CHAPTER 3: The Devil with the heart of a Human

As he continued to walk in the streets of Tokyo, Akira was perplexed. Although the young couple he had met earlier was gentle on the outside, he could definitely tell that they were hiding something. Mainly the yellow cat-like eyes of Takae and her long teeth. And why was she wearing a hat when the temperature wasn't all that low today? Second, why did they have such a reaction when he revealed his surname? Even if he was someone famous, like a rock-star or even a member of the National Diet, he doubted anyone could have had such a reaction.

That was the reason why he decided not to join the couple at lunch (aside from the fact that being half-demon he could go on much longer periods of time without eating). He believed that they could have asked too many questions and he still didn't trust them. Plus he wanted to keep a low profile for some time, in order to learn more about the new world that he had been thrust into.

Speaking of learning more, he spotted a magazine store on his left. Perfect. More often than not, all magazines had their monthly release date. So, Akira entered the store, grabbed the first magazine that he could find…...

And got the shock of his life. On the upmost right of the cover, it read: 10th of October 1998.

"1998?!" thougth Akira. This confirmed that not only had he ended up in a new world, since the one whence he came was completely destroyed by the war between demons and devilmen, but he was also sent in the future! That explained why people wore completely different dresses from those of 1972, why the cars were much more sleek and angular and why many new stores had opened.

But Akira was in for an even greater shock. He noticed that the magazine that he had picked up was a fashion magazine, specifically one of women, and, after browsing through its pages and through several pictures of models his eyes fell on a particular one that had long straight, dark brown hair, brown eyes and a buxom figure. In the picture she wore a fucsia dress that left much of her legs showing, a white coat, unbuttoned at the front and brown ankle boots. But, most importantly, on the bottom of the picture it read:

"SUPERMODEL OF THE YEAR, JUN FUDO."

"It….. it can't be…" was all he could manage, his voice full of shock and disbelief. What the hell was happening?! The only relatives he knew were his parents, and both of them did not have that name. He had a sister all along?! Or maybe an…..

As all sorts of explanations to that were forming in Akira's mind, suddenly, he remembered of how Takae and Takeshi reacted when he revealed his surname. And then it all clicked in. This was the woman that the couple probably knew due her most-likely being a famous model. Could she be his female counterpart of this world? There was no way that she was related to him by blood.

Just then, a man came at him and asked Akira "Everything alright?", pulling him out of his mental trance.

"Huh?" replied Akira. He then saw that every single person in the store was staring at him with an inquisitive, puzzled look on their eyes. A fake smile formed on Akira's face and he spoke "N-nothing! I was just marvelling at the beauty of all the women in this magazine!" spoke Akira. Internally though he wanted to punch himself in the face for making a complete fool out of himself in front of all these people

Every single person in the store face-faulted. That gave Akira the opportunity, to put the magazine back where he picked it up, say "Sorry about that. Have a nice day!" and leave.

Later, in the night.

As Akira was sitting on a bench in one of Tokyo's many parks, he took the time to reminisce about the events that had transpired that day. He was quite surprised and impressed at just how much the world had changed in 26 years, from the new ways people dressed, to the new design of the many cars and buildings. Then he thought back at the young couple he met earlier, and finally at the revelation that apparently there was a female counterpart of him in this world.

"Jun Fudo, eh?" thought Akira. There was something about how she looked, an intensity in her eyes, that gave off a rather otherwordly vibe. Maybe, just maybe….. was there a possibility, no matter of small….. that she was like him?

But just then, a stinking scent filled Akira's nose, a scent that was too familiar too him, one that he hoped he would never smell again. The scent of a Demon.

"No… it can't be… you were all wiped out….." thought Akira, hoping that what was happening was not true. But then, as if on clue, a loud scream full of terror, shook the entire park, interrupting the quiet of the night. Akira wasted no time. He quickly raced off to find the origin of that scream.

As soon as Akira came out in a clearing with a pedestrian crossing he got his answer. A dozen meters before him stood a burly creature slightly larger than a human being that resembled a purple toad with green spots, with powerful legs that ended in webbed feet, green muscular human-like arms and clawed hands, upward-facing spikes that protruded from his shoulders and a vaguely lizard-like head that had blood red eyes, two appendages that descended from the sides of its face each ending with a recurved claw and a wide mouth filled with very sharp teeth.

There was no doubt about it. This creature was a demon. It was way too monstrous and outlandish looking to pass for a normal animal.

But what also caught Akira's attention was the presence of two other individuals. The first, which actually stood on the ground before the toad-like demon was a male, well built, humanoid demon which had blue skin, yellow eyes with red lines going down from its eyes, two small fangs coming out of its mouth, black fur covering its lower body and forearms which formed blade like protrusions on its forearms and lower legs. Lastly it had a V-shaped crest of black hair on its head with a widow's peak in the middle of its head (said middle of the head was purple) and two short antennas in the middle of said peak.

Said demon looked badly beaten up, with blood coming out of many wounds in its body. It was rather obvious that it had gotten into a fight with the more heavily built toad demon and that it was easily defeated, since the toad demon barely had a scratch on him.

Akira quickly understood why the blue demon and the toad demon fought as soon as his eyes fell on a familiar figure. In fact, one that he had meet earlier that day. "Takae?!" he spoke, bewildered, his eyes widening. Then as he took a closer look at the blue demon's face all made sense "and Takeshi?!"

A couple dozen minutes earlier

After lunch Takae and Takeshi, went shopping for a good part of the afternoon. Then after returning home and leaving all that they had bought, they decided after dinner, to take another walk at the park.

"Such a beautiful night." spoke Takae while holding Takeshi's hand as they walked through the park. They two had become very close to each other, ever since Takeshi defended her from one of those goons of the Human Alliance that just saw fight to smack her in the head with the back of his rifle, simply because she was different. Then as both of them ended in the concentration camp, they fell in love with each other.

"It sure is." replied Takeshi. But just as he was thinking back to how their relationship began a thought popped up in his mind "Say, what are we gonna do, when he or she comes along?" he continued while pointing at Takae's belly.

Because, yes, during their internment they had sex. And of course, there was a baby coming. Not a human baby, but a baby nonetheless.

A blush formed on Takae's face as she replied "I have no idea." then she grabbed Takeshi's hand with both of hers and continued "But i do know that together we will make it through."

"Right. We fought so hard to give him/her and countless others like us, the world they deserve. Whatever happens….." he then took her in a hug "I will always be with you".

"So will i." said Takae as she returned the hug. They were going to kiss each other when suddenly…..

"What a lovely night, eh?" came a masculine and unusually snickering voice.

The couple quickly turned towards a man dressed in a business suit. Said man though had a rather unnervingly slight smile on his face, eyes unusually filled with ardour and determination and stood with his back slightly hunched forward, and his hands in his pockets.

"Can we help you, sir?" Asked Takeshi, placing himself between said man and Takae.

"No breeze at all. All animals asleep. All lights turned off. Nobody watching. Hehehehehehe…. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! said the man as he let out a chuckle which quickly turned into a laughter, completely devoid of any sanity and rationality. "It's the perfect night….. FOR A HUNT!

(OST: Monster Suit (First Part, from 0:00 to 1:34) : Yu Yu Hakusho soundtrack)

Then the man's body started twitching uncontrollably as his voice twisted itself and assumed an echoing, bestial tone. Then his body started to change.

Takae and Takeshi could only watch in muted horror, as the body of the man swelled up and became more compact, tearing apart all of his clothes, the legs extending and filling up with muscle, the feet becoming webbed, a pair of spikes emerging from both shoulders, the skin turning purple with green spots and finally the man's face and mouth widening up, eyes becoming blood red, a pair of appendages growing from the sides of his head, and the mouth filling up with very long sharp triangular teeth.

Takae, utterly petrified by what she saw, exclaimed "W-w-w- what the hell is happening?!"

"W-What kind of Devil Beast is that?!" exclaimed Takeshi as well, equally terrified.

With its transformation finished, the once human creature let out a bone-chilling, dark chuckle and turned its attention to the young couple and focused its gaze on Takae. Then, with a powerful thrust of its legs, the creature jumped towards the couple, landing between them.

As soon as Takeshi shouted "Takae!" he was sent flying by a back-hand swipe from one the creature's arms. With the annoyance out of the way, the creature turned back on Takae, who attempted to run away. However with another powerful jump, the creature landed in front of her, putting itself in front of her and a tree cutting off her escape route. Takae could only walk backwards, trembling in fear as her eyes made contact with the blood red eyes of the beast, filled with a mixture of lust, hunger and killing instinct. Then, the creature smiled evily, and swiftly snatched her by the throat with one of its hands.

Lifting her up, the creature spoke in a primal, bestial and echoing voice: "It's been a while since i, Zuboo, tasted human flesh. Eating is a non-stop action!". Takae let out a muffled scream as she tried, in vain to escape his grasp. Doing so caused her hat to fall off, revealing a pair of horns that curved backwards and then forward in a spiral shape, just like those of a ram.

"You….. you are a demon too?!" Spoke Zuboo again, with disbelief apparent in his voice. There were others of his race here? He didn't think any of them survived after the final battle.

(OST: Monster Suit (Second Part, from 1:35 to 3:00) : Yu Yu Hakusho soundtrack)

"LET HER GO!" came a familiar but also distorted voice. In a split second Zuboo was sent flying by a punch in the face from Takeshi, now in his true, devil beast form.

"T-Takeshi….." said Takae, looking at her boyfriend's true form with worried eyes, both of her hands on her chest.

"The hell are you waiting for?! RUN!" commanded Takeshi as he prepared to face Zuboo. Takae didn't need to be told twice. She ran away from the two of them.

Recovering from Takeshi's punch, Zuboo stared the blue devil beast down, fury brimming in his eyes "You bastard….. You would attack one of your own kind?! ONE OF YOUR OWN KIND?! He spoke, utterly enraged.

In response Takeshi, roared at the toad demon and charged him, bombarding him with a flurry of punches and kicks "I'LL NEVER ACKNOWLEDGE A MONSTER LIKE YOU AS ONE OF MY KIND! He responded, disgusted to even being compared to such a creature.

However, Takeshi's fury quickly turned into shock as Zuboo, after enduring who knows how many blows, caught one of the blue devil beast's fists in his hand. "Then die" he spoke, this time with an deadpan expression. Then he pulled Takeshi towards himself, and punched him in the face, sending him tumbling on the pedestrian crossing.

Recovering from said punch, Takeshi started to generate electricity and then shot out a burst towards the toad demon, only for Zuboo to jump over it, landing directly in front of Takeshi. Then Zuboo swiftly grabbed him by the neck and slammed him on a street lamp, bending it. He then procedeed to punch Takeshi, in the gut several times, breaking many of his ribs, causing him to spit blood and shattering the lamp with the force of the final punch. He then tossed Takeshi's body back on the crossing.

"My attacks….. are ineffective?!" Though Takeshi. With copious amount of blood coming off his mouth and with many internal injuries, he tried to force himself back up, only for Zuboo to grab him by his legs and slam him several times into a tree, breaking many of his bones and breaking the tree in half horizontaly with the final slam. The same tree from which Takae was hiding behind. The young girl let out a terrified scream, upon seeing her boyfriend, badly beaten up, with many bruises and cuts all over his body.

End Flashback

"How utterly pathetic. And you think of yourself a true demon?" taunted Zuboo, jumping and landing before Takeshi, in order to finish him off.

"T… Takae… please….. run….." weakly pleaded Takeshi, growing weaker with every passing second.

"T…..T….Takeshi….." spoke Takae, her voice a mix of despair, fear and sorrow. Tears started to fall on her face as memories of Chika, her best friend being gunned down like a beast before her own eyes flashed in her mind. And now she was going to experience it all over again.

"YES! That is the look! The look of pure despair, the moment you lose all hope! This is what i live for! Show me your despair, AS I TAKE THE LIFE OF THE PERSON MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU! Shouted Zuboo in triumph, as he readied his arm back, preparing to deliver the killing blow to Takeshi, who just closed his eyes, preparing for the inevitable.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Screamed Takae, as she extended her arm out to reach for Takeshi, in vain. But the blow never came.

(Soundtrack ends)

"HEY!" Came out of nowhere a familiar voice that stopped Zuboo in his tracks. All three then turned to the source of the voice and Takae instantly recognized its owner "A-Akira?!" she spoke, in a worried tone.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, YOU FAT PIECE OF SHIT!" shouted Akira, his face contorted in a scornful scowl. He coudn't save Miki. He could not avenge his friends. But he was not gonna let it happen again. Not while he still breathed.

"The fuck?" spoke Zuboo, annoyed and confused at the same time at this turn of events. Just who did this guy think he was? He then let Takeshi's body go, then hopped towards Akira, as Takae quickly rushed to her boyfriend's side, catching him, one hand behind his back and another behind his head. She then watched as Akira, stared down the toad demon, completely unmoving, his gaze devoid of any fear and hesitation, full of determination and resolve.

"You got a death wish pal?" spoke Zuboo, very clearly annoyed at the newcomer's interference. "Nobody speaks to me like that." he then paused to sniff Akira "Not even a fellow demon."

"Fellow…. Demon?" thought Takeshi, having slightly recovered from Zuboo's assault.

"RUN! HE'LL KILL YOU!" Screamed Takae but to no avail. Akira just stood there, staring Zuboo down, not responding to either of them.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, coming here, pretending to steal MY MEAL?!" As soon as the last two words left Zuboo's mouth, he threw a punch, aimed at Akira's face, but to his, and Takae and Takeshi's amazement, Akira effortlessy caught it with one hand. Zuboo then felt his fist being slowly crushed by the pressure of Akira's hand so he instinctively pulled it back, distancing him from Akira by a few meters in the process.

At that moment a wide, toothy grin formed on Akira's face, his canines turning into vampire-like fangs, as he spread out his arms. "I'm more of a demon…" he spoke, his voice assuming a demonic tone before his body started to change. His frame and his muscles enlarged themselves, tearing off every single piece of clothing that he wore. Black fur covered his lower body almost until his feet, which remained bare. Sharp claws sprouted from the fingers on his hands and feet, as well as sharp, blade-like extensions from his forearm. A tail emerged from his rear, with a pointed tip at the end. Two scars formed on his shoulders than ran all the way on his chest and on his back. Finally a pair of dark red bat-like wings formed from his hair on his head as well as a pair of antenna-like horns in the middle of his head. Said middle of the head assumed a red color. His skin and eyes retained their original color though.

"….THAN YOU WILL EVER BE!" and with his transformation completed, Akira let out a primal roar. Takae and Takeshi watched in utter awe and amazement at the whole process while Zuboo's rage and irritation was replaced by a look of utter dread and panic in his face as he recognized the demon that now stood before him.

"A-Amon?! But how?! We though you were d-" he began…..

(OST: "Devilman Theme" : Devilman the Birth soundtrack)

But Akira didn't let him finish. He charged him, grabbed him by the head with one of his arms, while he grabbed his left arm with the other. Snarling at the toad demon and pulling with all of his might, he tore his left arm from the shoulder, a torrent of blood erupting out of it, causing Zuboo to scream in agony. Then Akira, after smacking Zuboo in the head with his own arm several times, tossed said arm away and punched Zuboo in the face, causing him to fly straight into a nearby phone booth, destroying it.

"Wrong answer, you fat fuck!" said Akira, pointing toward Zuboo with his arm covered in blood. Then he continued "I am the one who was created to wipe all of you bastards from the face of the Earth!" He then pointed his thumb at his chest and proclaimed: "I am the devil with the heart of a human, protector of the innocent, ally to good, nightmare to you!"

Takae and Takeshi could only watch with wide eyes and a look of awe and admiration on their faces, as they realized that the devil before them, looked almost exactly like the one who had saved both the entire human race and the Devil Beasts from the one known as the God Child. "He…. He's just like her…." was all Takae could let out in awe.

"I AM DEVILMAAAANNNNN!" finally proclaimed Akira, with pride and ferocity in his voice, spreading his arms and roaring at the sky.

(soundtrack ends)

As the dust dissappeared, Zuboo, clutching his still bleeding shoulder were his arm used to connect into, spoke "I see. Even the mighty Amon got overtaken by a human. In that case….". Then he curled himself into a ball and started to float in the air "….I'll just eliminate you!" He then launched himself at Devilman.

(OST: Monster Suit (Third Part, from 3:01 to 4:01): Yu Yu Hakusho soundtrack)

Akira, in response spread his arms, preparing to catch Zuboo in midair. To his surprise however, Zuboo was faster and, so he slammed straight onto Akira's body, the force of the impact cracking several of Akira's ribs and causing him to spit blood. "What the hell was going on?!" Thought Akira. That attack shoudn't have hurt as much as it did.

"HA! You have grown weak, Amon. A demon of your caliber should have been easily capable of blocking that attack." said Zuboo as he bounced off of Akira's body, ricocheting on several trees like a pinball before coming back for another attack. But this time Akira was prepared. He threw a punch at the ball like form of the toad demon…..

Only for it to stretch into all kinds of directions as if it was made of rubber.

"Gotcha! Due to its elastic properties, my body can extend as much as i want it to and in all kinds of shapes! NOW DIE!" Roared Zuboo, as he sank his teeth on Akira's side, causing him to scream in pain, as blood, gushed profusely out of the wound.

(Soundtrack ends)

"AKIRAAAA! Screamed the young demonic couple, upon seeing him, seemingly being overtaken by his opponent. But Akira, after seeing both of them, gained the strength and the resolve to remove Zuboo's head from his side, grabbing it with both hands and starting to crush it.

"H-How?! How did he shrug that off?!" thought the toad demon. "Wait!" screamed Zuboo, the tables now turned against him. "S-spare me! I'll do everything you w-" but his pleas fell on deaf ears as Akira tightened his grip.

"You're all the same, you filthy demons. You think you can do everything you want, yet when cornered, you can only beg for mercy. But you'll get none from me. NOW GO TO HELL!" And with those final words, Akira squeezed with all of his might. Zuboo's head exploded in a torrent of blood, bones and brain matter, a good chunk of it splattering on Akira's body.

Finally Akira looked towards Takeshi and Takae, their faces filled with a mix of worry, fright and amazement. He finally noticed Takae's horns on her head, realizing at last that she wasn't human. Nevertheless, Akira gave both of them a reassuring, soft smile, as he started to revert back to his human form.

He then collapsed before the corpse of the demon he had just slain, out cold.