"Come at me," Yoshida ordered her.
Mari stared at him in disbelief. Her shoulders raised up and down she was struggling so hard to breathe. She panted open mouthed, drawing in each noisy breath to replenish her lungs after he grabbed her when she charged him, flinging her forcefully over his head and flat onto her back. Even the mats could not prevent the impact from knocking the breath out of her.
"I'm tired," she panted, leaning over to place her hands on her knees when dizziness made two of him appear.
"Do you think an opponent is going to care if you're tired or you're having trouble breathing? This will be the moment they attack and end you. Now come on, attack me," he commanded her.
Yoshida took a fighting stance, one foot forward, one foot back, and fists up. Using a taunting gesture reserved for cheesy martial arts movies, he beckoned her with a wave of his fingers.
"You're right," she sighed, inhaling a deep breath while standing up straight.
Closing her eyes, she attempted to mentally prepare herself to take another hard. She was getting better, faster, and stronger quickly since she already had a base of self-defense and basic judo to work with, but he could still kick her ass and did unapologetically.
Mari rushed at him, lowering her upper body as if she meant to tackle him. When she was within his arm's reach, she dropped to her knees avoiding his punch or clothesline maneuver aimed at her throat. Swinging her elbow back, she caught him behind the knee, throwing off his balance.
As he went down, taking advantage of her own momentum, she swung her other arm and twisted her body to seize him around the waist. He felt so thin and fragile. Then his muscles started to bunch in his belly, his powerful fingers clamping down on her forearms locked around his waist.
Shit...I better do this fast or he might break my arms, she thought. On her knees, she locked her arms tightly around him, pushing her right shoulder into his back while rearing back with all of her might. Since he was already off balance and falling, the direction of his fall changed sending him backwards over her shoulder which she thrust into him while pushing herself up to a standing position.
Mari whirled around, almost causing herself to fall. Yoshida lay on the mat, flat on his face. He turned his face to the side, breathing heavily.
"Oh, my God," she gasped, dropping onto her behind in shocked disbelief. Thank goodness for the mattresses to cushion her fall. "I did it."
"You did it," he confirmed flatly, getting up onto to all fours. He stood to his feet, brushing himself off as if to wipe off the humiliation of his unexpected meeting with the floor.
"Did you let me get the best of you? Did you give up just to make me feel better?" she asked, her eyes following him as he went to his book bag.
"No and no. I would never let you get the best of me...ever," he said, taking two bottles of water out of his bag. "I really don't care how you feel."
"Of course not," she sighed rolling her eyes. Mari took the bottle offered to her, giving him a forced smile that could be called sarcastic. "Silly me."
"Besides, what kind of teacher would I be if you didn't get better?" he inquired, squatting down in front of her while twisting off the lid of his water bottle. "It shouldn't come as a surprise if you occasionally get a move over on me from time to time." He gave her one of those dry, humorless sideways grins. "Even if it is by total accident."
"Tch," she clicked her tongue disapprovingly, taking a drink from her bottle.
Yoshida sat down on his behind in front of her, gazing at her while drinking his water. He seemed to be assessing her for something but she had no idea what might be going on inside that head of his. His face never betrayed his thoughts, staying completely emotionless, only his mouth moving from drinking.
"What?" she snapped finally. His shameless stare was making her feel ill at ease and embarrassed but she did not know why she should be embarrassed.
"Would you make a deal with a devil?"
"Wh-what?" she coughed, choking on her water.
"Humans can make a deal with a devil to gain the use of their powers. You know that right?" He watched her over his bottle while he finished off the contents.
"Yeah," she confirmed, leaning back on her elbows.
"You're okay in hand to hand combat with a human but you'll never last against a Devil. That's why I'm asking. Would you consider it?"
"No. I wouldn't. It strikes me as a whole monkey's paw situation."
"Monkey's paw?" he chuckled derisively, crunching the empty plastic bottle between his hands. "You mean like the story? A wish comes at a price?"
"Exactly. To get something, you have to give something of equal value. There's nothing I'm willing to give up to gain that kind of power. No matter what that power might be." Mari paused, considering the man sitting in front of her carefully. "What did you sacrifice for your contract, Yoshida? What do you give up each time you call on the Octopus Devil?"
Yoshida leaned forward, propping his chin on his hand, his elbow resting on his knee bent up to his chest. He stared at her in silence for a long, uncomfortable moment before saying a single word.
"Guess."
Since she had to guess, she wanted to make it a good guess. At the very least a well thought out guess he would not berate her for.
Her mind raced to recall what she learned about octopi in ninth grade earth science. Everyone knows they eight legs. Each arm can operate independently of the others. The giant Pacific Octopus is the largest known species with an average arm span of 14 feet.
What most people don't know about octopi is they have three hearts, nine brains, and blue blood. They are extremely intelligent and can learn, even figuring out how to use simple tools. They can recognize and form attachments to humans. They do experience emotions such as affection and love.
"I would say you give up a piece of your heart, your emotions, each time. Every time you call upon her powers, you give more of yourself to her emotionally which is preventing you from forming bonds with other people or experiencing any real emotions," she surmised. "You're on the verge of becoming a sociopath with no emotions or empathy."
While waiting for his answer, she chewed on her lower lip. Although it made her anxious, it must be a good sign he did not immediately insult her reply. She would admit her answer was a psychological reach, an extremely wild guess on her part, which she formed from his general personality which can only be described as extraordinarily reserved.
"Huh...interesting," he mumbled, before quickly changing the subject of their discussion to circle back around to her. "You know Denji will have a much longer lifespan than you."
Mari shrugged with a smile on her face.
"You just invalidated your own argument of forming a contract with a Devil. Wouldn't making a deal with a Devil drastically cut down on the life I have left to live whether it be my sacrifice or the fact Devils and Fiends would begin to seek me out to kill me?" she countered.
"Most likely." He shrugged. "You put yourself on their radar anyway becoming the girlfriend of the Chainsaw Devil. Have you forgotten how much Reze hates you and wants to kill you?"
Actually, Mari had forgotten about Reze. Not having to see the Bomb Devil hybrid every day, not enduring threats both veiled in the form of scathing glances or bold in the form of spoken death threats, had allowed her to relax and not fear for her life on a daily basis.
"So that means you think the two of us are going to be together for a very long time?" She could redirect the conversation back to an earlier point while ignoring the present one just like him.
"If Denji doesn't get tired of you and find someone else. He really did want his own personal harem. You know how he is about those silly dreams of his."
"Well, anyway, I'll just have to make the best of what time I have left with him. Besides, I think there's enough Devils in our family."
"Our family?"
"Well, aren't you a part of it?" she asked when he peered at her with his blank eyes.
"Am I?"
"You have no idea how infuriating it is to have a conversation with you," she muttered, getting to her feet. "I need to go. It's getting late."
Mari walked past him to pick up her tote bag from the floor, shoving the empty bottle inside. Unlike many of the other people who used this building, she did not want to leave her trash lying around.
"I'll walk you home," he volunteered, standing up to retrieve his bag.
"Oookay. Thank you," she said, unsure of what else to say in response to his offer. "Want to stay for dinner?" she asked assuming that might be his ulterior motive for walking her home.
"Sure. Only since you asked of course."
"Uh huh." She slung the strap of her tote bag over her shoulder. "Oh, hey, I need to skip training tomorrow night. And before you say so, no I am not wimping out. Nayuta is having a sleepover at my apartment tomorrow night."
"Oh, I see. A slumber party."
"Yep. I'm sure Denji wouldn't mind the company if you want to come over. You guys can do..." She waved her hand around. "You can do whatever you guys would do."
"What? You don't think we paint each other nails and talk about our crushes?"
"Some men might but not you two. Besides, you don't like anyone much less like someone for a girlfriend." She elbowed him in the ribs and winked. "Or a boyfriend."
"Hmmm," he hummed thoughtfully, the corners of his mouth twitching.
"I think Denji is getting a little depressed because he hasn't found the Blood Devil yet."
"So we might go out Devil hunting. That's what guys like us do."
~\'/~
At bedtime, when Mari entered her bedroom after her shower, she saw Denji lying in the bed with his hands behind his head staring up at the ceiling. He looked so far away from her right now despite being right in front of her. He only had one serving of yaki udon for dinner which was highly unusual for him and kick started her worry. She was becoming more concerned about him by the minute watching him drifting further and further away from her.
He must be unbearably frustrated because he is so close to finding a part of his old friend. Surely this frustration fueled his anxiety about reconnecting with an important person from his past that will hopefully be a friend again and not a new enemy.
Not realizing she had been holding her breath, she exhaled when she heard him sigh loudly. He really did sound like he had lost his best friend all over again. Without a word, Mari crawled into bed next to him, cuddling up to his side.
"You'll find him. I know it's frustrating knowing he's here, somewhere...so close. And that means it won't be long until your paths cross once again," she said in an excessively cheery voice in her effort to bring solace to him.
Denji , his arm already around her shoulders, pulled her closer her, partly rolling her onto his chest so he could kiss her forehead.
"I know. I'm just not a patient man," he murmured, patting her shoulder as if comforting her.
"No, you are most definitely not," she agreed, putting her arm across his chest to grasp his bicep. "Impulsive, rash, unthinking. But if you weren't those things, I wouldn't have met you. You wouldn't be here with me now."
"I couldn't imagine my life without you," he whispered, tilting her chin upward.
"I feel the same way about you," she said in return, pressing her lips to his.
"I need to just hold you until I go to sleep. Is that okay?"
Mari snuggled into to him, pushing her head under his chin. "That's perfectly okay."
~\'/~
On the way home the next day, Mari walked behind the three girls who were linked arm in arm, happily skipping down the sidewalk. Happiness stretched her lips into a wide grin. Their backpacks bounced up and down on their backs, but they did not seem to mind. They were singing some silly song, but she could not understand the words because they giggled so much.
Suddenly the girls stopped in their tracks, the singing ceasing immediately. Nayuta's two friends turned toward her, curling their bodies into hers. They were afraid, but of what?
Oh, God, is it a Devil?, Mari wondered, running to catch up since they were about half a block ahead of her.
"Get behind me," Nayuta calmly told her friends, extracting her arms from theirs to push them behind her.
"What the hell?" Mari murmured, stepping around the frightened girls who huddled together several feet behind their friend.
Then she saw him. He stepped from the alley to stand in front of Nayuta. The man was tall, incredibly tall, towering over her. He smiled down at the young girl, his broad grin showing off his elongated and vampire like incisors.
Two horns stuck straight up from his head through his short, shaggy light blond hair. He held a small mallet like hammer in his hand. A hammer made of blood; much smaller than the one he proudly posed with in the blurry photo. Also like in that picture, he wore jeans rolled up to his knees and a white dress shirt with a loose black tie.
Mari knew he did not work for Public Safety. Perhaps he worked for some local crime syndicate as hired muscle. With a startled gasp, it occurred to her that maybe he worked for Sato as a hunting dog sent out to find runaways with orders to either retrieve or kill. In her case, the order would be to retrieve.
"Nayuta, get back," she commanded the child standing bravely and unshakably in front of the new incarnation of the Blood Devil.
"No. He'll kill you," she returned matter of factly without taking her eyes off of the Fiend in front of her. "But not if I kill him first."
"But you shouldn't, he's the one Denji is looking for," Mari reminded her.
His eyes raised from Nayuta to look over her head at Mari. The hammer dissolved, the blood trickling down his arm to re-enter the small cut below the joint on the outside of his wrist. The wound closed and vanished as if it had never been there at all.
"You're not the one, I'm looking for, little one," he said to Nayuta, sidestepping the child to go around her and approach Mari.
Mari held her breath, staring up at him while he examined her carefully as if trying to determine if she were the one he was searching for. His eyes, a red cross hatch pattern across the yellow iris rimmed in red, made several passes over her body, up and down and side to side as well.
When he bent down, bringing his nose close to her neck, she inhaled deeply to hold her breath, turning her head away from him. He started sniffing her, snuffling like a curious dog. Her body trembled on the inside as well as the outside. She would swear she could hear her organs rattling together, and hoped she did not shake apart.
"Hmmm, how interesting," he murmured, straightening up to look down at her. "You are a human but..." He leaned down again, his face coming uncomfortably close to her cleavage. "But you also have the faint scent of a Devil. Two Devils." He glimpsed at Nayuta behind them. "One is this child. The other is - "
"Who sent you here?" she interrupted him, noticing the way he continued to study her breasts.
"Your heaving bosom truly is beauteous to behold. And so bountiful," he said, raising his hands in the same manner as Denji when he was preparing to go in to feel her up.
"Excuse me, sir!" Mari exclaimed, covering her chest with her arms.
She would have to admit she had never been given a lecherous compliment in such an eloquent manner. Denji had told her that Power was prone to using pompous words and antiquated phrasing to make herself seem smarter. Apparently verbosity had been an inherent part of the Blood Devil's personality.
"What is your name?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly.
"It doesn't matter. What's your name?"
"Mari. But what do people call you? What is your name?" she repeated more insistently, taking a step back from shim o she would not have to crane her neck so severely to look up at him. He must be a few inches taller than Denji who stood at six feet already and had a few years left to grow.
"I don't have one," he said. He grabbed Mari's hand making her gasp and almost jump out of her skin. "Will you give me one?"
In an instant he went from a dirty mouthed creeper to an enthusiastic child. She resisted the urge to snatch her hands away from him in disgust. There was something disarming, somewhat captivating, about him. But he was also a little annoying. Very much like the Power Denji had described to her.
"Would you like to be called Power?" Mari asked.
"Power?" He looked a bit confused, tilting his head which furthered his puppy like quality. "Power," he repeated as if to try on the name verbally. "Why Power? Is that even a name?"
"Power was the name of your last incarnation," she explained. "You were a close friend of someone who is very important to me."
"I was?"
"You were. Would you like to meet him?"
For a second he appeared excited by the prospect of meeting someone who not only knew his last incarnation but was friends with them. Then his smile faded and he looked crestfallen, his eyes lowering to the sidewalk to avoid hers.
"What's wrong?" Mari asked.
"I have orders to take you to my boss," he said, extending his hand to her. "Please come willingly. I don't want to have to hurt you."
Mari's knees weakened. She had heard those words before, and they struck fear into her heart now just as much as they did then. Swallowing several times did not rid her of the lump clogging her throat. Her belly quivered twice as much as her voice had earlier. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, Nayuta stepped in front of her.
"Back off asshole or I'll kick you so hard you'll have to clear your throat to scratch your balls," the girl growled in a distinctly threatening voice.
"Nayuta!" Mari exclaimed, taken aback by the positively indecent phrases.
She could hear titters of laughter behind her from the other two girls despite the weird and somewhat dangerous situation. There was no reason to ask where she heard something like that because it sounded like a threat that would come out of Denji's mouth.
"Who sent you?" Nayuta inquired since he had not answered the question earlier.
"Mr. Sato sent me. He said she's a thief. She stole very expensive merchandise from him," he explained, repeating exactly what he had been told.
"Merchandise," Mari scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"What did you steal from him?" he asked, looking at Mari over Nayuta's head.
"Me." She patted her chest over her heart which warranted a tilt of his head to the other side to show his bewilderment. "He meant me. I was the merchandise. He sold me...my time, my emotions." Her attempt at clarification only seemed to befuddle him more. "I brought in quite a bit of money for him."
"How will you come with me?" He extended his hand to her as if Nayuta was not there between them. "In peace? Or in pieces?"
"You were warned," Nayuta said, seizing his fingers and bending them back.
Power bellowed in pain, dropping to his knees.
His muffled groans of discomfort elicited no sympathy from her, and Nayuta continued bending back his hand back until bones cracked in his wrist and fingers. He hollered again but made no attempt to inflict injury to her.
With man on his knees in front of her, she swung her foot, delivering a swift and forceful kick between his legs before he could change his mind and retaliate. A kick in the gonads worked as well on a Fiend as it does on any male.
When she let his hand go, he fell forward onto his face, pushing his hands between his legs to cover his wounded genitalia and mourn the loss of his pride. If he had been a mere human, a kick from her probably would have burst his balls and killed him.
"Now, I am about to tell you what you are going to do," Nayuta said, grabbing him by the hair to pull up his head so he would have to be further humiliating by looking at the child who literally brought him to his knees and damaged his dignity in addition to his manhood. "You are going to leave Mari alone and not take her back to your boss because he stole something important from her first. You will come with us to meet Denji. If you do not want to do these things, I will send you right back to Hell."
Mari rested her hand on Nayuta's shoulder. Although she had no doubt the girl was more than capable of killing him, she hoped she would not since Denji wanted to find him so desperately.
The man looked pitiful, red faced with snot running from his nose and drool coming from the corner of his mouth making Mari wonder if his balls weren't truly in his throat after that kick.
"What are you going to do?" she demanded, pulling his hair.
He grunted and cleared his throat. "I'll go..." He cleared his throat again. "I'll go with you."
Nayuta patted his cheek making a distinct slapping sound each time. "Good answer."
Mari was both disturbed and amused by her behavior. The deceptively young and weak looking child would have made grown ass gangsters tremble in their boots and piss their pants.
"We should take Melanie and Himari home," Mari whispered to Nayuta.
"Nah, there's no reason to cancel the slumber party. They will will be fine," she assured Mari as they both watched the man sway uncertainly from side to side as he struggled to stand. "He won't give us any more problems. I'll make sure of that."
"Nayuta, are sure this is okay?" Himari asked, cautiously approaching her friend to stand beside her as the man staggered past them.
"It will be fine. None of us are in any danger from him," she assured her friend who clutched her hand. "We can't let this jerk ruin our fun."
"I've heard of bringing stray dogs home but never stray humans," remarked Melanie as she took her place on Nayuta's other side. She did not look back at the man who fell into step behind them unlike Himari who kept glancing over her shoulder apprehensively.
It happens more often than you could ever imagine, Mari thought, remembering Denji himself had been a stray Makima picked up and brought home to become a Devil Hunter and her own personal pet.
Mari walked beside Power trying not to think about Makima. There seemed to be no end to her jealousy or hatred of the dead woman. However, if that woman had not done what she did, bringing Denji to a new home like a lost pup, she would not be with him now. In a way, she supposed she should be grateful to that bitch.
She glanced ahead at the young girl who walked between her friends, chatting away with them as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. If it weren't for the Control Devil that once possessed Makima, that remarkable little girl would not be in her life either.
A mean spirited grin tugged up the corners of Mari's mouth. At least Makima did her the favor of dying, by Denji's own hands no less, clearing the way to allow two beautiful people she would not have otherwise met to become an important part of her life.
"Denji, Denji, Denji!" Nayuta shouted excitedly, running into the apartment ahead of everyone.
"Hey, kiddo!" he exclaimed, opening his arms for her to run into them for a hug.
"I brought home a very special present for you," she announced.
"Oh, yeah? Hey, I ordered the pizzas. I hope you like - " The words froze on his tongue when he saw the man enter the living room from the short hallway. "Fucking hell...you found him."
"Well, he found us really," Nayuta corrected him. "He was looking for Mari actually. He was going to take her back to - "
Mari put her hand over Nayuta's mouth to cut off her words. She doubted Denji was listening by the way he stood mesmerized by the sight of the new Power. When her fingers were gently peeled away by Nayuta, she lowered her hand down to her side.
Yoshida stood up from his seat on the couch to come stand beside Denji as he stood sizing up the blond man with devil horns standing in front of him. He was not sure how Denji would react; if he would sense a threat and attack or be too amazed by the Blood Devil's appearance to react at all.
"I'm Denji," he said, extending his hand to the newcomer.
"Introduce yourself, Power," Nayuta ordered him when he just stood there.
"Power?" Denji murmured under his breath.
Nayuta tugged on Denji's limp hand until he glanced down at her. "We gave him the same name. In honor of the first one."
"My name is Power!" he exclaimed, formerly bowing to Denji instead of accepting the handshake. "I am pleased to meet you."
"Did you do that by manipulating him?" Mari asked Nayuta in a low voice.
"Uhm...yeah," she reluctantly admitted. "Please don't be mad at me. I just want this reunion to be perfect for Denji."
"I'm not mad. I'm happy actually. You can use your mind control to make sure they become friends rather than being enemies. And don't fight." She glanced around the apartment.
"I'm glad you feel that way. Do you think Denji would be mad if he knew?"
"Oh, yeah. He'd be real mad. But I'd rather him not be disappointed or heartbroken by being unable to reconnect with an old friend that has returned. Even if the outward form is different, that's still the Blood Devil he was friends with before."
"Hmmm," Nayuta mumbled, watching the two men staring awkwardly at each other. "Everything will work out. Denji and Power will be definitely be friends again. They'll get along great even without my Control Devil power." Nayuta took Mari's hand. "How can you not love Denji?"
She chuckled, squeezing the small hand in hers. "You're right. I certainly can't resist him."
Denji could not stop staring at the man in front of him. This guy was as good looking as the first Power had been pretty. As thrilled as he was the new Blood Devil had been found, he could not help but be a bit reticent, purposely holding back his happiness about this reunion lest it come crashing down around his ears in disappointment.
Mari could feel the tension rising in the room. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as if electrified from the high emotions flooding the air.
"Nayuta, take Melanie and Himari into my bedroom. Lock the door and don't come out no matter what you hear," she said in a hushed voice so her friends would not hear.
"Hey, let's go to Mari's room," Nayuta suggested, taking her friends by their hands to lead them. "She said we could play a game in there while everyone talks."
Mari feared those girls would never be allowed over for another sleepover once their parents heard about what happened here.
"How did you find them?" Denji asked, his voice low and controlled as if he were angry instead of happy.
"Mr. Sato sent me to find Mari and bring her back to him," Power answered a little too honestly for his own good.
"What did you say?" Denji growled, showing his clenched teeth.
"Mr. Sato - "
Without allowing Power to finish repeating his sentence, Denji drew back his fist and let it fly right into the unsuspecting Fiend's nose. All needed was to hear that name for his temper to boil over. Blood spurted from Power's broken nose, covering his face down to his chin and splattering across his white shirt.
Denji punched him again, forcing him backwards. He continued to hit him, backing him against the wall. Taking hold of a fist full of Power's shirt, he pinned him to the wall in case the Fiend decided to break free and run.
Not a blow was returned because Nayuta would not allow it. Despite being in the other room and busy with her friends, she was somehow keeping the Fiend's fists at his sides, his clenched fists pressed into his thighs despite how much he wanted to strike the man raining punches down on his face.
"Denji! Stop!" Mari screamed at him but he did not hear her.
She lunged forward to grab his arm but Yoshida grasped her wrist and snatched her back. Her head swiveled toward him, her eyes hard like blue marbles with fury.
"Just let him be. He will hurt you if you get in the way," he warned her, releasing her wrist. "How can you be so accepting of that Fiend when he was coming to get you to return you to that human trafficker? I am genuinely stunned at the level of your stupidity by bringing him here."
"You had no intention of helping Denji find his friend did you?" she inquired with an accusing tone tainting her voice.
Yoshida did not answer, not a muscle in face twitching in an attempt to form an expression. His eyes were dead as well. His cold stare latched onto her face which started to flush with anger, the redness running all the way down her neck to her chest.
"Kishibe came to me first about the return of the Blood Devil. I found the new incarnation soon after Denji saw that picture. I knew he worked as a hunting dog for Sato. I felt it was best they never meet. As you can see, it would be detrimental to Denji...just as I knew it would be."
Mari pulled back her hand and slapped him. The sound of her palm contacting his cheek was sharp like the crack of whip and loud enough to make Denji cease hitting Power to turn around to see what happened.
"You selfish bastard. You knew all about him but did not tell Denji a damn thing. Who gave you the right - "
"The people who asked me to protect Denji, to take care of him, gave me the right. I am truly sorry."
His face was still impassive. His eyes dull and empty - just like his words.
"You know, you should inform your face occasionally so other people would have an idea of what you're feeling because you don't look sorry at all. Since you don't understand, let me spell it out for you. I brought him here for Denji's sake. It sure as hell wasn't for mine. God, I wish you'd try to be human for once and consider other's feelings. Especially his," she said, jerking her chin toward Denji who had stopped hitting Power.
"Why?" Denji panted, letting go of Power's shirt.
The Fiend, exhausted and bloody, slid down the wall. Although Nayuta had let go of her hold on him, he did move out of his own choice presently.
Yoshida and Mari were distracted from their argument by Denji's pointed question. Both turned their attention to Denji, but he was addressing Power, not either of them.
"Why what?" Power inquired breathlessly.
"Why did you hunt her down? Why were you going to take her back to that man who would most likely have killed her?"
"I was only following orders."
"The Blood Devil I knew never followed orders. Are you really him or are you just pretending to be the Devil I knew?"
Denji dropped down to sit on the floor beside the Fiend to catch his breath as well. Now that he thought about it, the Power he knew actually did do something like that, just following orders, when there was something she wanted more than anything else. He had been led into the clutches of the Bat Devil as a promised lunch so she could get her beloved Meowy back.
"What was Sato going to give you in return for bringing Mari to him?" Denji puffed between gulps of air.
"My freedom," Power answered simply and honestly. "I had escaped Hell again only to be locked up here. He made me pretty promises and stole my freedom."
"Yeah. I know how you feel," Mari said, handing him a towel to wipe some of the blood from his face.
"You were his prisoner too?" He swiped at the blood that had not yet been absorbed back into his body.
"Uh huh."
Power bowed his head. "I humbly apologize fair maiden. I had no idea I would be taking something so precious from you again."
Denji knew how important freedom had been to Power. Despite being trapped in the body of a dead human, the Blood Devil had used that body to taste all the liberties in life afforded to them and enjoyed it fully while indulging their lust for blood.
The doorbell rang startling Mari.
"The pizzas are here," Denji announced in a toneless voice.
"Yoshida, get the door," Mari ordered him, turning her attention to her boyfriend next. "Denji, take Power to the bathroom to get cleaned up. I'm going to get the girls. We're all going to sit down and have a nice dinner together. Does everyone understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am," they answered in unison sounding like sad little boys who had received a severe scolding from their mother.
Mari went to her bedroom, knocking on the door to hear shrieks of laughter ensue.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, rattling the doorknob. "Open the door. What are you up to in there?"
"Nothing," Denji heard the trio respond in singsong voices before the door opened for her.
"Get up," Denji told Power, getting to his own feet.
"Is she always like this?" Power asked, following his new old friend to the bathroom.
"Yep. I liked it."
"I like it too."
Denji cast a scathing glance at the Fiend who smiled broadly like a dork.
"Dude, she's mine."
"Got it." Power gave him a small salute with two fingers touching his temple. "Just so you know, I'm not afraid of you or her. The person I'm afraid of is the little one."
"Nayuta?"
Power visibly shuddered. "She's terrifying. Looking into her eyes shakes me right down to my core."
"You're not wrong. You're smart enough to be afraid of her. She can be scary, but..." Denji slapped the Fiend on the back, shoving him into the bathroom. "You'll be taking care of her. I'm appointing you her official bodyguard since you're going to be living with us now."
"Wait...whhaaaat?!"
The bathroom doorknob turned back and forth in his hands as Denji held the door closed from the outside.
"Hey, let me out! I never agreed to any of that!" Power bellowed, banging on the door as if he meant to beat it into splinters.
"It's a condition of you staying here. Welcome home, buddy!" Denji hollered in return, bracing his foot on the wall while holding the doorknob with both hands. "Glad to have you back!"
"Dinner's ready," Yoshida announced, setting the stack of six pizza boxes on the low table.
"Yay!" the three girls squealed running out of the bedroom like wild horses freed from a corral.
The banging stopped when Mari stepped out of the bedroom. She handed Denji one of her old gray sweatshirts for Power to change into from his blood stained shirt. She raised a questioning eyebrow.
"So the shenanigans begin?" she asked, quite unamused by all the noise and the footprint Denji left behind on the paint.
"Oh, yeah," he said with a huge grin on his face. "Just like old times."
"Listen, I would prefer you two not completely destroy the apartments. It would be nice to get our security deposits back to help with moving expenses."
"The real estate guy found something?" he inquired, his voice rising with hope and excitement.
"No. Not yet," she sighed dejectedly. "What are you going to do with him? With no one to babysit all day he could get into big trouble."
"I guess we should enroll him in school so Yoshida and I can keep tabs on him."
"Yikes, good luck with that. I also don't want him going back to Sato, telling him where I live. Are you sure he won't do that?" Mari asked, butterflies of anxiety beating their wings against the inside of her tummy until she thought she might vomit.
"I'm sure. If he does betray me, I will send him back to Hell myself. Hey," he murmured softly, taking her face between his hands. He placed a quick peck on her lips. "I trust him. Everything will work out."
"Nayuta told me the same thing so I guess I should believe it huh? But still, I just can't trust him. We don't know what kinds of promises Sato made to him."
"Trust me then if you can't trust him. And we'll find a new place soon so don't worry too much."
"I do trust you," Mari sighed, rolling her eyes as she pressed Denji's palms to her face with her hands over his. "And I'll do my best not to worry too much."
"That's my girl." He put his arms around her torso, trapping her arms by her sides in the bear hug.
"Awww," Himari and Melanie cooed.
"People are trying to eat here," Yoshida muttered.
"I'm ready to eat!" Power declared, walking out of the bathroom with a face scrubbed so clean it was pink. Water dripped from the tips of the damp hair around his face. Having taken off the bloody and no doubt wet shirt, he presently showed off the well built torso of the corpse he occupied.
"Oh, my," Mari gasped, quickly walking away toward the kitchen. "I'll get the drinks! Very cold ones!"
"Here," Denji said, pushing the sweatshirt against his bare chest. "Put this on. You're positively indecent."
Mari placed bottles of water and tea along with cans of soda and a roll of paper towels on a tray to take to the table. She sent up a silent prayer to make it through dinner. It would also be nice to avoid any further weirdness tonight so the girls could enjoy the slumber party.
She glanced at the people sitting around the table, tearing into the pizzas like a pack of starved wolves. But the strange and unusual seemed to be a permanent part of her life now. And that was perfectly okay.