Things coudn't have been better for Akira in the last two weeks.
Aside from spending time with his new friends and being succesful in his job as a cook, he and Jun had begun to date.
And the same could be said for Jun too. Not only had she had resumed working at her agency after two months of depression, she had rekindled her friendship with Yuasa and even discovered a new friend in fellow supermodel, Lisa. The two had worked together well in the last two weeks, Lisa's prideful and confident attitude complementing Jun's beaming but still shy personality well.
It all began on that Thursday, almost two weeks ago, when Akira and Jun went shopping together in one of Tokyo's most lively shopping streets, the Ameyoko Avenue.
Flashback
Akira had just arrived at the place where he and Jun had arranged to meet, just at the beginning of the avenue. He was now wearing a red shirt covered by a black jacket with grey lining, black pants and brown shoes. Those were, in fact, the clothes he had bought when he went shopping with the others four days ago.
"Mmmm….. it sure looks different from last time i went here." mused Akira to himself. The last time he had visited this avenue was back on his world 26 years in the past with Miki's family. How strange it was: to visit a place familiar yet completely foreign at the same time.
"Akira! Over here!" came Jun's voice from behind him. He then turned around and gasped slightly. She was wearing a pink long-sleeved shirt, a light blue skirt that reached just at her shins and light brown mid-heeled sandals. She also wore a white and blue straw hat that, coupled with the colourful attire she had chosen, made her even more attractive.
She was walking towards him with a smile on her lips and waving happily at him when he spotted her. As soon as she came closer, she noticed Akira's surprised expression and so her smile momentarily dissappeared and she asked, worried "Everything alright, Akira?", pulling him out of his thoughts.
Regaining his composure, he replied hesitantly "Oh, nothing. It's just…." before his usual soft smile formed on his lips and he spoke "You look beautiful." with a warm, passionate tone, causing Jun's cheeks to turn red.
She remained like that for a few moments before her beautiful smile returned and she replied "Awww… you're so sweet!" in the softest, most enchanting tone one could think of. "And you know, has anyone ever told how good you look in red?" she added, her voice taking on a flirtatious tone.
This time, Akira's cheeks turned slightly red at the compliment. There it was again, that beautiful, soft, captivating smile that brought Akira so much comfort. He then replied "Well, glad you like it! Even though i do usually prefer darker clothing, i thought that you might have liked something more vibrant." in his usual upbeat tone, charming Jun even more.
They then began to tour the avenue and its many shops, trying on dozens and dozens of clothes.
"Well? How do i look?" Asked Jun later in one of the shops they went, after putting on a purple long-sleeved top with an outer frill along the arms and a very long ruffled light lavender skirt and turning her body around, causing the skirt to flutter.
Akira was mesmerized. The dress and the skirt went perfectly with her hair and soft, white skin. "I probably sound like a broken record, but the thing is, everything looks beautiful on you. Especially that purple dress. Love how the skirt flutters in sync with your hair too." he replied happily with his usual smile.
Jun, in return, gave back an even sweeter smile before replying "Awww… please. You flatter me." while putting the fingers of one of her hands on her face and lips and blinking her eyes rapidly in a hot and captivating way, turning Akira on. It was amazing at how someone as shy as Jun could pull out such an alluring, captivating and obviously sexy voice and look on her face. Then again, she was a supermodel: she had learned to pull off such looks with years of work and practice.
"Well, guess it's my turn now." he replied, after his wonder died down. He entered the dressing cabin with the clothes he had selected, before starting to get dressed.
For the life of her, Jun coudn't resist. She wondered what Akira's phisique looked like and so after a few seconds, she peeked ever so slightly, only to gasp in amazement after seeing Akira's muscular but not overly so, athletic figure. She took in everything, from his wide shoulders, his biceps and legs slowly and with delight. He was already a handsome young man from his face alone, but his muscular and athletic build made him even more stunning.
Having noticed that she was staring at him, Akira smiled and without turning around he spoke "Like what you see?" in his usual upbeat tone. Caught in the act, Jun's cheeks went beet red and she turned around.
"S-sorry about that….. i just….. coudn't help myself…." she replied in a half- nervous, half-embarrassed tone, causing Akira to chuckle. She almost sounded like a schoolgirl due to her voice taking on a higher pitch.
"Don't worry, i'm used to that." he replied happily, calming Jun down. Then he came out of the cabin, now dressed in a black suit with a white button shirt underneath, black pants and black elegant shoes. He even wore a red tie. He then asked "Well, what do you think? Refined enough?"
Jun, in response put a hand close to her mouth, covering it, while her eyes widened and shaked in awe and enthusiasm "Akira….. you…. I don't even know…. What to say…." she began, enraptured. Akira was already a handsome young man, but in that suit? Oh boy, to say that he was the most attractive man she had ever seen in her life, with the possible exception of Jason, was an understatement. Finally she managed "You look wonderful…" in her usual soft, beautiful tone.
Charmed by Jun's compliment, an idea formed in Akira's mind. He bowed slightly before he extended one of his hands towards Jun and with, a fake polite tone he asked "Jun. May i dance with you?" causing Jun to giggle before she took his hand in her own and replied "Of course, darling." with a sweet, teasing tone.
End Flashback
Akira smiled as he recalled dancing with Jun in the middle of the store for less than a minute before he tripped and fell backwards, with Jun on top of him. They were then scolded by the shop's owner for knocking over a few boxes of shoes, so they had to put them back on before buying those clothes. And they were giggling happily all the time. And that was only one of those memorable moments he shared with Jun that day. And from that day on they began to see each other sporadically.
This evening though, he wanted to try something different.
After much searching on several magazines, he found out where Jun's agency was and so he decided to pay her a surprise. So he made his way at the front of the building on the other side of the road and waited until the shift ended. Luckily, his wait only lasted a dozen minutes.
After which, he noticed several models and staff members leaving the building at the end of their shift. He was surprised to see several Beasts among them, both models and staff members. He smiled as he came to the realisation that even Beasts, people who had been mistreated, imprisoned for the only crime of being different had been able to find a job in this world.
Then he spotted her, chatting with other models, both human and Beast.
"We're so glad, you're back, Jun-Chan!" exclaimed a human girl with long back-lenght dark brown hair tied in braids on either side and amber eyes.
"The agency just wasn't the same without you!" added a young Beast woman with elf-like ears and red eyes.
"Glad to hear that." she replied cheerfully with a soft smile.
Akira leaned his back onto a street lamp, put his hands in his pockets and smiled upon seeing Jun happily chatting with those women. He was happy to see just how far she had come just in two weeks, from depression to happiness in such a short time.
But then Akira spotted a pale skinned woman with long white hair which had exited the building and was about to leave, before she, in turn, spotted Akira as well.
(OST: Yu Yu Hakusho misterious unreleased soundtrack: watch?v=YHbbaNQeu08&list=PLF572548D67DADC71&index=18)
They both gasped in shock as their eyes met each other, losing their composure. For what seemed like an eternity, they both felt as if time itself came to a halt, he world around them dissappeared and nothing but darkness surround them.
"It…. It can't be….." was all Akira could manage, his mouth dropping in shock and his eyes shaking. Those piercing blue eyes….. even though their owner was a beautiful and apparently harmless young woman, he coudn't mistake them. Images of the past began to flash in Akira's mind. Those eyes wielded the same pride, the same bloodlust and the same ferocity of a certain ghost from the past. They were the same eyes of the one who had managed to hand Akira his first, complete defeat, only surviving because of his former friend, Ryo's intervention.
The woman herself gasped as well, her lips parting from each other in shock and stopped dead in her tracks, her bag falling from her motionless arm. The young man that stood in front of her was the same man who had stolen her beloved one from her, the one who had robbed her of her pride, of her life. He hadn't changed one bit. And there he stood, completely fine, not even a scratch on him, as if that battle never happened.
"Lisa?" came a familiar voice, that of Jun. She had a worried look on her face, upon noticing her colleague and friend suddenly acting strange after an ordinary day of work. She put a hand on her shoulder before asking "Are you alright?" in an equally concerned tone.
(soundtrack ends)
This caused Akira to break out of his trance, his eyes focusing back on Jun. All of his anxiety and shock dissappeared, replaced by happiness and so he waved before shouting "JUN! OVER HERE!" in an upbeat, joyful tone.
Jun gasped as soon as she heard those words, recognising Akira's voice instantly. She swiftly turned to the direction his voice came from and promptly spotted him, waving happily at her.
"Akira…." she spoke hesitantly before a passionate smile formed on her lips, her eyes widened in joy and she ran towards him, leaving Lisa alone still in the midst of her bewiderment.
After crossing the street she came to him and they greeted each other with a hug, causing many of the other models to look, fascinated at the sight.
"You… you came to visit me…" she spoke passionately after parting from the hug, her eyes meeting Akira's own.
"Guess we're even now." replied casually Akira with a soft smile. In the last two weeks, Jun had always been the one to tell to Akira where he would find her for the last three times they dated each other. So it was only appropriate on Akira's part to pay his girlfriend a surprise this time.
"Look! Jun-Chan has a boyfriend!" exclaimed a model while pointing at them, earning their attention. Among the people that were leaving was also Yuasa who had noticed Jun running to Akira.
He smiled softly upon watching them hug each other. He realised that he was the reason Jun had found happiness again. Whoever this man was, he had succeded where Yuasa failed. He had made Jun happy for the first time ever since Kazumi died.
Many other models put their hands together in exhilaration or grasped their chin and face with them and their cheeks went red upon seeing the handsome man that was Akira.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAA! HE'S SOO HOT!" They all squealed together, sounding almost like excited schoolgirs.
"JUN-CHAN IS SOO LUCKY!"
"OH MY, HOW MUCH I ENVY HER!"
"IF ONLY I COULD HAVE SUCH A HANDSOME MAN AS MY BOYFRIEND!
Akira sweat-dropped at the seemingly endless torrent of excited squeals. Some of those models were adult women for God's sake and yet they were acting so childishly. But then again, all the girls back at school had pretty much the same reactions in the aftermath of Akira's transformation, much to Miki's dismay.
On the other hand, Jun was getting nervous due to the amount of people that were staring at her. She always had this problem, this fear of being watched even before she became a model due to her difficult childhood.
"A-Akira….. they're staring at us…." she spoke awkwardly with her own cheeks turning red at the models's praises.
"S-some colleagues you have…." added Akira with sarcasm and an awkward face. Even the girls back at school didn't overreact this much.
After a few moments he made up his mind and spoke "Let's get outta here. All this squawking's going to give me a headache." with his usual soft tone, earning a smile from Jun.
"Right. Let's go." she replied simply with her by now usual soft tone. As they began to leave, Akira noticed that the white-haired woman was glaring daggers at him, her eyes seemingly filled with nothing but contempt, hatred and anger. Before he turned his back on her, he shot back an equally scornful glare at her, one that seemed to convey the message "Don't even think about it.".
This caused Lisa to gasp slightly for a few moments, before her deep scowl returned. She then watched, her face emotionless as Akira and Jun took their leave. She then procedeed to pick up her back and leave quietly, her face devoid of any emotion.
Yuasa noticed this however. He watched, worried, as she too, dissappeared on the horizon. This was the first time he had ever seen her like this. Not once did her face contort itself in anger, outrage or sadness ever since she as hired. Not once did her smug, arrogant but also gentle smile leave her lips.
Something clearly wasn't right, he believed. Any normal person would have just shrugged off what had happened, dismissing it as nothing more than a mundane occurence. But given all that Yuasa had seen, what he and his family had been through he no longer believed in coincidences. Something was going on. And it was only a matter of time before it would come out.
He then adjusted his glasses before taking his leave as well.
Later
Akira and Jun were walking together on their way to Akira's cart shop. Jun had decided this time to try out Akira's cooking. After all, by now he had become famous from all around the district, due to the quality of his courses.
They had taken a shortcut in the midst of an dimly lit alley and were happily chatting together about today's events.
"So how was work today?" asked Akira curiously with his usual upbeat tone, hands in his pockets.
"The usual. Taking pictures for the magazines, starring in commercials spots, posing for artists and so on." she replied with a casual tone, causing Akira to sigh.
"Still don't know how you girls manage to do this job. Seriously, don't you ever feel nervous sometimes at others taking pictures of you wearing all kinds of clothes, even skimpy outfits and doing all sorts of poses?" he replied jokingly with a smile, causing Jun's face to stir a little.
Slightly annoyed, she replied "Hey, it's not as easy as it sounds!" before a smile made its way on her lips "For one you have to look the part. Everything, from your face to your hair to even your hands and nails matters. Your appearance plays a key role in the jobs that you can take. Sadly many models don't get as many opportunities as i and others get because they aren't regarded as beautiful as others."
Akira listened, intrigued. Apparently being a model was much harder than it seemed. And also, for some reason, he thought that Jun looked soo cute when annoyed.
"Plus we don't usually wear skimpy outfits. I mean, yeah, a lot of the time we wear outfits that leave much of our legs showing, but that's about it." she added, with her face taking on a somewhat gloomy appearance afterwards. Then she spoke "And you're right: it was very difficult for me back when i started out. You see, i've always had this brooding problem ever since i was a teenager, this fear of being watched, due to the difficult childhood i've been throught." with a somewhat melancolic tone, catching Akira by surprise.
He had heard of that before. Scopophobia, it was called. An anxiety disorder characterized by the fear of being stared at in public or by others. While by no means a wimp, before Akira became Devilman he was very shy and sensitive much like Jun. Yet, it was actually pretty disheartening to find out that Jun, such a kind, sweet woman had to cope with such a disorder.
He was pulled out of his thoughts, by Jun's voice beaming up "But then i meet many kind people in the agency." her eyes then met Akira's own before she continued "If not for them i would never have come this far. And i'll never thank them enough, especially my manager, Yuasa."
"Yuasa?" asked Akira, earning a nod from Jun who replied "He's such a kind man. He never raised his voice towards me. He was always there for me, even when i would be late for my jobs or fail to show up at work." in a soothing voice, her melanchony gone.
Akira smiled. It warmed his heart to know that Jun still had people who cared about her, unlike him.
He then spoke "Glad to hear that Jun. At least you-" only for…..
"Well, well, what do we have here?" came a cocky, smug voice that rudely interrupted what Akira had to say. It belonged to a man with long curly brown hair and dressed in a black jumsuit with gold buttons that was leaning his back towards a wall, hands in his pockets. A delinquent, not unlike those four he beat up at the dancing club. Akira sighed: old habits die hard, he guessed.
Nonetheless Akira and Jun simply ignored him and walked past him, earning a surprised look on his face. "Hey, what a sec, guys!" he asked, a little offended at the fact that they had just ignored him.
"I would hold it right there if i were you." came another smug and intimidating voice, causing Akira and Jun to stop in their tracks and concern to fill their faces. Soon, eight more men all dressed like that guy appeared and put themselves in front of the couple, joined by the guy with the curly hair.
"Haven't your parents ever told ya that it ain't nice to not pay attention to someone who's calling for ya?" spoke what appeared to be the leader of this little gang that wore a red and black trenchcoat and had black hair kept in a pompadour. He stood right in front of his men, hands in his pockets, sizing Akira up, while his men chuckled menacingly along with him.
Those thugs probably expected that, since they were ten against two, the couple in front of them would be pissing in their pants right now. Instead they were visibly shocked, when Akira calmly sighed before he spoke in a sarcastic tone "Please, you're scaring the lady." while pointing his head at Jun, causing her to stir a little. Seeing that this had no effect on the thugs his face took on a deadpan look and he spoke "What do you want?" in a serious tone.
Irritated, the gang leader replied "Ain't it obvious, pretty boy?" before pulling out a knife from his pocket "Your cash. Hand it over, all of it and i promise that i won't cut that pretty face of yours." he said, pointing his knife towards the couple.
Look at these guys, acting all tough and shit. Who did they think they were?
Akira then put himself in front of Jun, pulling his hands out of his pockets before speaking "Clearly you have no idea of who you are dealing with ." a devious smile forming on his face, causing a worried look to form on Jun's face. Now she was about to get her first glimpse of his true nature.
"HA! I can see that you're built like a brick shit-house but with all due respect mate, do you really think you can take on all of us at once?" taunted the leader, while all the other thugs laughed. Having been bullied for a long time by Bokuto and his thugs before they became friends, Akira looked at people like these with much contempt. And he wasn't going to let these guys go away scot-free.
Before Akira could reply, Jun beat him to it "He's right. There are too many of them. We should just give them what they want." while gently placing a hand on his left shoulder, causing him to look towards her with incredulity.
"You're kidding, right?" he asked her casually, only for her face to harden and her gaze to become cold. Caught completely off guard by he behaviour, he asked her this time in seriousness and concern "You can't be serious, Jun. You're just gonna hand them your money like that? The money you've worked so hard to get?" after realising from the look in her eyes that she was fully willing to do that.
"If it prevents any senseless violence, yes." she declared resolutely, while slipping her hand in her bag, intending to pull the money out as the ten thugs that now surrounded them exchanged several confused and disbelieved looks. Was it really going to be this easy?
Their leader, who still faced Akira then chimed in after seeing that he was still about to object "Chick's got a point. Nobody wants to get hurt, right? Trust me, your girl's made the right decision." irritating the half-devil even more with that smug-ass, taunting tone.
But what sent him over the edge was one of the thugs that leaned closer to Jun as she began to pull out some of the money she held in the bag.
"A'right lemme see what you've got." spoke the thug, while putting a hand on Jun's left shoulder. But as she began to pull out some money, the thug grinned and declared "Gotta say though, you're quite the impressive gal." while pulling the shirt on her shoulder downwards, exposing her delicate skin and causing her to blush as the thug exposed her slightly to the rest of his buddies. She didn't care however, for all she wanted was to satisfy these men's wishes in order to avoid any senseless violence.
The same coudn't be said for Akira however. As soon as the thug shamelessly exposed her shoulder, his mind retreated back to the times in which Bokuto and his goons bullied him. And now he was seeing someone else experiencing that same ordeal.
No. He won't stand for this. He won't stand aside and watch someone else being bulllied.
Enraged, and with his composure gone completely, Akira bared his teeth, rushed towards Jun and the thug who was harassing her, roared "GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY GIRLFRIEND!" before punching the goon straight into the face with so much force that it flew backwards for a good five meters, landing on the ground with a loud thud, out cold.
Jun, as well as the rest of the thugs, could only watch and gasp in shock at what had just happened. Her eyes widened even more and shaked in disbelief as Akira turned towards her with murderous intent in his eyes and declared "Stay back. I'll make this quick." while cracking his knuckles.
And for the next two minutes all Jun could do was just stand still with her back resting against the wall and watch in a mix of astonishment and distress as Akira began to efforlessly beat up all nine remaining thugs without breaking a sweat with speed and strength that was almost superhuman. Highlights included: picking one by the head, slamming it on his right knee before tossing him straight towards a garbage bin, passing out as its head struck it; headbutting one in the face with so much force that it broke its nose and leaving him on the ground to clutch it; tackling one, lifting him up as if his whole body weighed as much as a feather and use its body as a ram to pound two more onto the wall and so on and so forth.
All the while Jun could only watch as the more he beat up those goons, the more a wicked grin formed on Akira's lips. He was enjoying giving those goons what they deserved. And it shocked and terrified Jun. Why was he enjoying this? Why did hurting those thugs give him so much satisfaction?
And in just two minutes, all nine remaining thugs layed on the floor, bloodied, bruised, some knocked out, others still conscious but clutching each other on the floor.
Satisfied by his payback, Akira turned towards the leader of the goons, walked up to him and the tall man could only look in fear as the half-devil put his hands in his pockets and pressed his foot on his chest before taunting "Ha! Serves you right. How's it feel now, HUH?!" pinning him down and causing him to breathe heavily in fear, the once proud leader of this gang, reduced to a wimp.
"No, stop! I've had enough! I surrend-" only for Akira to put more pressure on the cowardly man's chest, causing his ribs to crack slightly. He then declared, wicked smile still on his lips "Shit-heads like you disgust me. You think you can get away with everything you do just because you're many and have knives and clubs. Well guess what dumbass, sometimes your prey fights back. And sometimes….." he paused before lifting his foot, threatening to bring it down on the brute that now layed on the ground "Even shit-heads like you wound up at the hospit-"
"NO!" came Jun's voice as well as her soft, delicate left hand that landed on his shoulder, stopping him and cutting him off mid-speech. Akira then turned and his eyes widened upon seeing Jun behind him, with her left hand placed on his shoulder. She had a pleading look in her eyes almost as if… she coudn't bare to see any more of this.
"Akira….. Please…. No more…. He's had enough. " she pleaded, her beautiful brown eyes staring directly into his own. Akira's eyes began to shake as he heard the sadness in her voice and at that moment it dawned on him. She was terrified by what she had seen, by the violence Akira had descended into, by the glee he took in beating up those thugs, as well deserved as it was.
"Jun….." was all Akira could say, realising that he was beginning to go too far after sparing a glance at all those men he beat up. But then…..
"Cocky lil' bastard. You should never turn your back to your opponent, even when they lie on the ground!" declared the thug leader, after bringing out his knife and slashing at Akira, managing to inflict a cut on his thigh. The half-devil grunted in pain and clenched his teeth in anger while Jun looked in horror as blood began to gush out of the cut on Akira's thigh.
"Should have listened to what your girl said." added the thug leader while spinning his knife in between the fingers of his hand "But now's too late for that!" he declared before launching himself towards the black haired young man…..
Only for Jun to suddenly catch the leader's hand with her own with shocking speed, before Akira could retaliate. Shocked by what happened, the thug turned his eyes on the young woman that had somehow managed to stop him in his tracks and saw that her face was contorted in utter fury, her teeth clenched.
Akira could only watch as, suddenly, his girlfriend's eyes flashed yellow for a moment before she spoke "You bastard…I hate senseless violence….." her voice filled with so much simmering rage that it chilled both him and the thug to the core before she roared "BUT I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU JUST DID TO MY BOYFRIEND!"
She then squeezed the thug's wrist with so much force that he grunted in pain and dropped the knife, shocking even Akira. His eyes widened even more as Jun pulled her other arm backwards, balled her hand into a fist and punched the thug square in the face with so much force to send him flying towards the wall.
Akira's eyes began to shake in a mix of incredulity and shock as Jun, immediately after decking the thug in the face and sent him flying towards the wall, she rushed towards him and began to punch him repeatedly in the face all the while screaming and roaring furiously like a wild animal. And by the time she was finished, the brute's face was bruised, swollen and as purple as a prune. She had even knocked out a few teeth and cut the man's cheeks with the force of her own blows.
For a moment she just stared at the bruised man in front of her but then she saw her hands, covered in red blood and at all of her anger in an instant was gone. Horror, dismay and shock filled her eyes and she began to tremble upon realising what she had done. One last look at the beaten up thug in front of her made her realise that he was still alive, but only barely.
"J-Jun…." Called out Akira, causing her to gasp even more and turn towards him. Her eyes began to shake in horror and shame as soon as she saw the look of pure shock and disbelief on her boyfriend's face. Tears began to fall out of her eyes as the full reality of what she had almost done sank on her.
Finally, she covered her eyes with her left arm and ran away, while wailing in grief as Akira once again called out her name again, in vain. He then heard three more of those thug behind him lying on the ground with their mouths hanging, shaking in fear after what they had witnessed. The rest of the gang by that point was already gone.
Rounding his black eyes onto him, Akira declared grimly "Get out of my sight and forget that this ever happened. If you don't, i will personally make sure that you will never walk again." and with that the three thugs squealed in fear, got up and ran away for their lives.
Akira then picked up his girlfriend's bag and began to run in the direction Jun had gone to and quickly found her on her knees, her face buried in her hands, incomprehensible wails and cries being the only things that were leaving her mouth.
Trying to be as gentle as possible, he came behind her, put a hand on her right shoulder and tenderly called out "Jun…" causing her to gasp in shock.
"It's okay…. It's over…." he began with a caring voice, only for Jun to get up, take his arm off his shoulder and scream in distress "No, it's not okay! I almost killed that man!" while trembling like a leaf.
"Why are you feeling so guilty about it? He and his goons had it com-" he coudn't finish, for Jun suddenly slapped him in the face with her left hand. He then watched in surprise and muted shock as his girlfriend looked at him in a mix of dismay, sadness and guilt.
"You fool….. If you had let me hand them my money, none of this would have happened…" she spoke, closing her eyes as more tears began to fall from them "I….. I hate this… i hate violence… It….. It brings nothing but pain and sorrow….." she weakly continued while hugging herself and putting her right hand on her face, trembling even more as the memories of everything she went through flashed back in her mind.
Akira gulped and his eyes began to shake as those words hit him like a train. She hated herself for what she had done. He had begun to realise one fundamental difference that set them apart. Unlike him, Jun didn't enjoy to fight and would always try to use the most peaceful of methods to settle disputes.
And after seeing her crying and once again expressing her self-loathing, he coudn't take it anymore. He wrapped his hands around her and pulled her into an embrace, causing her to gasp once again as she was suddenly pulled close, feeling the warmth of Akira's body. Then his voice came.
"I'm sorry. I coudn't just stand there and let them do what they wanted to you….." he spoke tenderly, expressing guilt for what he had done. He had begun to realise that maybe…. Just maybe….. he was wrong in enjoying to inflict pain to others, no matter how deserved it was.
"Akira…" she called out, her eyes shaking as she felt the warmth of his body and his caring and kind voice. He then continued "I told you remember? I was bullied when i was at school for a while. I was such a crybaby when i was little that i coudn't even stand up for myself. When i saw that man touching you…. I lost it. It made me remember all the pain and humiliations i have endured when i was still a boy."
Jun began to cry even more as she heard the pain and sadness in his voice. He may have descended into violence, but he did it to protect her. She realised at that moment, that she would have done the same thing if Kazumi happened to be in Akira's place just a few minutes ago…..
"But if there's one thing Miki taught me….. is that it's not wrong to stand up and fight to protect the ones you care about from those who are perfectly willing to hurt others….." he proclaimed, while pulling out of the hug , opening his eyes and looking back into Jun's brown ones. She could only listen speechless, her brown eyes shaking as he continued "Besides, who woudn't have had the same reaction you had upon seeing someone you care about being slashed with a knife?" causing his girlfriend's eyes to widen up even more in realisation.
She could only look him in the eyes with even more passion due to his kind voice. He then caressed her right cheek, tracing his fingers in between her beautiful brown hair before he spoke "You are such a kind and compassionate woman, Jun. You try to avoid as much violence as much you can and for that i admire you." he paused, lowering his head and closing his eyes while taking away his hand from her cheek and pulling out of the embrace before he declared "I'm sorry…. I did many stupid things in the past too…. But only after i met you, i began to realise what a fool i was all along…. And for that….." while reopening his eyes. He then concluded with "I thank you….. Jun."
Touched by Akira's speech, by the kindness and appreciation he had voiced and for expressing his guilt for what he did, Jun wrapped her arms around Akira and pulled him into a hug of her own, resting her head on his right shoulder. He was right. As much as she hated to fight and as much as it appalled her to see the violence he had descended into, he did it to protect her. And she returned the favour after seeing him being slashed by that thug's knife.
Akira's black eyes widened as he was pulled into another embrace. Then Jun's angelic voice came "Forgive me, Akira. I was wrong to yell at you and to slap you. I just….. coudn't bear to see you in pain. I coudn't bear to see another person i cared about getting hurt…" she then lifted her head up and looked him in the eyes with passion and happiness with an equally passionate smile on her lips, warming his heart.
"Jun….." he called out, deeply touched by his girlfriend's gratitude. In response, the young woman pulled out of the hug and put both of her hands around Akira's right one. With her smile still on her lips and her brown eyes filling up with even more emotion, she continued "There's still so much i don't know about you….. But now, i'm not afraid to learn more about you, the young man who stood against ten others to protect me. Perhaps we can talk about it over dinner?" she proposed, her admiration towards him having grown even more. While she didn't fully approve of him resolving to his fists to settle matters, she was going to let it slide this time after the heartfelt apology he gave her.
Returning the smile and putting his other hand around Jun's own, Akira replied "I would love that." charming the beautiful woman even more. He then realised one thing. He picked up Jun's bag, sheepishly put a hand behind his head and awkwardly spoke "Here. I think this is your bag."
Jun giggled cutely at his awkwards manners but picked up the bag anyway and replied "Thanks."
And so they left once again bound for Akira's cart shop.
Little did they know, however, that they were being watched.
(OST: Yu Yu Hakusho, unreleased track: watch?v=T58ULfo3FLY )
On top of one of the buildings, covered by the shadows stood an inhuman figure. A creature, stronger than any human being, so beautiful it almost looked angelic, tempered by eons of battle and slaughter. Its piercing blue eyes had watched the entire battle between Akira, Jun and the thugs, patiently taking in every single detail.
"Devilman." it began to speak, uttering the name of its hated enemy, memories flashing back on its mind after the couple left the alley, watching them as they chatted happily. But that only brought anger and outrage to the creature. "I have not forgotten what you did to me that night." its voice full of contempt and hatred. "I will never forgive you for what you did to me, to my wings, to my pride! To Amon!"
She had found her rival once again. For what seemed an eternity she had suffered in the fires of hell. Hatred kept her warm, she fed on her suffering and angst calmed her. But this time he will pay. For what he did to her beloved Amon, for shaming his name, for tearing her apart, for destroying her pride.
Just looking at him made her sick. After everything he did, he would even dare to show himself with a mate?! No. She will not stand it. Not after everything she went through.
"Rest assured, Devilman. This time, i will tear you apart, just like you did to me! You will suffer what i have suffered! And this time, not even your bones will be left once i am done with you!" she declared, raising her clawed hand towards the sky.
And by a stroke of luck, his mate just happened to be someone she knew, someone that apparently also happened to be just like him as she had sensed many days prior. A plan already formed in her mind. She was going to enjoy this. The fires of hell had strenghtened her powers. But she wasn't going to take any chances. She will do anything to win this time. Even if that means using people close to Devilman for her own purposes.
And so, with a maniacal laugh, she took flight, dissappearing in the dark of the night.
(Soundtrack ends)