Chapter 7: A Contract

It was pitch black; he could feel the muddy silt underneath him, the faint warmth of the girl on top of him, and the barbed chains which tied them together. Nothing in sight but the dark waters of Tokyo Bay and the face of Reze, their hybrid features melting away as his vision went dark.

Denji's eyes snapped open, his last memories of cold darkness being contrasted by the bright blue sky above and the warm sand below him. He sits up groggily, resting his arms on his knees, looking down at the sand. He quickly notices the metallic taste in his mouth.

'Huh… blood…', Denji thought as he absentmindedly wiped the remnants of the dried blood from his mouth, 'wonder who the hell revived me…'.

He looked around, checking for whatever good samaritan revived him. He didn't have to look too far.

'Oh it was just Beam…' Denji's face dropped in disappointment as he looked at the unconscious fiend beside him, the cut on his arm telling Denji all he needed to know, 's'pose he was the one that got me to the beach as well. Guess I'll have to thank him later'.

Denji lay back down in the sand and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sand and the water lapping at his feet, 'huh… this is kinda nice…'.

'…'

'…'

'…'

Denji's eyes snapped open again as he quickly bolted upright again.

"Shit, where's Reze?!", Denji exclaimed as he scrambled to his feet, head swivelling as he looked up and down the beach, to see it empty, the only souls on the beach being him and Beam.

'Crap, of course Beam wouldn't've brought her up!', Denji cursed his oversight as he swapped to scanning the water. And there it was, further out in the water, he caught a glimpse of something dark: Reze's distinctive raven hair! Just a short way out into the water was Reze's body floating face-down in the surf.

Denji jumped into action as soon as he saw the body, wading out into the bay until he reached it, the water now up to his waist. He flipped the girl over in a panic, in his haste forgetting that the girl in question was naked from the waist up.

"Ah shit!", Denji shouted in shock, as he quickly turned his head away from the body, his face bright red.

'Totally forgot her explosions did that!' Denji pulled himself together, shaking off his embarrassment and with a new gratitude that his own transformation at least didn't totally shred his clothes; he looped his arms under Reze's arms and began dragging her towards the shore, keeping his head turned to the side the whole way back.

As he reached the beach, Reze's body in tow, Denji laid Reze down on the sand gently before kneeling down in the sand next to her. He put his fingers to her neck.

'No pulse… well go figure I guess…', Denji facepalmed, he found her face-down in the water of course there wouldn't be a damned pulse, 'blood, she'll need blood!'.

Denji springs up, looking around the beach momentarily before spying what he was looking for and running off for it. A moment later, he was back at the girl's side, a sharp, jagged shell in one hand. He raised his hand above her mouth and moved to cut his hand with the shell, before he froze.

'I think I'm forgetting something', his eyes snapped quickly down to Reze's chest before just as quickly looking away, 'Oh yeah…'

A moment later Denji had stripped off what remained of his shirt and pulled the garment over his fellow hybrid's head and returned to his position kneeled at the girl's side, but the hand holding the shell was now down at his side and his face bore a conflicted look as he stared at Reze's face.

The face of the girl who had laughed at his jokes, the same girl who goofed off with him at the café, the girl who showed him what school was like, the girl who taught him how to swim…

Denji's face twisted in anger.

Because it was also the face of the girl who had blown him apart.

The face of the girl who had bitten off his tongue just moments after declaring her love for him.

The same girl who had just been after his chainsaw heart…

As quickly as the anger came, it left him. Despite all that happened the other day, Denji couldn't bring himself to stay angry at the girl, after all, he worked with several people who had tried to kill him, hell Power still tried every once in a while!

He cut his hand with the shell and positioned it above the girl's mouth, crimson droplets slowly dripping down.

Even if this ended up being a mistake, Denji still needed to know the truth.

'She said when we were fightin' on the road that she really did like me, that she wasn't just after my heart', he took his hand away when he thought she had enough blood, sitting back down next to Beam's unconscious form as he waited for the girl to resuscitate.

'Maybe this is dumb… hell, it definitely is…', Denji looked morosely out into the bay, 'but I need to know that someone, anyone out there actually wants me, and not just what's inside my heart…'

The sound of waves lapping on the shore and gulls cawing pierced Reze's ears, the smell of salt in the air dragging her out of her coma, dreams of swimming lessons under the moonlight fading away.

Her eyes groggily opened, revealing the clear, blue sky above.

'Wha- how…?', Reze was confused, she hadn't expected to wake up at all, or at least to have woken up in captivity again, the open sky was the last thing she thought she'd wake up to. Then it hit her, there was only one person who would revive her after all that happened.

She suddenly jerked herself up into a seated position, arms resting on her knees, her eyes looking down at the sand. She didn't even need to look beside her to know who she'd find there.

'Why… after everything, did he save a murderer like me?', Reze kept her eyes locked on the sand, feeling ashamed that Denji had still revived her, after everything she'd done to hurt him, 'I need to know why…'.

"I can't believe it…", Reze finally spoke, voice coloured with a strange mix of disbelief and melancholy, "Why did you revive me…?".

Denji hadn't moved from his position looking out at the sea, a pensive look on his face, not even moving his head to look at her. Reze almost thought he ignored her question; she knew she'd deserve it if he did.

"I'm living a wonderful life", Denji's reply came, breaking the awkward silence between them, the boy still looking out to sea as he went on, "Even if I get beaten black and blue, go through hell, and die again and again… as long as I get to eat good grub the next day, I can wipe the ledger clean".

Reze kept her eyes on the ground as Denji gave his speech, she would've been impressed by his resilience if it wasn't for the implication behind the words, 'He'd happily go through all that, just for food and somewhere to live… sounds like Public Safety alright…'.

"But… if I arrested you right here and turned you over to Public Safety", Reze's thoughts were cut short as Denji continued, "I just feel like… there'd be a fish bone stuck in my throat…".

Reze was watching him from the corner of her eye now, his speech getting her attention and breaking her out of her spell of self-loathing.

"Even if I'm living this wonderful life… if there's gonna be stabbing pain in the back of my throat sometimes, it'd suck…" as Denji finished his speech, the sound of movement from beside him drew his attention, turning his head only to see Reze on her feet, her piercing green eyes staring at him intensely from behind her tousled bangs.

"Could you still say that if I killed you right now?", Reze said this, her voice cold and emotionless as she looked down at him. Reze still couldn't understand why he revived her. Surely after all that, he couldn't still like her; why should he feel bad about bringing in a killer like her?

But to her surprise, he just smiled up at her cheekily, "If I'm gonna get killed, let it be at the hands of a hottie, that's my motto". Denji watched curiously as Reze turned her head down again.

"Pfft…"

"Ahahahahaha!"

Denji watched Reze's cold stare break as she doubled over into a laughing fit. As he watched, he thought back to when they first met in that telephone booth, 'heh… what was it she said again, that I reminded her of her dead dog or something?' Denji smirked at the memory. Even during their fight in the storm, Reze had found the time to go into a fit of laughter.

Then he was ripped out from his reminiscing as he realised that the girl was no longer laughing and had returned to looking down at him, an implacable look in her eyes.

'He saved me, even after what I did to him, so I'll return the favour…', Reze thought as she looked at him, she needed to leave right now, if Public Safety was looking for them, then she should at least make sure they didn't think he let her go, she didn't have much faith that that bitch would show much leniency towards him…

'Sorry again… Denji'

"By any chance… do you think I actually like you?" Reze's mask was fully on as she lied through her teeth, "Every expression. Every blush since I met you, all of it was a lie, the product of my training."

Denji's mouth was agape in surprise at the sudden tirade as Reze held eye contact with him, and if Denji was paying attention, he might have seen a flash of emotion in her eyes that was almost… tender.

She turned away suddenly, "I failed… I spent too much time fighting you." Reze turned away, confident that her lie would be enough to distance Denji from her, "I'm running now. Bye".

However, as she began walking away, her plan hit a snag. Because Denji had been paying attention to her. And he didn't believe her.

"Wanna run away with me?"

Reze froze mid-step as the boy she had been planning to leave there on the beach asked her the very same question she had asked him at the festival, a hand behind his head and a nonchalant look on his face as he agreed to do the very thing that he refused to do before.

She looked back over her shoulder at Denji, her mind going haywire, only able to get out a single word.

"What…?"

Denji held Reze's gaze as he continued, "I can fight too, raises your chances of gettin' away". All throughout this, Denji's face didn't shift from this carefree look, the ghost of a smile barely visible.

Reze still didn't turn around though, only watching Denji over her shoulder from the corner of her eye.

'Tch… he's stubborn', as she stood there she debated if she should keep walking. No, he'd probably follow after her…

In the end, she just settled on trying to drive him off again.

"I've killed a lot of people you know", Reze stated matter-of-factly, barely moving a muscle, "letting me go means that you would be aiding and abetting a murderer, Denji."

"Do you understand that?"

Denji tilted his head to the side, looking at Reze as if he could see right through her, 'That one's not workin' on me Reze… if you were as bad a person as you're makin' yourself out to be, why didn't you kill me when we first met'.

Denji answered Reze's bluntness with his own, "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, I still like you."

A smirk came to his face as he saw Reze shift and turn slightly, "You say it was all a lie… but isn't it true that you taught me how to swim?"

Reze turned fully around at that, her cold mask thawing, being replaced by a rosy blush, her face looking conflicted as her feet slowly brought her closer to Denji, as if moving by themselves. The two not breaking eye contact as she drew up close, her arm draping itself behind his neck, memories of a moonlit swim flashing through their minds.

As they gazed into each other's eyes, Reze thought about how easy it would be to just snap his neck and leave him there on the beach, where he'd be safe. She was about to do it too; it would be the right thing to do if she wanted to protect him.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

As she looked into his eyes, and despite knowing that their chances of escape were slim to none, she kept coming up with new reasons to go through with it.

She didn't want to go back to that damned room, only to be allowed out when they needed a weapon, she didn't want to be controlled anymore, and she didn't want to hurt Denji again…

It was selfish of her. She knows that. She knows that the chance they escape that witch's clutches were slim to none, that it would put not just her, but also Denji in danger…

But at that moment, she didn't care about any of that as she thought back to what that crabby old manager had told her.

'Don't regret anything later huh…?'

With that though Reze closed the last small amount of distance separating her and Denji, going up on her tiptoes and planting a chaste kiss on Denji's lips, before quickly separating and moving back, her arms back down at her sides.

"I meant what I said back on the road Denji, that I like you I mean", Reze chuckled dryly, "as if that wasn't obvious by now…"

She looked to the side nervously as she spoke, still unsure over her decision to drag Denji into this mess.

Denji snapped out of his stupor as he registered what she had said, his shock at the sudden kiss being replaced by a bright smile, the news that she actually did like him, and that someone actually just wanted him for him, with no ulterior motives, was a relief.

The smile dropped from his face however, when the gravity of the situation hit him, he needed to leave everything that Miss Makima had given him behind; his job, Aki who had saved him over and over, Power who… was his friend. She'd only tried to kill him a couple of times recently!

But when he looked at the girl in front of him, he found other thoughts came to mind. He imagined going to school, talking with friends over lunch, eating nice grub every day. He wanted more than the bare minimum, and above all he thought about doing all of it with someone who truly cared about him.

'S'pose I should probably say something…' Denji turned his attention back to Reze, who hadn't moved since her admission, an odd, almost anguished look on her face as she looked away from him.

"I'm glad an' all that you like me to…", Denji addressed her, snapping Reze out of her funk, "and having a normal kiss for once was great… but what do we do now?"

Reze gave him a weak smile, "well… getting off this beach would be a good start".

Before they were able to discuss their escape any further, a groan quickly brought her attention to the fiend lying in the sand behind Denji, the smile slipped from her face as she walked over to the fiend, the same one that had been a constant thorn in her side the day before.

"Hey what are you-!" Denji's shout was cut off as a sharp crack echoed across the beach

"What the hell Reze!?', Denji stared open-mouthed as Reze took her hand away from the fiends neck and stood up, fixing him with an exasperated look.

"We can't have him following us, what else would you have me do?"

"I know that!" Denji snapped at her, infuriated at her nonchalant attitude, "That doesn't mean y' had to kill him!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Reze puts her hands up, trying to placate the boy, "He's not dead!"

"Ehhhh…?", Denji looked at her, his mouth agape, "but you just snapped his…"

"His neck?" Reze finished his sentence for him, "well I had to stop him following or reporting on us somehow, and he's a fiend, so it's hardly a big deal for him".

"Yeah, I guess you're right…", Denji replied unsurely; despite having calmed down, he still seemed uncomfortable as he continued, "but you coulda at least told me what you were gonna do…"

Reze's expression softens as Denji speaks, guilt and worry hitting her like a punch to the gut as she closed the distance between them again, grabbing his hand lightly.

Reze looks Denji in the eyes, wincing as he flinches at her touch, "Denji, I… I've done awful things, I've killed more innocent people than I could count, more than I could ever be forgiven for…", Reze's face was hidden by her bangs as her hand gripped onto Denji's more tightly, "but I don't want to hurt people anymore… and I especially don't want to hurt you again…"

Denji grasps Reze's hand tightly in response, looking down at her sympathetically. "You know, before I joined Public Safety, I used to work for the Yakuza…", Reze's gaze snapped up to meet Denji's own, her surprise at his response clear.

"I'm not gonna pretend that they had me doin' stuff as bad as killing people or anything, but I'm just sayin' that… I know what it's like to have your whole life controlled by someone else"

An unsteady, yet warm smile came to Reze's face.

"You really need to wise up a little", Reze giggled as she started to walk off, dragging Denji lightly by the hand as she went looking over her shoulder with a teasing grin as she did, "maybe when we get off this beach, you can help me pick out some clothes?"

Denji flushed bright red, a smile on his face as he was dragged off, "Y-yeah!"

"How'd you learn to pick locks anyways?", Denji asked through thin curtain of the changing room. The two teens had broken into a small beachside clothes store, with Reze having volunteered herself to pick the lock of the back door after Denji had floated the idea of kicking down the door

"Ah-ah-ah Denjiii-", a lilting voice echoed from behind the curtain, "a lady has to keep some secrets".

Denji rolled his eyes as he continued waiting, leaning against the wall and looking around the shop. It was a small, modest store, with its stock of clothes mostly reflecting its beachside location, with a mixture of tourist-orientated branded clothes, Hawaiian shirts and swimwear lining the walls. Denji looked down at his own clothes, Reze had picked him out a pair of khaki shorts, a simple white shirt and a Tokyo-branded baseball cap to hide his hair before she had rushed into the changing room with her own chosen outfit in her arms.

Denji let out a disappointed sigh, 'shame she was kidding earlier…', Denji thought back to Reze's quickly forgotten tease that he could pick out her outfit. Denji's eyes looked at the swimsuits on the wall, 'wonder what she'd look like in one of those…'

Denji was snapped out of his thoughts as the curtain rattled open and Reze stepped out, he gawped as he drank in her slim figure. She was dressed in a pair of plain black shorts and a simply branded t-shirt tied off at her midriff, her hair worn in a ponytail that poked out the back of her cap.

Reze grinned at Denji's reaction, "Oohhh, does someone see something he liiikes?". Denji scratched the back of his head, his face flushed slightly, "Yeah… what about it?".

Reze giggled before going up on her tiptoes and whispering breathily in his ear, "You don't look to shabby yourself"

Denji's face turned bright red as Reze broke into a laughing fit, "you're almost too easy to tease Denji!"

"Yeah, yeah", Denji griped, his cheeks still slightly flushed as Reze's laughing fit tailed off, "so… got any idea what to do next, I don't really have any idea where to start…"

"Well, the original plan was to get picked up by some operatives outside town last night, so it's not like I had a master plan or anything", Reze puts a finger on her chin as she thinks, "though I suppose we could get a train from Daiba station out into the country, then grab a car and drive up north", she shrugged, "oh, and we should probably stop at my flat and grab some supplies".

'That was my original plan if he had agreed to come with me at the festival, so we may as well use it', she grimaced at the thought, it would've been so much easier if that first attempt had worked…

As the two fugitives left the pilfered store and went on their way, the flutter of wings drew Reze's eyes back towards the beach, a murder of crows resting on the surrounding buildings.

"Hey, Reze!" Denji turned, noticing Reze lagging behind, "You comin' or what?"

Reze gave one last uneasy look at the birds, "Y-yeah, coming!", she jogged lightly to catch up, "I was distracted by those birds, they're giving me the creeps…"

Denji glanced up at the birds, "eh… they're creepy alright, but they're pretty harmless, me an' Pochita even used to have them for dinner when I was able to catch them!"

Reze laughed dryly at that as they hurried down the street, "you really would eat anything, wouldn't you?"

Unbeknownst to the two teens, those dozens of beady eyes remained trained on them, unblinking as they skulked into the nearest alleyway.

"So, how are you so sure that they won't know where your flat is anyways?", Denji asked Reze as they walked, having been following the girl through a myriad of alleyways and residential side streets as they made their way towards her home.

"I don't", a frown creased Reze's face as she replied, "but if they didn't know who I was before yesterday, I'd doubt they'd have found out where I lived quite yet", she sighed, "though it's not as if we have much of a choice, we won't get far without money…"

"Damn, I left my paycheques back at Aki's…", Denji grumbled as they turned into another alleyway, Reze smiled and chuckled at the pouting boy following behind her, "Don't worry Denji, I've saved up plenty, I didn't do overtime for the old man just for the hell of it". She had only started doing overtime when she first hatched her plan to try running away with Denji, her superiors would have originally just picked her up when she was clear of the city. Still, without them she would need the extra cash to get out, especially if it was the two of them…

"Well, there it is", Reze pointed at the building complex in front of them, it was a small, run-down-looking building tucked away in between some modest residential buildings and the railway line, "Home sweet home…"

As Denji and Reze entered her flat, courtesy of a key hidden above the doorframe, Denji was struck by the bareness of the flat, 'It's kinda like nobody even lived here…' Denji thought as he followed Reze inside, the concern on his face contrasting Reze's stony expression.

"It's very uhhh… empty?", Denji said as Reze was rummaging through the room's small wardrobe, "though ya would've had some schoolbooks or somethin' at least."

Reze froze for a moment before sighing and continuing her search, "I'm used to it- ah here we go!", Reze found what she was looking for, a backpack buried under a pile of clothes, bringing it over and setting it on the bed, with Denji walking over to join her.

Reze unzipped the rucksack, scanning through its contents, 'money- check, emergency food- check, blood packs- check', she suddenly remembered something, quickly opening her side cupboard and, grabbing a small booklet and shoving it, and the purple flower pressed inside it, into the bag.

"Yup, everything's there. Time to get going", Reze announced matter-of-factly, her voice clipped as she flung the pack over her shoulder. As she began hurrying to leave the flat, a hand grasped her own, stopping her in her tracks.

"I get it now, you didn't get to go to school either, did you?", at that Reze swung around, meeting Denji's gaze with her own, her expression giving nothing away, "You were talkin' about how bad it was that I didn't go to school, but you were the same, weren't you?"

Reze hesitated for a moment before responding, "I lied about a lot of things Denji… you're right, I never attended a day of school in my life", Reze looked away as she spoke in an attempt to hide the sorrow that she knew would be plastered over her face, "I've just been someone else's weapon my whole life…"

Reze gasped as Denji pulled her in close, abruptly snapping her out of her melancholy, "Hey, Denji! We really need to-" Reze started to protest before she met his eyes again, the intense look on his face taking the words from her mouth.

"Reze", Denji held both of her hands in his own as he spoke, "You said when we were fightin' that you meant it when you said you liked me".

"Well, I meant when I said that I wish I coulda gone to school with you", Reze looked back at him, her face flushing as only Denji could make it, "Maybe, once we get outta here, we could go together, be more than just weapons?"

Reze blinked in shock; she'd never thought she'd hear someone ask her that, that she'd ever get the chance to live a normal life. Images of her and Denji attending school, making friends and goofing off flew through her mind. However, she couldn't shake the fear in her gut that she was simply leading Denji to his death.

"Reze, you alright?", Denji asked, voice laden with concern.

Despite her worries, the chance to be able live a normal life with the boy in front of her, to attend school, to escape and live in peace… it made it feel like it was worth the risk. Reze rested her forehead against Denji's chest.

"Hey, Denji?", Reze spoke in a small voice.

"Y-yeah?", Denji looked down at her in equal parts surprise and concern.

"Thanks…"

The two teens were soon on the move once again, sticking to the same quiet neighbourhoods and alleys, weaving their way towards Daiba station, talking as they went.

"Huh, so you're Russian!?", Denji exclaimed, "but your Japanese is perfect, you don't even have an accent!"

"Shhhh!", Reze shot Denji a glare, "Not so loud!"

"Ah it's fine, no one's around anyways", Denji waved off Reze's concern before returning to questioning her, "How'd you learn to speak such good Japanese anyway?"

Reze sighed at Denji's lack of concern shaking her head in exasperation, "тебе повезло, ты милый"

"Huh?" Denji looked at Reze in confusion, "What did that mean? Oi Reze!?"

Reze grinned, amused at Denji's confusion, "Wellll…Wouldn't you like to know?"

Denji rolled his eyes, "Urghh… you're impossible…"

Reze laughed at Denji's exasperation, "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time for questions when we're out of here", she pointed at a building down the street as they rounded a corner, "Speaking of which, that's the station right there".

"So what do we do once we get the train, just let it take us as far out as it can?" Denji asked as they began making their way down the street.

"Yeah… pretty much, once we get out as far as we can it's just a matter of getting a bus or something up North, maybe steal a car if we can", Reze answered, acutely aware that her plan was far from watertight.

Denji, who was just as aware of this fact as she was, just shrugged, "Hey, it's the best plan we've got either way, not like I coulda come up with anythin' b-"

Denji froze, the hair on the back of his neck standing up as he felt an itching sensation on the back of his head, as if someone's gaze was boring into the back of his head. Denji quickly swung around, hoping to catch whoever was looking at him red-handed, only to be faced with empty air.

'Eh…? I was sure something was there!', Denji looked back warily, only for a couple of rats to scurry out of the alleyway they had just come from and run into the hedges across the road, 'Really… that was it…?', Denji felt the tension leave his body as the rats disappeared from sight.

"You okay Denji?" he turned back around at the sound of Reze's voice, the girl having walked ahead whilst he was distracted.

"Yeah, it was just a couple rats, nothin' to worry about!" Denji said as he jogged to catch up.

If he had looked back, he would have seen that a single rat had stopped before it had reached the bushes and was now sitting motionless in the middle of the street, its beady eyes boring into the backs of the two hybrids as they made their way to the station.

"Here's your ticket; that's the right one, right?" Denji handed Reze one of the small card tickets, shoving the other unceremoniously into his short pockets.

Reze grabs the ticket, scanning over it quickly, "Hmmm… yeah looks good, the Yurakucho line should take us near enough to the outskirts of Tokyo, getting a bus out to the country from there should be easy enough…"

They sat in a secluded corner of the station's waiting area, situated under the stairs, giving them a clear view of the departure board. The two sat watching in silence, counting every second that passed on the digital clock above the board, counting down the seconds until they could escape, with the two hybrids unable to relax, the tension visible in their posture.

'Ten minutes, huh?' a small frown creased Reze's face as they waited; something had been eating at her since the beach, 'I guess that gives me time for one question…'

"Hey… Denji?" Denji looked at Reze from the corner of his eye, "What's up?"

"Why did you choose to run away with me?", Reze's voice dripped with curiosity as she turned to look at him, her head cocked, "Cause I know you aren't up and leaving your friends and job just because you like me, if that was all then you would've ran away with me after the festival".

"Why'd I run away with you, huh?" Denji's eyes drifted back to the clock, a pensive look on his face, "I had a friend, a devil called Pochita, he was my only friend, he sacrificed himself to save me, in return I promised to show him my dreams…"

'Show a devil his dreams… how would that eve- oh… his heart…', Reze fought to push down her guilt upon the realisation that her mission had, in reality, been to take away the only friend of the boy she had come to love.

"What are your dreams, Denji?", Reze continued her questioning, curiosity piqued even further as Denji's brow creased in thought and… Reze could have sworn he looked frustrated…

"I-I'm not sure really…" his face settled into a small frown, "I used to dream of havin' somewhere to live, then I dreamed of eatin' real food, and then Miss Makima gave me a goal to work towards, to kill the Gun devil"

Reze's eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of Makima, she didn't know much about the woman, all she knew was that she was not to be trifled with lightly. The Politburo had purposely sent Reze on her mission when Makima would be busy down in Kyoto sorting out the aftermath of the mess caused by that amateur Katana hybrid.

Reze flinched as Denji's hand suddenly rested itself on her own.

"You know, that night when you taught me to swim, I dreamt that maybe I could go to school someday, I dreamt of maybe makin' some friends, hanging out and learnin' smart stuff". He was looking at her again now, his frustrated frown having been substituted for a faint smile, "And I dreamt of you there with me, Reze…"

Reze looked back at him, her mouth agape and face red, "Denji, I-"

"Can all passengers due for Chikatetsu-narimasu please make their way to platform 2, can all passengers due for Chikatetsu-narimasu please make their way to platform 2"

Reze was cut off, much to her frustration, by the station announcement informing them that their train was incoming.

"What were you sayin' Reze?" Reze looked at the boy and opened her mouth again to say something, only to sigh and smile at him, "Thanks, Denji", she gripped his hand and pulled him up, "but I think we'll need to run, that announcement was for our train!"

It hadn't taken them long to get through the ticket gate and up to their platform, with Denji and Reze loitering by a pillar as they waited.

"Really, we rushed all the way here, and the train isn't even here…", Denji pouted as he twiddled his thumbs impatiently.

Reze batted his arm lightly in response, "Well it's better than missing the damn thing, next one isn't for an hour". Denji huffed at that before perking up again, his face lighting up in excitement as he caught sight of a vending machine a short distance away, "Hey Reze, I'm gonna grab somethin' from that machine over there, you want anything?"

"Huh", Reze looked up, having been deep in thought, about what Denji had no idea, "Oh yeah, sure I'll just take a drink, I don't mind what one".

As Denji walked off to the machine, Reze returned to her thoughts, face screwed up in consternation, 'A dream huh… wonder what my dream would be…', Denji had told her about his dreams, and she couldn't get it out of her head, 'he had a dream to escape his life, and then when he did escape his life, he kept on dreaming...', she frowned at that thought, 'If we do get away, I wonder what my dream will be…'

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sounding of a train horn, the crows that had settled on the opposite platform flying away, startled, as the train began rattling through the station on the opposite track. Coincidentally, Denji arrived back at the same time.

"Here, just got you the same as me", Denji handed her a small can, Reze smiled as she saw what the drink was, a cold-brew coffee.

"Gotten a taste for coffee, hmmmm…?", she smirked as she poked Denji in the side, with the boy averting his eyes, "Yeah, it grew on me…", Denji said, scratching the back of his neck.

Reze moved to turn around to the platform again, "Anyway, it looks like our train is running a bit la-" as the last carriage of the train sped past, she suddenly found herself staring into a pair of otherworldly yellow eyes accented with rings of red. Reze froze; those eyes belonged to a besuited woman, her fiery hair tied in a tight braid and her arm outstretched pointing a finger right at her.

"Bang"

Time slowed down as Reze felt something splatter on the right side of her face, she whipped around only to see the left side of Denji torso explode into a shower of gore, the boy screaming in shock and pain as he went down. Reze's hand moved to her pin… too late.

"Bang"

Pain assaulted her senses, her arm all but pulverised, the remains of the dropping to the ground with a wet thud, Reze looking down at the stump where her arm used to be, grasping it in an attempt to staunch the bleeding.

When she looked back up, she found herself looking directly into those spiral eyes, the woman now right in front of her. Reze stumbled back in shock.

"Bang"

Reze felt as if she had been punched in the gut as she stumbled back. Then an icy feeling crept up from her stomach, her whole body going cold, her remaining hand went to her abdomen. Nothing, nothing but blood. A wet cough rattled from her throat, soaking the front of her t-shirt with blood.

And then she fell.

Makima looked down at the hybrid, watching, head cocked in curiosity as the girl used the last of her strength to haul herself closer to the boy she had fallen next to, her strength failing just as she reached him, her head resting on what remained of his chest.

Reze's vision was going dark, the side of her face wet from blood as it rested on the remains of Denji's chest, she found herself wishing she could turn around and look at him, but her strength had already failed her. As her world went dark one last thought flashed through her head.

'I'm sorry… Denji… was all… my…'

Otherworldly eyes gazed down at the pair's corpses in curiosity, head cocked, and a finger perched on her chin.

"Hmm… well that is interesting…"

"So, why'd Miss Makima send us out this way?" Angel looked up at Aki as they walked through the street, "If we're looking for Chainsaw and his girlfriend, I would have thought we'd be looking along the shore?"

"Makima said that Bomb worked at this café; it's also near Denji and Beam's patrol route", Aki replied tightly, "I suppose Makima thinks we might get a lead on the whereabouts of Denji and that murderer from the owner".

Angel's interest was piqued at that, "You really cared about those guys, huh?"

Aki flinched before he sighed, "Yeah, they we're some of my last friends in Public Safety, and Nomo… was a good friend, didn't have many of those left as it was".

Angel wondered why he was asking any of this, he didn't especially care for humans after all, "Must have been nice, to have had good friends like that", a frown creased Angel's face, "All I remember is waking up in a Public Safety holding cell", suddenly a face flashes through his mind: a dark-skinned girl with tribal markings on her forehead, the very same face he had seen the previous night.

Aki glanced at Angel, an unreadable look on his face, unsure exactly what to say in response.

"I guess that's the place", Aki's gaze snapped back in front of him as Angel spoke, pointing at the building just down the street, a small, unassuming café.

Aki read the small chalkboard sign sitting near the door as they approached the building, "Yeah, that's the place Makima mentioned, 'The Crossroads Café', owned by a Mr Ohta Kayo".

As they entered the café, they were met with an empty café, the humming of a coffee maker being the only hint that anyone was there. Aki strode up and rang the small bell on the counter, calling out as he did, "Ohta Kayo, we're here from Public Safety; please come out. We want to ask you a couple of questions!"

Quickly, they heard muffled noises from behind the staff room door before the doorknob rattled and the door swung open, a moustached man in his late middle age rushing out to greet them.

"Oh, hello ummm, officers…?" Kayo stammered out, his eyes flicking in confusion towards Angel's halo and wings, "H-how can I help you?"

"Me and my associate here just want to ask you some questions about a girl who works for you, used the name 'Reze' and an employee of Public Safety called Denji". Kayo nodded as Aki maintained eye contact with Kayo as he continued, "First, we want to know when you last seen either Reze or Denji?"

"I haven't seen either of them for a few days now; the kids met up here most days and spent most their time talking and slacking off, Reze was meant to have a shift this morning, but she's been a no-show", Kayo looked at Aki puzzled at the questioning, "Why do you need to know about them for, are they in trouble, did they elope or something?"

Aki flinched at the last question, a realisation hitting him, 'That girl he was talking about that night… it must have been her', a feeling of guilt writhed in his stomach, 'If I'd just listened that night… if I paid more attention, we could have avoided this…', Aki pushed down his guilt as he moved to answer Kayo.

"Both Denji and your employee went missing after the devil attack last night, as such, any information you could provide would be invaluable", the practised excuse flowed easily from Aki's mouth as the shop owner's face fell in worry as he replied, "Yes… yes… of course".

Angel and Aki left through the front door, Aki having asked the rest of his questions, learning very little from the man except that the two hybrids had been meeting there for weeks, much longer than they originally thought…

As they walked down the street, one question continued to bother Aki and Angel: why did Makima send them here?

Images flashed through the darkness: a classroom, the moon reflecting off a pool, fireworks lighting up a dark sky and then, finally, a young blonde-haired boy. He was smiling at her warmly, his hand gripping hers.

Then there was blood, the boy in front of her being replaced by a corpse, the life in his eyes had vanished, half his chest being blown away. She screamed.

"DENJI!" Reze jolted awake, her breathing heavy and frantic as she thrashed around, only to find her arms and legs cuffed to a steel chair. Her eyes dart rapidly, scanning the room she was in, only for them to instantly meet a pair of ringed yellow eyes, the unnatural orbs instantly freezing Reze in place. The breath felt like it had been stolen from her lungs.

The woman opposite her, the same woman who had effortlessly incapacitated her and Denji, was just sitting staring at her, a serene look and placid smile painted on her face as she watched her in silence. Reze knew who this was. She fit the exact description of Makima.

"W-where is Denji!?" Reze found her voice, managing to stutter out her question to Makima, whose expression didn't budge an inch as she replied, unblinking.

"I like the country mouse too".

Reze's blood ran ice cold; the implication of Makima's words was clear: she had been watching her and Denji the whole time, but how-

Reze's eyes went wide before dropping down to look at her feet, 'The birds… the rats… I'm sorry Denji. I guess we never had a chance after all…'

Reze didn't look up as she spoke, her voice shaky, "Where's Denji…?"

Makima stood up calmly, pushing her chair back in, leaning on it, and looking down at Reze.

"I've heard of stories from the Soviet Union, of poor, parentless children being seized by the state, and sent to a room". Reze's hands clenched as Makima spoke, her nails digging into her palms, drawing blood, "Guinea pigs experimented on to be obedient weapons of the state".

"W-what do you want?" Reze's voice was barely audible as she interrupted Makima's monologue.

Makima stood up to her full height, expression unchanged, "I know how much you wanted to run away with Denji, but does a murderer like you deserve a normal life like that?"

"All those people you killed, Chiro Nagase, Asuna Chihiru, Hideo Kazuhiko and countless more, you killed them without a thought. All you are good for is being a tool", Reze was completely still as Makima spoke, "but, luckily for you, I have a need for tools, so I am willing to offer you a deal".

"Be my tool, you will join the Public Safety Special Division, and you can live". Reze still didn't budge, her eyes remaining laser-focused on the ground, "and, to sweeten the deal Denji will also face no punishment if you decide to accept; I'll even let you work together, isn't that more than what a killer like you deserves?"

Reze looked up at the mention of Denji, her vibrant emerald-green eyes looking dull and defeated, before looking back down at the table before her.

"I-I accept… your deal…" Makima's smile widened ever so slightly at Reze's quiet, monotone response, walking over to the girl's side. Reze flinched as Makima tilted her head by her chin, forcing the girl's dull green eyes to meet her otherworldly rings.

There was no smile on Makima's face now, as her eyes pierced into Reze with an intense, predatory look, "Very well, this is a contract".

And then, Reze's world went dark again.