sure," she responded, forcing a smile to her lips.

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come," he said in flawless English, pausing and raising his eyes to meet hers before reciting the last part of the quote. "We have only today - let us begin."

"Very nicely done. That was exquisite."

Her palm itched with the desire to slap the smile right off his conceited face.

"What does that mean to you, Mr. Yoshida?" she asked, doubting he would be caught off guard. That wasn't her intention. She had done the same thing with all of the other classes once they said the quotes in English.

"It means we can't do anything about the past. It's just that...the past and gone. We shouldn't worry about tomorrow because it hasn't gotten here yet and unfortunately for some, it might never come. But today..." He paused dramatically, holding her gaze. "We have to live every day with intent, with purpose...as if it might be our last."

Mari swallowed, hoping he did not notice. Surely he would ridicule her about it later if he did. She smiled politely, nodding her head.

"Good. Extremely profound." That was a compliment she sincerely meant especially in reference to his comment about today. She would imagine he truly lived those words being a human who hunts Devils and Fiends.

"Thank you, ma'am," he returned, bowing to her respectfully before sitting down.

"Okay. Who wants to do the next one?"

Every hand in the class went up except for Denji's. She wasn't going to call on him anyway. The next quote came from William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well: "Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."

The women Denji had loved the most passionately and obsessively were the ones he also trusted with his life and each one broke that trust. Despite their betrayal, he never hated them or sought revenge for himself.

"What does that mean to you?" Mari asked the girl who had read it.

"It means treat everyone with kindness and respect. Trust only those who have shown themselves to be trustworthy. And don't go out of your way to hurt anyone. Is that right?" she inquired.

"There is no right or wrong in what you believe it means, what it says to you. We will all have different ideas of what it means personally," Mari explained.

"What does it mean to you?" Yoshida challenged, smiling that creepy little closed mouthed smile that never reached his eyes.

"What it means to me," she said, pacing across the front of the classroom. She glanced at Denji who had sat up straighter and was watching her intensely. Her eyes met his. "I think everyone deserves love." Her eyes connected with Yoshida's next. "Not everyone should be trusted."

He wasn't smiling now, but his eyes remained blank without annoyance or anger. She pivoted on her heel, turning her back on both of them to walk toward the other side of the classroom.

"Do wrong to none. I think those words were meant to mean we should not do intentional harm to others, even when they hurt us. However, personally, I think that's a load of crap. I believe if someone hurts us, they deserve to be hurt in return."

She shrugged, turning to face the class. Most of the kids displayed varying degrees of shock at her brusque honesty. Teachers weren't usually so straightforward with their actual thoughts, instead telling the students what they believed they should hear.

Mari briefly allowed her eyes to skim over Yoshida. Once again, he was looking quite pleased with himself, amused he had been able to get a rise, no matter how subtle, out of her. She met Denji's gaze.

"I used to be one who believed in Karma. What goes around, comes around. Reap what you sow, that whole thing. But I've learned sometimes, things can't be left up to the powers that be because life is unfair. And sometimes, those who deserve the most keep getting everything taken away from them. But like I said, it means something different to each of us."

Mari clapped her hands making half of the class jump.

"So who wants to take the next one?"

At the end of class, both Denji and Yoshida hung back when everyone else left.

"I have to say by far that was the most interesting class ever. A real eye opener. Thought provoking. You kept me on the edge of my seat, Miss Varianno," Yoshida fawned, heaping on the sycophantic praise.

"Yeah, I bet," she muttered, throwing away the sheets of paper. She had no intention of using those again.

"No, really," he said enthusiastically, taking her hand in his.

"Okay, you need to stop," she said, snatching her hand away.

"Aww, don't be that way," he cooed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Are you okay? You seem to be a little out of sorts."

"I am. Out of sorts, not okay," she clarified with her brand of brash truthfulness.

"Yeah, I heard Denji had a blast from the past."

Mari raised her hand to cover her mouth to hide her smile. It wasn't funny. Not one bit. She knew she couldn't laugh but the unexpectedness of the comment coupled with her stress over the girl's appearance prevented her from stopping the smile no matter how inappropriate. Yoshida noticed and smiled at her. His grin, subdued and cool, could mean so many things.

"Dude," Denji muttered, shaking his head. "So not cool."

"How do you feel about that?" Yoshida asked Mari rather than directing the question at Denji.

"It's his ex girlfriend. You should be asking him. Does it matter what I think?" she questioned him in return, picking up her purse in preparation to leave. She suddenly felt excruciatingly tired and wanted to go home, but they still needed to meet Nayuta. "We need to go. I think we should get take out tonight on the way home. I don't feel like cooking."

"I'll cook," Denji volunteered.

"Actually," Yoshida interjected, reaching out to grasp her wrist when she tried to walk past him. "It does matter what you think."

Mari pushed out a noisy gush of air. Without trying to pull out of his loose grip, she turned to face him.

"I'm not happy." She rolled her eyes and inhaled sharply. She opened her eyes again to glare at his smug face. "I'm beyond not happy. I'm upset. I'm pissed. I'm scared. I feel like her showing up out of thin air threatens everything I have with Denji. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No. I wanted Denji to hear it," he said, letting her go and walking toward the door. He raised his hand in a stationary farewell wave. "See ya. I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss."

"I really hate him," Mari whispered to herself. When she felt Denji's hand on her shoulder, her body stiffened but she did not turn around.

"Is that how you really feel?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yeah. That's how I really feel."

"Do you think so little of me that I would let you go that easily? Do you think I'm just chasing ass, and would drop you to go back to her? Really?"

"I don't know and that's the problem. I don't know exactly what happened between you two. And I don't want to know," she added quickly when he opened his mouth as if to tell her. "I don't know what feelings you still have for her, if any. I don't know if her showing back up here could stir up those feelings. I just don't know."

Denji walked around to stand in front of her. He lifted her chin, holding it firmly in place between his thumb and forefinger leaving her no choice but to look at his face.

"Like that quote, the past doesn't matter," he said, his eyes shifting back and forth between hers. "None. That's what feelings I have left for her. Not a single damn one."

"How do I know you won't suddenly stop feeling anything for me?" she asked, daring to make eye contact with him.

"You don't," he said, being brutally honest. "I don't know if you'll quit having feelings for me either. You said it yourself, things happen. You don't plan on trying to kill me do you?"

"No, never! As if I could. You said it yourself there's no way."

"That works in your favor. I'll love you forever and ever then!" He hugged her, tickling her sides until she began to laugh.

"Stop it, stop it," she begged between giggles, slapping his back.

"You're the smartest woman I know yet you can be so stupid at the same time." He embraced her again then let her go.

"Yeah, yeah, so you've told me."

"So are we okay?"

"Yeah. I know I've got this horrible jealous bone I need to break," she confessed as they walked out of the classroom. "It's just when I think about losing you - "

"Then don't think about it," he cut her off. He allowed the back of his hand to brush across hers as they strolled along down the hall. "I'm not going anywhere."

Author's Note: I know I already gave the reference for these quotes, but here they are again.

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today, let us begin. ~ a quote from Mother Teresa

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. ~ William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well

The phrase 'Jealous Bone' is taken from a song by Patti Loveless of the same title. Look up the lyrics or the video if you're curious. Just thought I'd share.

Thank you for reading!