Chapter 9: The Power of a Name
"So, Denji, what are the other members of the Division like?"
Reze and Denji were sitting in the lobby of Public Safety headquarters, having arrived back ahead of schedule. With time to burn whilst they waited for Aki to come and pick them up, drinking the bottles of iced tea they had bought from a nearby vending machine.
Tired of the awkward tension that had hung over them since Denji asked her out at the coffee shop, Reze decided to try and learn as much about her new coworkers as she could.
Denji chugged the rest of his tea, letting out a satisfied belch as he turned to her, "Eh? Why'd you wanna know about them?"
Reze rolled her eyes at this, "Because I'd like to know who I'll be working with, will be pretty handy knowing who to avoid, you know?"
"Eh, suppose you're right, Hmmm… let me think…", Denji held out his hand in front of him, counting off his fingers as he began listing off names, "Well you met Master Kishibe earlier, other than him the only other humans in our division are me and Aki, and I'm treated as a devil by most of them", Denji puts his hand back down and turns to her, "Other than that everyone else is a fiend like Powy and Beam".
"Oh, hey there! You're the Bomb from the other day!", just as Reze was about to question Denji some more she was interrupted by a boisterous, muffled voice. Reze whipped around to face the direction the new voice came from, seeing a tall, masked man coming towards them, a tiny girl following close behind, shaking like a leaf as she tried hiding behind the tall figure.
"Hope ya don't hold our little scuffle against me, just following orders!", Violence laughed as he stopped in front of the two hybrids.
Recognition dawned on Reze's face, "Oh, you're that fiend that ran off back then, you're pretty strong, got me pretty good with that kick…"
Reze watched the fiend warily as he laughed again, waving off the compliment, "Hahaha! Nice of you to say Bomb, but I have enough sense to know when I'm outmatched!"
"This guy here is the Violence fiend, I think…", Denji chose this moment to chip in, glaring at the fiend, clearly annoyed at the interruption, "He's the partner of Shorty over there, she's another of the human devil hunters left along with Aki".
Confusion clouds Reze's face, "But I thought you said that you, the old man and Aki were the only humans left?".
Denji simply shrugs, "Eh, I forgot, the shorty there is called… uhmm... huh…", Denji stares blankly for a moment before turning his gaze to Kobeni, staring at her blankly.
"What's your name again?"
"W-wha, b-but I- Y-you-", the poor girl didn't even get a chance to voice her objections before she was pulled out from her position behind Violence by the fiend himself. Violence forcing the timid girl out in front of him, gesturing to her proudly.
"This here's my buddy Kobeni! She's pretty cute, huh?"
Reze looked at the girl quizzically for a moment before her eyes widened and her face lit up in recognition.
"Ohhhh, you're that girl who was grovelling on the road!", a mischievous glint appeared in Reze's eyes as she remembered something else from that day.
"Thought you said you'd quit if I left you, how come you're still at Public Safety?"
"Ehhh?! W-well… I-I!", Kobeni stammered frantically for a moment before all the fight seemed to leave her, shoulders slumping as she continued in a quiet, dispirited voice, "I-it's the o-only job that pays this well t-that… isn't…"
The smile fled from Reze's face as she watched the small girl wilt in front of her eyes, "Geez… hey, I was only messing with you. I won't hurt you! We're working together now after all!", Reze reached out to Kobeni, only for the girl to flinch and move back to hide behind Violence again.
Seeing Reze's concern, Denji quickly interjected, "Ah, don't worry 'bout her Reze, Shorty here is always like that, ain't your fault".
"Huh… right…", Reze looked at Denji and then back to the odd couple in front of them again, an unsure look still plastered on her face.
"Yeah, Kobeni here is just a little shy!", Violence said loudly, oblivious to the tension, "But that's just part of her charm! Wouldn't you agree?!"
Reze opened her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by an unexpected voice.
"Th-thank you f-for not k-killing me!", Kobeni practically yelled out, her eyes scrunched shut as stood back out in front of Violence.
Reze looked down at the ground, her bangs covering her eyes as Violence continued on where Kobeni left off, his hand on the timid girl's shoulder as if to calm her, "Me and Kobeni here were hoping to bump into you actually, to say thanks for goin' easy on us back there".
All was silent for a moment, Reze keeping her eyes on the ground as Denji reached out to her, "Hey Rez-"
"No", Reze's voice was cold and dull as she turned her gaze back up to Violence and Kobeni, "Don't thank me for that, I did nothing worth any thanks that night. There were a lot of people I didn't give that option to…"
"O-oh… w-w-well I-I'll always be g-grateful to y-you anyway, M-miss R-Reze!", Kobeni quickly scurried away around the corner with that final declaration of thanks, presumably away from whatever retribution she expected from disobeying the hybrid girl's request.
"Hey, Beni! Wait up!", Violence quickly ran after his fleeing buddy, looking over his shoulder and waving as he booked it after her, "Was nice talking again Bomb, see ya around!"
Reze, meanwhile, was stewing in her own feelings of self-loathing, teeth grinding as her mind went back to that night.
Bodies piled high, and her stepping over the corpses she had created, pretending that it didn't bother her.
No, she was just a monster at her core. After all, she'd killed all those people without a thought, what right would she have to accept an apology for not killing someone, as if it was some kind of achievement when all those deaths were on her hands?
"Hey, Reze… you okay?", Denji looked at Reze in concern, "What was all that about?"
Reze blinked, the coldness vanishing from her face as she snapped out of her trance of self-loathing, "Oh, I'm fine Denji, it's just…"
"Just what?", Denji questioned her as she trailed off, his voice laced with concern, "If it's about scarin' Shorty, don't feel too bad, she tried to kill me pretty recently!"
Reze throws Denji an incredulous look at that, "She tried to kill you? Really?!"
Denji shrugs at this, "Eh, nothing new under the sun".
Reze looks at him blankly for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh and looking away from him again, "It's nothing… well no, it's just…", Reze stops mid-sentence as she notices another familiar face, with a very familiar topknot approaching them, "It can wait for later Denji, it looks like we have some more company…"
Throughout his whole patrol with Angel, Aki had been fuming over the situation he had been foisted into. Having to accept that that monster gets to live was galling enough, but having to house her under his own roof? He still didn't fully understand why Makima had dropped this responsibility in his lap of all people, why not just lock her up until needed like the other devils?
He had a face like thunder as he turned the corner into the main lobby, finally catching sight of the source of his ire for the first time since their duel in the ruin of the city block she had devastated.
Aki strode towards the two teenaged hybrids, only for the girl to turn to look at him as he approached.
Her eyes looked tired and drained as she looked at him, and as she turned back to inform Denji of his arrival, he had been expecting to see the monster that had held the heads of his friends aloft. But instead, Aki couldn't help but remember what Kishibe had told him the day they had apprehended the two hybrids. The old man had spoken about orphans, human guinea pigs, experiments… and a room…
Aki fixed a scowl back on his face as he stopped in front of the two teenagers, with Denji greeting him.
"Yo, Aki you're late! When are we going home anyway? And what's happenin' with Reze"
Aki's eye twitched, "If you want to hear about all of that, then can it so I can tell you!". Denji quickly shut his trap as Aki snapped at him, keeping his ire focussed on the blonde teen, and pointedly not looking at Reze.
"For whatever reason, the higher-ups have decided that I'm to be stuck with not just you and Power under my roof, but also Bomb over here", Aki said, grinding his teeth as he spoke and gestured aggressively towards Reze.
"Hey! This 'Bomb' has a name y' know!"
This protest hadn't come from where Aki expected, however, with the raven-haired girl simply fixing him with a cold stare. No, instead the shout had come from Aki's own roommate, with Denji storming up to him, getting in his face.
"Her name is Reze you dick! And-"
"That's enough Denji. It's fine", Reze interrupted Denji's fiery rant, placing her hand gently on his shoulder, "It's not a big deal, really…"
In truth, as she defused Denji's anger with a small smile, Reze felt nothing but melancholy acceptance. She knew that she'd always be seen as a murderous devil by those in Public Safety, as much as it bothered her, it was predictable.
It was also nothing new…
Aki meanwhile had flinched as Denji had suddenly squared up to him. He hadn't been surprised that Denji had reacted in such a way, not really, he knew well enough that the kid was a punk with no respect for authority.
What had surprised him was that he had reacted to something so minor, so quickly.
Aki's eye twitched as Denji backed off at the Bomb's touch, 'tch… guess Denji was serious back in the interrogation room. Trust that kid to fall for a murderer…'
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing down his anger, there was no point in escalating anything right now. It's not like he's had any luck changing Miss Makima's mind in the past, plus he really didn't want to end up on her bad side…
"Well, if you're done with your little outburst, then it's about time we head on home", Aki sighed again, still hardly believing that the words were coming from his mouth, "and, for God knows what reason, Miss Makima has decided to curse my home with your presence as well, Reze".
Aki's voice dripped with malice as he swung around, briskly marching towards the door, his barely contained fury visible to any he passed.
In his wake, he left the two teens shellshocked, jaws agape. They stood like that for a moment, before Denji turned to Reze with an excited grin, shining with an almost puppy-like excitement.
"You hear that Reze! We get to be roommates!"
Before she could open her mouth to answer, Denji jolted in realisation, "Oh crap! We better catch up with Aki, he might actually leave us behind if he's in that shitty a mood!"
As Denji grabbed her wrist and started pulling her behind his as he dashed to the door, she found that her melancholy had left her as she jogged to the exit with Denji, a smile on her face and her troubles, while not forgotten, weighed less on her as she left the building and went on to a new life.
Thus far, the drive had been quiet, the tension in the air being as thick as the silence was pervasive. Denji and Reze both sat together in the back seat, with the pair watching the scenery of Tokyo go by from their respective windows, neither wanting to be the first to break the silence, lest they incur the wrath of their chauffeur.
Aki meanwhile was a bundle of repressed rage, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. He'd been so thrown off by Denji's earlier reaction, that he had forgotten to inform his two passengers of the fact that Public Safety had essentially created brand new identities for them both.
Or rather, he had procrastinated, he wasn't exactly thrilled over that decision after all, so the longer he could hold off that conversation the better…
Back in the back seat of the car, Denji had gotten tired of pretending to be interested in the monolithic skyscrapers that dominated the skyline of Tokyo. They had impressed him the first few times he, Aki and Power had commuted to Public Safety headquarters, but it was hard to fake interest in a view he had seen most days on the way to work. Plus, there was something, or rather someone else who was much more interesting than some boring office blocks…
Denji craftily tried to catch a glimpse of Reze from the corner of his eye. She was sitting in the seat, her legs crossed with one foot bouncing slightly, his gaze trailed over her the girl's form, internally cursing the fact that her new uniform covered up her long, lithe legs and her subtle curves.
His gaze then tracked upwards. The slight swell of her chest, the absence of her signature choker stood out, though he couldn't see her pin trigger from this side. Then her saw her face, a sly smile, a small blush on her cheeks.
Her bright, emerald eyes watching him coyly, akin to a cat that got the cream…
Oh...
"Wellll… someone seems to be enjoying the view…", Reze purred as she turned her full attention to him, leaning in towards him as far as her seatbelt would allow, "And here I thought that you'd be the one showing me some sights".
Denji felt a flush creeping up his neck as he grinned nervously, eyes flicking to and fro, "Well, y'know…", suddenly his eye lit up as a perfect excuse came to him.
"I was looking out your side to uh… see if I could catch a glimpse of Tokyo Tower!", Denji blurted out his excuse proudly, still avoiding eye contact with the bombshell to his right.
In response, Reze's gaze bored into the side of Denji's head, her teasing smile softening as she unbuckled her seatbelt and scooted over to the middle seat, leaning up to whisper in his ear.
"Tokyo Tower is on the other side of town Denji", as Reze's breath tickled his ear, Denji went as rigid as a board, the blush spreading across his face as she grabbed his hand in her own, "But just remember, Denji…"
"You're free to enjoy the view anytime".
"I-I, well-!"
Whilst Denji stuttered out a flustered response, Aki's eye wouldn't stop twitching in annoyance, the man currently mourning the loss of the awkward silence he enjoyed moments before, anything would be better than listening to the two teens behind him doing… this.
At this point, he was seriously considering driving into the oncoming traffic as a preferable alternative…
"Bomb", Aki's icy voice cut through the flirting from the backseat, "Put your seatbelt back on. As much as I'd enjoy seeing you go through the windshield, I'd hate to have to do all the paperwork".
And once again, silence reigned supreme in the car. With this, Aki focused all his attention back onto the road, his sanity saved for the moment, whilst the two hybrids were sitting apart again, with Reze having reluctantly moved back to her own seat.
Even though the silence had returned, Denji and Reze found that they didn't care, with both having content smiles on their faces despite Aki's foul mood, their fingers still intertwined as the car trundled onwards towards home.
"Huh, thought this place would be fancier, considering Topknot here is a Public Safety bigshot…", Reze was the first to speak as they clambered out of the car, quickly followed by Denji, with Aki being the last out.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, never really thought about the place bein' too small though. Bigger than anywhere else I've lived", Denji joined Reze in front of the apartment block where the girl was appraising the building.
Reze shrugs nonchalantly, "Hey, same here, I'm not complaining or anything, it's definitely bigger than my last place anyway. Just find it kinda weird that Public Safety wouldn't splurge a bit more is all".
"We're government funded Bomb", Aki intoned from behind them tersely, "Means we get good holidays and shit pay. We're lucky the government provides us with free accommodation like this".
He moves to climb the stairs up to the second floor, before looking over his shoulder at the two teens following him up.
"Sadly, that also means they get to decide who lives in it as well", and with that last passive-aggressive remark, Aki continued on up the stairs.
'I get the feeling I'm not wanted', Reze thought wryly, though it's not like she could really blame the man at the end of the day…
"Ah just ignore him Reze, you'll love the place!", Denji casually blew off what Aki said, smiling excitedly at Reze, clearly thrilled to show her the flat, "It's got comfy beds, a good view, a bath and all the food you could ask for! Hell, when he doesn't have a stick up his ass Aki can be alright, he makes great grub!"
Reze giggled into her hand, finding the blonde's enthusiasm infectious, "Geez, with a sales pitch like that I can't help but be excited!"
"Yes ma'am!", Denji jokingly before grabbing her hand with a cheeky grin, "C'mon let's get going before Aki gets pissy again!"
By the time the two had caught up with Aki, he was fishing through his pockets for his keys. As he turned the key in the door and swung the door open, he addressed them again.
"I'll be heading out on patrol again soon, so you'll have to sort dinner for yourself tonight Denji", Aki had returned to the tried and tested method of simply pretending that Reze didn't exist as he entered the living room, followed by the two hybrids.
"So, try not to make too much of a me-"
Before Aki even got a chance to finish his sentence, a loud crash sounded from down the hallway, followed by the thudding patter of footsteps.
The three looked over towards the room the noise was coming from.
It was Power's room.
Denji and Aki's faces turned white and, before they had any chance to warn a now-concerned Reze, the door to the room burst open.
"BEHOLD DENJI! THE MIGHTY POWER HAS RETURNED!"
The haughty fiend proudly proclaimed her presence, having kicked open her bedroom door upon hearing the sound of them entering the building.
Aki was cursing himself, with everything that had happened today, he forgot that Power was due home today. Similarly, Denji had been so caught up in his reunion with Reze that he had forgotten all about Miss Makima mentioning that Power had returned home after getting her blood drained.
And, whilst Denji had grown to appreciate Power's abrasive attitude after having to deal with Beam's fawning, he was pretty worried about how she'd react to Reze living here.
'Well, hopefully Powy will get on with Reze alright, she took well enough to Aki and that short chi-', Denji's optimistic thoughts were cut short as a small blood spear flew right past his head, directly towards Reze.
'Shit!', Reze's instincts went on overdrive as soon as she saw the horned fiend's target-like eyes narrow dangerously upon catching sight of her at the back of the group, with Reze shifting her head to the side as the fiend's rapidly formed blood spear missed her head by a hair.
"DENJI, TOPKOT! WHO IS THIS INTRUDER!?", true to form Power struck first and asked questions later, "THAT SMELL OF HERS IS AWFUL! SHE MUST B- BLEGHH!?"
Power's speech was cut off as Reze darted forward and delivered a solid punch to the fiend's gut, causing her to double over breathless. Reze quickly followed up by then putting her into a headlock, Power's face turning purple as Reze held the lock firm.
"Reze, stop! That's enough!", Denji implored her, springing into action and prying Reze off of the Blood Fiend, with Reze letting go with little resistance, the adrenaline leaving her upon hearing his plea. Now released, Power scrambled back up to her feet, coughing and rubbing her throat as she glared at Reze and Denji, "D-denji! You're siding with this harlot!?"
"Powy, I've told you before, you can't just attack people on sight!", Denji shouted back in exasperation before turning back to Reze, "Sorry 'bout that Reze, I totally forgot to warn you that Power would be back home, you okay?"
"Yeah, just a bit surprised is all…", Reze gave Denji a small smile, appreciating the concern, before turning her attention back to the fiend.
"What is her problem though?", she calmly pointed at Power, who by now was shakily getting back up to her feet, her face contorted in a snarl.
"Y-you! How d-dare you speak to me like that, I was simply defending myself, tis' true!", Power pointed right back at Reze as she rewrote the history of the last few minutes, "Topknot! Who is this interloper, I demand you remove her at once! Your Prime Minister demands it!"
Aki, who had up to this point been staring at the blood spear jutting out of his wall, his eye twitching rapidly, shot Power a withering glare, "What have I said about making blood weapons inside this house Power!"
"T'was but instinct upon smelling such a foul creature entering my domain!"
'Should I be pissed about that?', Reze thought as she watched Aki and this horned menace argue.
"I don't care if it was instinct, you brat! It should be instinct to not put holes in my house!", Aki shouted before sighing again, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration before continuing on to explain their new living situation to the fiend.
"From today onwards, Reze will be housed here with us", Aki explained to the fiend begrudgingly, "So you three better learn how to get along!"
"Nay! I refuse to tolerate a barbarian in my company!", Power declared with no hint of self-awareness, "Take her from my sight now!"
Aki rolled his eyes, "Not going to happen Power. She's staying here under Makima's orders".
Power froze, sweat beading on her forehead and the haughtiness fleeing from her face as she nervously looked at Aki, "Y-yes Hayakawa, sir…"
She then turned back to Reze some confidence returning to her as she again pointed imperiously at her, "Y-you, d-despite your blatant assault on me, I have decided that I will accept you into my abode! Grovel and thank the mighty Power!"
Reze was completely baffled at this point, unsure how to react to the blood fiend's bipolar ranting, "Why the hell should I-". Reze was interrupted as Denji nudged her lightly with his elbow to get her attention.
"It's best just to agree with her Reze", Denji said, a tired look on his face, "She's already rewritten her own memories at this point, in her mind she's done nothing wrong…"
"Ah, right… got it…", Reze replied, still utterly confused as she decided to just play along with the fiend's delusions, "Thanks for your… generosity, Power…"
Power's face lit up joyously as Reze thanked her, the fiend turning to Denji excitedly, "See Denji! This how to treat an exalted devil such as myself!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Powy…", Denji rolled his eyes, though if you looked carefully you could see a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"I tire of you now, mortals! Onwards to snacks Meowy!"
As quickly as she had first appeared, Power retreated back into her room, grabbing a bag of jerky in one hand and her loyal feline companion in another, slamming the door of her room shut behind her, her doorknob coming loose and falling to the floor with a loud thunk.
"Sooo… what the hell was that all about?", Reze breaks the silence as she stares at the door the rowdy fiend had just fled through, still somewhat shellshocked at the chaos that had been unleashed by the devil.
"Oh, Power is like that all the time, believe it or not, she's actually pretty human-like, by devil standards anyway", Denji waves off Reze's concerns nonchalantly, "She's only tried to kill me a couple of times recently".
Reze does a double take upon hearing that Denji's flatmate, now also hers, tried to kill him on a regular basis. For a moment she thought about commenting on it, but it wasn't like she had much of a leg to stand on when it came to making attempts on Denji's life. She fought to keep a bitter frown from her face at the thought.
"And here I thought I could've at least made a coffee before heading back out", Aki spoke, his voice tired and drained, with Power's dramatics being his last straw, "I'm heading back out before any of you cause any more problems…"
"Hey! I resent that!", Denji protested at the unfair accusation, with Reze not being far behind with her own complaint.
"Yeah, it's not like I wanted to get attacked!"
"I don't care!", Aki snapped before letting out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Just… try not to cause any more damage to the place".
Aki then made his way to leave, opening the front door before reluctantly looking over his shoulder to Denji, "There are two folders on the kitchen counter… make sure you two read them", and with that, a disgruntled Aki disappeared into the night.
Denji and Reze sat cross-legged on the floor, sitting around the table, two folders laid out open in front of them.
"Hell no! Everyone is gonna think I'm related to Aki now!", Denji groaned as he read the paperwork, the name 'Hayakawa Denji' stood out proudly at the top of the freshly printed birth certificate, courtesy of Public Safety, "The notes at the end here say that I'm a distant cousin of his, urghh… at least it doesn't say I'm his brother or anything…"
Reze was similarly staring at the document in front of her in shock. For her, who had never had a family and had been referred to as either a number or a devil for her whole life, it was a shock to her system to see the name printed out at the top of the page: 'Himeno Reze'.
"Hey Reze, what's yours say?", Denji leaned over the table, trying to read the upside-down text.
She looks up at him, an indecipherable look on her face as she spoke, "Says my new name is Himeno Reze, suppose they needed some sort of cover story for me…"
Denji's eyes widened at that, "Did you say Himeno?", he questioned, the shock palpable in his voice.
Reze's interest was now well and truly piqued as she began to question him, "Yeah, why? Does that name mean anything to you?"
Denji had a myriad of emotions on his face, still feeling guilty that the memory of the woman, who was one of his first friends at Public Safety, still made him feel nothing.
"Yeah, that was the name of Aki's buddy, she was killed a while back when that Katana bastard attacked us…"
'Ah that jumped up Yakuza… wonder how he ended up as a weapon…', Reze thought it was odd that a hybrid had shown up out of nowhere in the middle of Tokyo, after all, she doubted he'd gone through the intense experimentation she had been forced into.
"What was she like?", for some reason Reze found herself asking more about this woman she'd never met. Maybe it was just guilt that she'd practically stolen this woman's name, all whilst living in the home of her grieving partner. She frowned at the thought.
"Well… I didn't know her long, but she was the first person at Public Safety to offer to be my friend, so she was pretty nice, except fro-", Denji froze, a queasy look on his pale face.
'Can't believe I almost let that one slip!', Denji scolded himself internally, the memory of his first kiss making his stomach turn, 'Nope! Reze can never know about that…'
"Well… other than that you'd be better off asking Aki, he'd know a lot more than I would…", Denji finished weakly as he scratched his chin nervously.
Reze laughed bitterly at Denji's recommendation, "I doubt he'd even want to look at me, never mind talk to me about his dead partner. He's made his feelings about me very clear, and who could blame him after I butchered his friends?"
Reze was used to this feeling of self-loathing, it was a constant companion throughout her life after all, but she was usually able to just push it down and write it off as following orders, but now… well now that she had at least some autonomy, and especially now that she shared a home with someone directly impacted by her actions, it was a lot harder to push to the back of her mind and compartmentalise.
"Hey, I'm sure they were tryin' to kill you too, ain't your fault that you had to kill them…", Denji tried comforting the girl, having noticed her increasing anguish.
"Don't try to absolve me of this, Denji!", Reze unexpectedly snapped at the boy, causing him to flinch slightly in surprise, "I always had a choice! I always had the option not to kill, but I was just selfish… thinking my life was more important than theirs…"
Reze trailed off, her voice fading to just a whisper, as Denji looked on in concern, before he leaned over the table, grabbing her hand and looking her in the eyes earnestly, "Hey, your life is important too Reze!", his eyes were alight with conviction as he spoke, "Besides, even if you have done all that in the past, you disobeyed the guys orderin' you to do all that when you ran away with me!"
"But that was just selfishness too Denji! It's not like it was some grand selfless act, I just ran away and dragged you with me!"
"Hey! I knew exactly what I was getting into back then Reze!", Denji's grasp on her hand tightened as he raised his voice, "And hell, I'm just as selfish as you! I kept on wishing for a better life, and I got it, but Pochita… I think that sometimes I shoulda been happy with just me and him…"
Denji was unusually morose and serious as he continued, "Even now I'm not in Public Safety to save people, I'm just doin' this to live that better life I'm chasing…"
"But, I promised to show Pochita my dreams, and right now bein' with you feels like a pretty good dream…"
Denji's expression softened, his cheeks ruby red as he loosened his grip on her hand, looking at the shocked girl with a small smile.
Reze was quiet for a moment, shock still painted on her face, before she slowly entwined her fingers with Denji's, grasping his hand back gently as she smiled back at him fondly.
"Oh Denji, you really do need to wise up, huh?", despite the seemingly harsh words, Reze stood up and made her way round to Denji's side of the table, sitting down beside him and nestling into his side, latching onto his arm.
"R-reze, what do y-?"
Reze interrupted him, putting her hand over his mouth, smiling playfully as she spoke up again, "When you put it like that, I suppose we can just be selfish together, huh?"
"Now that's something I can get behind!", Denji beamed at her response wrapping his arm around her shoulder near-instinctively, happy to see Reze in better spirits.
As she leaned further into Denji, resting her head on his shoulder, Reze still had her doubts. She was still under the thumb of others as a weapon, and she wasn't exactly convinced that she could find any redemption for her past…
But Denji's dream sounded like a nice one to share, and maybe that was all she'd need…
"What the hell was Makima thinking!? She wasn't even in the doors a minute!"
Angel rolled his eyes as Aki ranted about the Bomb for what felt like the dozenth time that night, with Angel wishing that he could find the energy to care about Chainsaw's girlfriend.
"You really shouldn't be questioning Makima like that, I'm sure she has her reasons…", Angel responded drolly, feeling it necessary to try and talk his buddy down from his annoyance at Makima. The memory of that tattooed island woman flashed in his mind again, smiling and looking toward him warmly, her arm outstretched as if beckoning him.
Ever since that day, the thought kept on returning to him, and it never failed to leave a sinking feeling in his gut.
"What reason could Makima have to make me live with that murderer!", Aki snapped back, wheeling around to face his buddy.
"I was meant to be training with Nomo this week, and instead I have to go to his funeral!", Aki was seething in rage, he'd heard from a mutual friend of his and Nomo's from another division, they hadn't even found enough of him to have an open-casket funeral, and yet they still insist that she gets to live a cosy life in his home!?
"I'm a devil, I have no idea about any of that…", Angel gave his usual response to Aki's concerns, only to surprise the devil hunter by following up on it for once.
Angel let out a heavy sigh as he continued, "But if you really need answers about Bomb, then just ask her or Chainsaw. I'm sure he likes her for a reason… he doesn't seem to hold her attacking him against her after all."
"You think that kid has a clue?!"
Angel rolled his eyes again and continued walking, "I couldn't care less, anything is better than listening to you complain about this constantly…"
Aki was about to shout at his annoyance of a buddy again, before restraining himself. It's not as if shouting at the devil had ever done any good before...
He then thought back to what Denji had said in the interrogation cell.
'She just wanted to escape, huh?', Aki grimaced as he followed after his buddy, 'I'll be the judge of that myself…'
Denji and Reze had sat in their position at the table for some time, both of them almost dosing off in each other's arms before Denji let out a massive yawn, stretching his arms in the air as he did.
"Heeyyy…", Reze looked up at him sleepily, rubbing the sleep out her eyes as she fixed him with a playful glare, "I was comfortable there…"
Denji smiled apologetically, "Yeah, I was too, but I really don't wanna be woken up by Aki when he comes back, he's always in an awful mood after the late shift…"
"Yeah… fair point…", Reze frowned at the thought of talking to the man, if he was usually in a bad mood when he arrived back, she didn't exactly want to find out how much worse seeing her would make it…
A realisation suddenly came to Reze, the flat wasn't exactly large…
"Hey, Denji… Where am I going to sleep?"
"Oh… uhhh…", Denji's brain short-circuited for a moment as he gave the matter thought, "Well… there's no way you could stay in Powy's room, she'd probably try to drink your blood in your sleep…"
Denji looked at Reze, his reddened face lighting up in a mix of excitement and nerves, "W-well, there's a futon we could lay out in my room, I guess…"
"Ohhhh Denjiii, are you suggesting that we share a rooom?", Reze purred, grinning slyly at him, "Very bold of you…"
Denji, who at this point was getting used to the girl's periodic teasing, grinned back, "Well you could try your luck with Power, though we only got her to start showering recently".
"Geez… it's no fun when you don't get all flustered…", Reze pouts, before perking up again, "Oh! Is there something I can wear to bed?"
"Ah, there it is!"
Shortly after he had told Reze to just grab something from his room to sleep in, she had run off to the bathroom to change before he'd even had a chance to ask what she'd picked out, winking at him as she locked the door behind her.
'Hmm… wonder what she did pick out?', Denji thought as he pulled down the futon from the top of the dresser it was stuffed away in, his mind racing as he laid out the futon on the ground, thinking about all the possibilities of what she could've picked out, only to disappoint himself.
'Aww damn it… if Power wasn't here, she coulda picked out somethin' sexy from her room…'
As he finished fixing up the futon, he heard the creak of the door opening behind him, "Hey Reze, that's the fuuuu…", Denji trailed off, having swung his head around to greet the girl, only to freeze as he drunk in the sight in front of him.
There, leaning on the door frame, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face stood Reze, her hair out of her usual bun and tickling her shoulders and clad in one of his work shirts. Denji's eyes flicked up and down her form, the shirt doing little to cover her up, only reaching down to her mid-thigh.
'You know, I take it back… this is pretty damn sexy…'
Reze giggled lightly as she started walking towards, "Hope you don't mind I stole one of your shirts, it looked like you had plenty of spares", her teasing smile staying on her face as she walked around Denji, "Thanks for laying out the futon by the way!"
"O-oh yeah, no p-problem", was all Denji managed to squeeze out, truly in awe at what he had just seen, before he felt two thin arms drape themselves over his shoulders from behind and a breathy voice whispering in his ear, "I'm really looking forward to that date you promised me, Denji…"
Needless to say, as Denji lay in his bed, with a scantily clad Reze lightly snoring on the futon beside his bed and the thoughts of going on another date with her whizzing through his head, it'd be a long while before he managed to get any sleep…